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The effect of lean methods and tools on the environmental performance of manufacturing organisations

Garza-Reyes, Jose Arturo; Kumar, Vikas; Chaikittisilp, Sariya; Tan, Kim Hua

Authors

Jose Arturo Garza-Reyes

Sariya Chaikittisilp

Kim Hua Tan



Abstract

Evidence suggests that lean methods and tools have helped manufacturing organisations to achieve operational excellence, and in this way meet both traditional and contemporary organisational objectives such as profitability, efficiency, responsiveness, quality, and customer satisfaction. However, the effect of these methods and tools on environmental performance is still unclear, as limited empirical research has been conducted in this field. This paper therefore investigates the impact of five essential lean methods, i.e. JIT, autonomation, kaizen/continuous improvement, total productive maintenance (TPM) and value stream mapping (VSM), on four commonly utilised measures for the compliance of environmental performance, i.e. material use, energy consumption, non-product output, and pollutant releases. A correlation analysis modelled the relationship and effect of these lean methods on the environmental performance of 250 manufacturing organisations around the world. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used as a second pronged verification approach to ensure the validity of the results. The results indicate that TMP and JIT have the strongest significance on environmental performance, whereas kaizen/continuous improvement only showed an effect on the use of materials and release of pollutants. Autonomation and VSM did not show any impact on environmental performance. The research holds important implications for industrialists, who can develop a richer knowledge on the relationship between lean and green. This will help them formulate more effective strategies for their simultaneous or sequential implementation. The paper extends our knowledge in the lean and green field by helping us to establish and explain the given relationships between five of the most important and commonly used lean methods and the environmental performance of manufacturing organisations. No previous research had considered the studied lean methods and environmental measures of performance.

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 31, 2018
Online Publication Date Apr 1, 2018
Publication Date Jun 1, 2018
Deposit Date Apr 4, 2018
Publicly Available Date Oct 4, 2019
Journal International Journal of Production Economics
Print ISSN 0925-5273
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 200
Pages 170-180
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.03.030
Keywords autonomation, JIT, kaizen/continuous improvement, green lean, environmental performance, SEM, TPM, VSM
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/874074
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.03.030
Additional Information Additional Information : This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published version is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2018.03.030.
Contract Date Apr 4, 2018

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