Green and lean: a Gemba–Kaizen model for sustainability enhancement

Abstract Despite the encouraging results obtained from the application of Green Lean, organizations have found the integration of Green and Lean, and their implementation as an integrated approach, challenging. This paper therefore presents a model for integrating Lean and Green based on the Gemba-Kaizen approach. The proposed model was developed on the basis of a through literature review on Gemba and Kaizen, conducted on peer reviewed journal articles and pragmatic books, and the more than 40 years of accumulated experience of the authors as academics, researchers, industrialists and consultants. The model was validated through two cases study in the aerospace and automotive industries. The results showed that the proposed model helped the case organizations to reduce the consumption of resources and improve their environmental performance. The proposed model can be the basis for further research on Lean and Green, contributing to help organizations to improve their sustainability performance.

[1]  Matthew Franchetti,et al.  Lean and green: industrial engineering methods are natural stepping stones to green engineering , 2009 .

[2]  Gary Langenwalter,et al.  "Life" is Our Ultimate Customer: From Lean to Sustainability , 2006 .

[3]  Kim Hua Tan,et al.  Green as the new Lean: how to use Lean practices as a catalyst to greening your supply chain , 2013 .

[4]  Michael J. Lenox,et al.  LEAN AND GREEN? AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEAN PRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE , 2001 .

[5]  Pamela J. Zelbst,et al.  Green supply chain management practices: impact on performance , 2012 .

[6]  Pauline Found,et al.  A Lean & Green Model for a production cell , 2014 .

[7]  J. Froines,et al.  UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY , 1995 .

[8]  S. Vinodh,et al.  Implementation of Lean Six Sigma framework with environmental considerations in an Indian automotive component manufacturing firm: a case study , 2017 .

[9]  B. Williams,et al.  Operations management. , 2001, Optometry.

[10]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  Lean and green in the transport and logistics sector – a case study of simultaneous deployment , 2016 .

[11]  Computer Staff,et al.  The Machine That Changed the World , 1992 .

[12]  Wendy L. Tate,et al.  Green, lean, and global supply chains , 2010 .

[13]  Kannan Govindan,et al.  An investigation on lean-green implementation practices in Indian SMEs using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach , 2016 .

[14]  Gulshan Chauhan,et al.  Measuring parameters of lean manufacturing realization , 2012 .

[15]  Philipp Nadel,et al.  The Machine That Changed The World , 2016 .

[16]  Trevor Mills.  Measuring business excellence , 1995 .

[17]  Riza Sulaiman,et al.  A Conceptual Model of Lean Manufacturing Dimensions , 2013 .

[18]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  Lean and green – a systematic review of the state of the art literature , 2015 .

[19]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  The impact of lean methods and tools on the operational performance of manufacturing organisations , 2014 .

[20]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  A Lean Six Sigma framework for the reduction of ship loading commercial time in the iron ore pelletising industry , 2016 .

[21]  L. V. Wassenhove,et al.  Sustainable Operations Management , 2005 .

[22]  Ellinger Alexander Enrique.  The relationship between marketing/logistics interdepartmental integration and performance in U.S. manufacturing firms : an empirical study , 1997 .

[23]  Andrea Vinelli,et al.  Lean and green in action: interdependencies and performance of pollution prevention projects , 2014 .

[24]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  An integrated methodology to prioritise improvement initiatives in low volume-high integrity product manufacturing organisations , 2013 .

[25]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes.  A systematic approach to diagnose the current status of quality management systems and business processes , 2018, Bus. Process. Manag. J..

[26]  Maurizio Bevilacqua,et al.  Implementing lean information management: the case study of an automotive company , 2015 .

[27]  Ioannis Manikas,et al.  Lean and Green , 2016 .

[28]  Abhijeet K. Digalwar,et al.  Green manufacturing performance measures: an empirical investigation from Indian manufacturing industries , 2013 .

[29]  Joseph Sarkis,et al.  The relationship between ISO 14001 and continuous source reduction programs , 2000 .

