Manufacturing sustainability assessment using a lean manufacturing tool

Abstract

PurposeManufacturers and engineers need a practical and operational way to understand sustainable manufacturing and to apply it to their shop floors. The single index enables manufacturing industries to make decisions considering the continuous improvement to increase sustainability performance. The purpose of this paper is to develop a manufacturing sustainability index (MSI) based on lean and sustainability concepts using sustainable-value stream mapping.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of this research is linked to Delphi- analytical hierarchy process (AHP) qualitative assessment with sustainable-value stream mapping quantitative analysis for determining MSI. The Delphi method is used with relevant indicator selection, sustainable-value stream mapping is used to score the relevant indicator with efficiency approach and the AHP method is used to determine the indicator weight. To evaluate the applicability of this framework for assessing sustainability in the manufacturing process, a case study in Indonesian Wooden Furniture was developed.FindingsThe findings of this research is the framework for evaluating and assessing the sustainability performance of the manufacturing process. Although evaluation of the framework is limited to the furniture industry, there is a methodology potential to reproduce for the other sectors.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, this study has provided a single index to measure performance of the manufacturing sustainability comprehensively at factory level. However, the implementation of the developed model is too limited. More application in different sectors and different industrial sizes is needed.Originality/valueThe value of this research lies in the novelty of the single index in measuring manufacturing sustainability and the relevant indicators for the furniture industry in Indonesia. The selection of the indicators has involved practitioners in the furniture industry and encompassed economic, environmental and social dimensions. The visualization of indicators through sustainable-value stream mapping is proven to be more practical and helpful for industrialists.