Life Cycle Assessment Practices: Benchmarking Selected European Automobile Manufacturers

With the rise of environmental concerns in the general public, re-appropriated by influential politicians, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become a widely used set of tools for the management of all impacts on environment by industrial products. LCA is carried out at the very early stages of product research, development and design. This is particularly true in the automobile industry where vehicle manufacturers Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are launching several new or re-vamped models each year. The automobile industry is therefore a very emblematic sector for best practices of LCA. The paper is based on available literature and interviews with top LCA professionals in Germany-based OEMsLife cycle assessment; automobile; best practices

Life Cycle Assessment Practices: Benchmarking Selected European Automobile Manufacturers

International audienceWith the rise of environmental concerns in the general public, re-appropriated by influential politicians, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become a widely used set of tools for the management of all impacts on environment by industrial products. LCA is carried out at the very early stages of product research, development and design. This is particularly true in the automobile industry where vehicle manufacturers Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are launching several new or re-vamped models each year. The automobile industry is therefore a very emblematic sector for best practices of LCA. The paper is based on available literature and interviews with top LCA professionals in Germany-based OEM

Sustainability Best Practices : Benchmarking Results of the SUSTIS Project

This study has been conducted as part of the Sustainability and Transparency in Shipbuilding Networks (SUSTIS) project in order to benchmark sustainability practices extant in industries that share similar characteristics with shipbuilding industry. The information provided by this study is intended to be used during the mapping of sustainability arguments and eventual implementation of sustainability within the targeted company

Performance measurement on automotive assembly line

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores (Automação). Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

Greening operations: an investigation of environmental decision making

This PhD thesis belongs to three main knowledge domains: operations management, environmental management, and decision making. Having the automotive industry as the key sector, the investigation was undertaken aiming at deepening the understanding of environmental decision making processes in the operations function. The central research question for this thesis is ?Why and how do manufacturing companies take environmental decisions? This PhD research project used a case study research strategy supplemented by secondary data analysis and the testing and evaluation of a proposed systems thinking model for environmental decision making. Interviews and focus groups were the main methods for data collection. The findings of the thesis show that companies that want to be in the environmental leadership will need to take environmental decisions beyond manufacturing processes. Because the benefits (including financial gain) of non-manufacturing activities are not clear yet the decisions related to product design, supply chain and facilities are fully embedded with complexity, subjectivism, and intrinsic risk. Nevertheless, this is the challenge environmental leaders will face - they may enter in a paradoxical state of their decisions – where although the risk of going greener is high, the risk of not doing it is even higher

Building best practice automotive after sales network:The Volkswagen case

This thesis aims to analyze the service operations and networks in the automotive industry as research into the automotive After Sales service network lacks the necessary fine details and industrial feedback. Its purpose is to present the insights and lessons learned from studying the After Sales service network of Volkswagen, thereby defining a roadmap for further research, and to discuss the needs of the sector. The foremost idea in defining the research question was based on the observation that the automotive After Sales business could be improved by applying and adapting principles and methods used in other industries and in the field of Business Operations research. The initial step thereafter was an extensive external and internal literature research. The key characteristics of the automotive industry in Germany, at the VW Group, at OEMs and at the wholesale level were identified and are described in chapter two. In chapter three the primary After Sales processes are described and analyzed, from the interaction with the customer to the necessary activities at wholesale and OEM level. The proposed research methodology relied on extensive external and internal research and a qualitative and quantitative approach based on structured, in-depth interviews and direct observation. The objective of the interviews was to highlight the most important activities in the service delivery operations within the network and identify the major key factors for success or failure. The best practice dealer model is described in chapter five and was subsequently abstracted and generalized so that it can be applied to other industries too. A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), described in chapter six, was undertaken to determine the “efficient frontier” of service operations. Key performance indicators were identified from the important elements discussed and the best practices. In order to achieve an in-depth understanding of their general business models a benchmark analysis of six companies from industrial sectors complementary to the automotive business was then carried out and is described in chapter seven. The thesis highlights the development of a “best practice” network in chapter eight. This network grasps the dynamics of After Sales activities in the light of new technological developments and the experience gained from the benchmark with other industries. The thesis closes with an evaluation of the research work

Sustainable automotive design:a holistic strategy for sustainable product and materials development

The manufacture of cars has a significant impact on the environment. Car manufacturing companies are focused on how to make cars more efficient, they are introducing composites into their manufacturing processes. This thesis discusses the literature surrounding sustainable design, sustainability in car design, the current state of car manufacture and the composite materials that could be used to create a sustainable vehicle. This study uses a novel Materials/Design/Manufacture approach - using a holistic strategy to develop the material, design and manufacture of a sustainable product. This project leads to the conclusion that natural fibre reinforced composites could be used to create a car which is fully sustainable. However, the material needs to be designed with the application in mind, will need to be applied in a new manner, and manufacturing processes need developing for this to become a viable prospect. The programme of how this will be achieved is set out as series of experiments, prototypes and materials tests. Finally, a process has been developed resulting in a novel material and manufacturing process for a front wishbone component on a sustainably designed urban passenger car, this represents a step forward in the use of natural fibres in composites

Best Environmental Management Practice for the Car Manufacturing Sector Learning from frontrunners

The European automotive industry is one of the EU's largest manufacturing sectors, and the automotive value chain covers many activities largely carried out within the EU, such as design and engineering, manufacturing, maintenance and repair, and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) handling. This Best Practice report describes Best Environmental Management Practices (BEMPs), i.e. techniques, measures or actions that are implemented by the organisations within the sector which are most advanced in terms of environmental performance in areas such as energy and resource efficiency, emissions, or supply chain management. The BEMPs provide inspirational examples for any organisation within the sector to improve its environmental performance. The report firstly outlines technical information on the contribution of car manufacturing and end-of-life vehicle (ELV) handling to key environmental burdens in the EU, alongside data on the economic relevance of the sector. The second chapter presents best environmental management practice of interest primarily for manufacturing companies (car manufacturers and associated manufacturers in the supply chain) covering cross-cutting issues related to key environmental impacts (such as energy, waste, water management, or biodiversity) before exploring best practice linked to specific topics, such as supply chain management. Subsequently, specific information concerning actors in the treatment of end-of-life vehicles is presented in the third chapter, focussing in particular on best practice applicable to processers of ELVs. This Best Practice Report was developed with support from a Technical Working Group of experts from the car manufacturing and ELV sector and associated fields. The report gives a wide range of information (environmental benefits, economics, indicators, benchmarks, references, etc.) for each of the proposed best practices in order to be a source of inspiration and guidance for any company of the sector wishing to improve environmental performance. In addition, it will be the technical basis for a Sectoral Reference Document on the car manufacturing sector, to be produced by the European Commission according to the EMAS Regulation.JRC.B.5-Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

Developing a strategy for business unit of tool & die in Volkswagen Autoeuropa

The main purpose of this thesis is the develop a strategy for the Tool&Die unit in Volkswagen Autoeuropa, to contribute for competitiveness of the factory. During my work I develop a group of KPI´s to evaluate the performance and follow the implementation of the strategy, the majority of them were implement. The KPI´s are: Absenteeism, Hours of specific training, Hours by project, project stage and overtime, Machine and Press uptime, Milestone achievement, €/project, Operative results, Index of work accidents, and medical restrictions, Costs of non-quality, NC´s per stage, AK and BK per stage, Superficial report and Additional work