[30]  José Roberto Xavier Alves,et al.  Production management model integrating the principles of lean manufacturing and sustainability supported by the cultural transformation of a company , 2015 .

[31]  Anass Cherrafi,et al.  The integration of lean manufacturing, Six Sigma and sustainability: A literature review and future research directions for developing a specific model , 2016 .

[32]  R. Domingo,et al.  Model of efficient and sustainable improvements in a lean production system through processes of environmental innovation , 2013 .

[33]  Susana Garrido Azevedo,et al.  Modelling green and lean supply chains: An eco-efficiency perspective , 2017 .

[34]  Timothy J. Larson,et al.  Perfect complements: Synergies between lean production and eco‐sustainability initiatives , 2004 .

[35]  Andrea Chiarini,et al.  Sustainable manufacturing-greening processes using specific Lean Production tools: an empirical observation from European motorcycle component manufacturers , 2014 .

[36]  Rachna Shah,et al.  Defining and developing measures of lean production , 2007 .

[37]  Steven A. Melnyk,et al.  Core values and environmental management : A Strong Inference Approach , 2004 .

[38]  Anass Cherrafi,et al.  Exploring Critical Success Factors for Implementing Green Lean Six Sigma , 2017 .

[39]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  Green lean and the need for Six Sigma , 2015 .

[40]  Margareta Norell Bergendahl.  Stödmetoder och samverkan i produktutveckling , 1992 .

[41]  Ruisheng Ng,et al.  Integrating and implementing Lean and Green practices based on proposition of Carbon-Value Efficiency metric , 2015 .

[42]  Kuan Yew Wong,et al.  Synergizing an ecosphere of lean for sustainable operations , 2014 .

[43]  Lean Manufacturing and the Environment:Research on Advanced Manufacturing Systems and the Environment and Recommendations for Leveraging Better Environmental Performance , 2004 .

[44]  Andrea Vinelli,et al.  Interrelationships among lean bundles and their effects on operational performance , 2008 .

[45]  Virgílio António Cruz Machado,et al.  Lean, agile, resilient and green supply chain: a review , 2009 .

[46]  Rui M. Sousa,et al.  Towards Eco-efficient Lean Production Systems , 2010, BASYS.

[47]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  A conceptual framework for the implementation of quality management systems , 2015 .

[48]  C. Biggs,et al.  Exploration of the integration of Lean and environmental improvement , 2009 .

[49]  Colin Herron,et al.  The transfer of selected lean manufacturing techniques from Japanese automotive manufacturing into general manufacturing (UK) through change agents , 2008 .

[50]  Paul R. McCright,et al.  Are Lean and Green Programs Synergistic , 2009 .

[51]  R. Klassen,et al.  Lean management and supply management: their role in green practices and performance , 2013 .

[52]  Bertrand Rose,et al.  Lean and Green strategy: the Lean and Green House and maturity deployment model , 2016 .

[53]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  Lean road transportation – a systematic method for the improvement of road transport operations , 2016 .

[54]  Steven A. Melnyk,et al.  Core Values and Environmental Management , 2004 .

[55]  Morten Pedersen,et al.  “Lean and Green” at a Romanian secondary tissue paper and board mill—putting theory into practice , 2006 .

[56]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  A framework for the integration of Green and Lean Six Sigma for superior sustainability performance , 2017, Int. J. Prod. Res..

[57]  Tom McCarty,et al.  Six sigma for sustainability : how organizations design and deploy winning environmental programs , 2011 .

[58]  Mattias Lindahl.  Engineering Designers' Requirements on Design for Environment Methods and Tools , 2005 .

[59]  N. Nayab.  Kaizen: The key to Japan‚s competitive success , 2009 .

[60]  Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes,et al.  Building Quality Management Systems: Selecting the Right Methods and Tools , 2013 .

[61]  P. Hines,et al.  Learning to evolve: A review of contemporary lean thinking , 2004 .