Lean Six Sigma with environmental focus: review and framework

Abstract

Lean Six Sigma enables contemporary manufacturing organizations to attain waste elimination and defect reduction. As manufacturing systems are becoming environmentally sustainable, Lean Six Sigma framework needs to be integrated with sustainability tools to enable environmental and operational benefits. The purpose of this article is to review the literature on Lean Six Sigma from six different perspectives pertaining to manufacturing firms. A qualitative type of review methodology was adopted for conducting the review. Research articles related to the topic were collected from leading journal databases. Further, literature analysis was also performed on Lean Six Sigma with environmental focus. A total of 70 research articles that are in line with the research were selected and reviewed. Based on the insights obtained from analysis, a generic framework for implementation of Lean Six Sigma with environmentally benign tools was developed. The developed framework incorporates environmental aspects while implementing Lean Six Sigma which helps in reducing cost, wastes, environmental impacts, and other inefficiencies associated with the manufacturing process. This review article highlights the insights on Lean Six Sigma by conducting a systematic review pertaining to manufacturing firms and development of a generic framework that incorporates environmental focus into the Lean Six Sigma framework. This article enables researchers in developing knowledge on the concept of Lean Six Sigma with environmental focus and also helps them to formulate and implement Lean Six Sigma concepts to attain operational and environmental benefits.