Abstract
The research for this article was built upon the discussion concerning sustainable value stream mapping (Sus-VSM), which had recently emerged towards advancing sustainable manufacturing systems. Research on this sustainable-oriented lean tool has been confined to only a handful of studies only. Specifically, the lack of a continuous improvement process, where subsequent value stream developmental maps can be established to continue the cycle, is highlighted as a notable shortfall of this application. To fill the gap, this paper proposes a methodological approach, based on the DMAIC improvement cycle, to systematically implement and conduct Sus-VSM studies. The proposed methodology is practically validated with an industrial case to support this narrow body of knowledge. The research findings revealed that a DMAIC-based approach can be effectively applied to systematize the Sus-VSM towards sustainable manufacturing. The paper also provides a guiding reference for operations managers who wish to undertake similar improvement projects and make their manufacturing operations more sustainable, and, hopefully, inspire other researchers and practitioners to broaden the study of this under-researched field, which is now receiving growing interest in various industries.
Highlights
Riding on sustainability as its constant standard reference, manufacturing systems have undergone numerous revolutions from its initial substitution-based ‘traditional manufacturing’; the revolution began with the waste reducing ‘lean manufacturing’, followed by the environmentally-driven ‘green manufacturing’ which introduced the highly popular 3 R concept in the 1990s, to the present-day ‘sustainable manufacturing’ which offers better stakeholder value as compared to the N
This paper took into careful consideration the application of sustainable value stream mapping (VSM) (Sus-VSM) developed by Faulkner and Badurdeen (2014), which includes metrics to evaluate the economic, environmental, and societal sustainability performance of a manufacturing line
Investigation on this stream has been confined to a handful of studies only, this research is among the very limited number of studies, which have considered this application for the sake of sustainable manufacturing
Summary
This paper contributes in filling the gap in literature concerning the use of Sus-VSM for meeting the triple bottom line requirements in sustainable manufacturing systems and supporting the Lean Six Sigma’s body of knowledge by proposing a DMAIC-based approach for systematically implementing and conducting Sus-VSM studies. To further these purposes, this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides the theoretical perspectives on the under-researched domains, i.e. This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 provides the theoretical perspectives on the under-researched domains, i.e. ‘LSS’; Section 3 presents the research methodology, entailing the proposed DMAIC-based approach to Sus-VSM; Section 4 clarifies the steps included in implementing the proposed approach through an industrial application; and, lastly, Section 5 which outlines the conclusions, limitations, and future research suggestions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
