Introduction:
Manufacturing sectors have experienced a dramatic increase in adoption of lean six sigma activities over the past decade. Many environmental professionals view the increased popularity in Lean six sigma activities as an opportunity to reduce our environmental impact and sustain our environment for future generations.
This literature review outlines why environmental professionals want to learn more about lean six sigma initiatives and how integrating both initiatives can deliver greater environmental results.
Environmental Opportunities:
Environmental management has expanded from a focus on regulatory compliance to addressing pollution at the source. A huge factor in the transition to a more environmentally aware society is the significant efforts made by environmental professionals in promoting environmental friendly initiatives.
The four key areas, which environmental professionals have been promoting, to improve both economic and environmental results are outlined below.
1. Environmental tools and expertise – These tools assist organization’s in achieving improved environmental efficiencies along with developing a environmentally sustainable organisation.
2. Environmental Management Systems – Establish environmental methods and procedures for managing an organisations environmental impact while promoting continuous improvement.
3. Organisations are continuously seeking processes and ways in which they can incorporate environmental sustainability to their business strategy and operations.
Despite significant environmental management improvements further efforts could be made to reduce the impact of the manufacturing industry.
Generally continuous improvement projects require capital investment and draw on ...
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...d energy consumption, is a key issue that Lean fails to address.
Lack of integration between lean operations and environmental practitioners. The lack of integration can cause process improvements to become environmentally non-compliant.
Lack of collaborative knowledge sharing amongst Lean and Environmental practitioners.
Literature Conclusion:
Environmental and Lean initiatives have similar goals of achieving continual improvement success and the reduction of waste produced. However the scope of what encompasses waste to a process differs between environmental management systems and Lean wastes. Building off this literature review I will assess the Yellow Belt training program, implemented by Merck Sharp & Dohme, and assess whether there is a need to develop an environmental awareness section based off projects conducted by certified yellow belts on site.
It will be advantageous for the company if they can project themselves as responsible corporate citizen and an environment friendly company. Social enrichment schemes, recycling schemes and educational funds can be initiated to cater to this cause and long term goal.
There are many people that benefit from Lean Six Sigma which include mainly customers, suppliers, employees, and also stockholders. Lean Six Sigma is a way for businesses to improve, to reduce waste and to become more successful. In the future, more and more organizations will adopt or practice some of the Lean, Six Sigma, or both in order to stay competitive in today’s market. In some cases, blending both Lean and Six Sigma can be costly and difficult; however the end result can create an organization that focuses on quality, accuracy, and speed to meet the goal which is profitability.
With forward movement in society, it is important to consider not just what will propel most toward success, but also what will help to sustain the environment along the way. What may have been considered appropriate decades ago, may no longer be socially acceptable due to the changes observed in both the business world and the environment (Fiske, 2010). Therefore, it is important for organizations thriving in today?s economy to consider how they may capitalize most effectively from their product or service of choice while minimizing or eliminating any damages along the way (Knoke, 2012).
Lean is best defined as “a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste (non-value added activities) through continuous improvement by flowing the product only when the customer needs it (called pull) in pursuit of perfection” (Sarkar, 2008, p. 1). Lean thinking along with Six Sigma have generated interest all industries. This can be seen by the countless studies and quality improvement efforts undertaken by many corporations, with training and building staff as certified Lean Six Sigma experts.
I chose this article because I have been involved in process improvement projects that were quite successful. However, upon examination of the same company several years later the process improvement projects had faded away, and bad habits had returned.
Lean manufacturing refers to systematic identification and elimination of waste through CI processes in pursuit of perfection (Khan et al. 2013; Yang & Yang 2013). Lean production is now used worldwide in manufacturing plants to eliminate waste from all ar...
The 21st century has brought new challenges to manufacturing and service organizations, and one of these important challenges is that the industry is constantly changing (Maleyeff, 2012). Therefore, the systems, processes and procedures of successful businesses will be able to evolve according to the constantly changing industry needs. Six Sigma is one method being widely used by both manufacturing and service businesses today to provide a framework for continuous process improvement (Maleyeff, 2012).
Lean Six Sigma is a methodology that creates processes within an organization to cut waste and improve the company’s performance. However, studies have shown that over the past decade applying Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma can create problems for companies financially and potential problems for employees. Companies should take great care before implementing a Lean Six Sigma solution because in some instances, going lean can do more harm than good both financially for the organization as well as destroying employee loyalty and moral.
This case focuses on corporate obstacles to pollution prevention. Pollution prevention can complex especially for large corporations. There are many different forms of pollution prevention including emissions control devices and incremental changes in existing technology. The author reviews the impact of emissions controlled devices, however the focus of the case study is on incremental changes in existing technology. Incremental changes include substituting one or two steps in a production process or relationship changes between production steps. One example of incremental changes that was provided by the author was eliminating chlorofluorocarbons and saving energy by replacing a refrigeration process with a heath exchanger that can exploit waste cooling from another part of the process. There are three critical decision-making stages for incremental changes; identifying a pollution prevention opportunity, finding a solution appropriate to that opportunity, and implementing that solution. The author discusses the three aspects of an organization (culture, ability to process information, and its politics) and how they impact the decision-making stages.
The procedure of Lean Manufacturing has been the principle concerns and issues of numerous manufacturing companies all through the world. Numerous procedures paving the way to lean manufacturing have affected this significantly, for example, Interchangeable parts, Just in Time Production, the Ford Assembly line, and the Toyota Production Systems.
These methods provide a logical solution to the various problems and help in enhancing the quality and efficiency of products and processes [7]. The critical power of Lean Six Sigma is its focus on finding the variables impacting the majority of variations in process {3]. Thus Lean Six Sigma methodology together helps in achieving project goals and the targets
Manufacturing businesses and business leaders need to increase their focus on key success factors such as: innovation, productivity improvement, investment in people & skills, and funding. Innovation is not just about retention and development, or the latest technology. It’s also about practical and efficient problem solving and business transformation. In the manufacturing industry, this can be achieved by: refining or exploring new supply and distribution channels, establishing new business offerings, developing leaner organizational arrangements, improving processes, providing a better customer experience, and accessing green, clean technology – high on the agenda for environmentally conscious customers (Performance, 2011)
o Reduces negative environmental impacts.... ... middle of paper ... ... Produce does not end with the completion of a developed Enser, the message associated with that productive work is as important as the material obtained. By modifying positively the working methods of a signature automatically associate the goods or service generated a load of sense, in this case, social concerns and environmental awareness, which people respond positively valued and know.
Valentine, I., Hurley, E., Reid, J., & Allen, W. (2007). Principles and processes for effecting change in environmnental managment in New Zealand. Journal of Environmental Managment, 311-318.
Environmental factors cater for the protection of the environment. A business must carefully be able to look at its surroundings to see for benefits and ensure that its daily production does not interfere with society.