Towards Developing Sustainable Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems

This paper aims to examine the sustainable manufacturing performance of Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMSs) using existing sustainable manufacturing metrics. RMS has six key characteristics including modularity, integrability, customization, scalability, convertibility, and diagnosability. In this paper, ‘convertibility’ is quantified by considering configuration convertibility, machine convertibility, and material handling device convertibility from the RMS perspective. In addition, the performance of RMSs with different convertibility levels is also evaluated by using sustainable manufacturing metrics. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the computational approach. Results of the analysis are used to show how sustainable manufacturing performance of RMS changes as system convertibility varies. The findings show that RMS sustainable manufacturing performance can be improved by selecting a suitable level of convertibility

Economic, social and environmental impact of sustainable manufacturing: a Conceptual Study

Sustainable manufacturing practices have rapidly evolved in the recent years. The efforts of manufacturing industries to achieve sustainable production have lead to the concern for economic, environment, and social impact in Malaysia. However, there is limited research conducted to uncover the specific sustainable manufacturing practices and impact among machining industry in Malaysia. Therefore, this paper intends to investigate the impact of sustainable manufacturing practices in the Malaysian machining industry. Based on a rigorous review of literature, this paper proposes a theoretical model to test the drivers affecting sustainable manufacturing practices and its impact on economic, environment and social well being. It also provides theoretical and practical implications into management perspectives and the impact of sustainable manufacturing practice towards triple bottom line in Malaysia

Sustainable manufacturing performance evaluation tool for automotive companies

In response to the growing sustainability concerns, manufacturing companies have to formulate a set of measures to evaluate sustainable manufacturing performance, aimed at integration of sustainability aspects. Sustainability is generally evaluated by dimensions of environment, economic, and social, known as the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability. However, while the literature on sustainability is rapidly growing, only few studies have attempted to integrate sustainability into manufacturing performance evaluation. There is also no consensus yet on a standard set of sustainable manufacturing performance measures. This study aims to integrate sustainability into manufacturing performance by incorporating manufacturing performance measures with sustainable manufacturing measures. As a result, a set of initial measures for sustainable manufacturing performance evaluation believed to be suitable for automotive companies have been proposed, consisting of three factors divided into nine dimensions and a total of 41 subdimensions. In order to validate the initial measures with industry practices, a survey was conducted on the automotive companies in Malaysia. It was found that all the initial measures are highly important and thus proposed as the key measures of sustainable manufacturing performance evaluation for automotive companies. A sustainable manufacturing performance evaluation tool for automotive companies was then developed using a hybrid Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) methodology was applied to determine the structural relationships and inter-relationships amongst all the performance measures and Analytic Network Process (ANP) methodology was employed to determine the important weights of each of the performance measures by summarizing the opinions of the experts. While the tool provides a systematic approach for quantitative assessment of sustainable manufacturing performance, it is not entirely automated. Thus, for that purpose, a software-based tool named SUSMAP was subsequently developed using PHP and MySQL. Two case studies have been conducted to validate the tool. Results from the case studies suggested that the SUSMAP is easy to use and applicable to evaluate sustainable manufacturing performance in automotive companies. The tool can be used by companies for self-assessment as well as benchmarking. It shows the existing performance level on strengths and weaknesses, and where improvements need to be made. It is hoped that the proposed sustainable manufacturing performance measures and the associated SUSMAP tool can aid the automotive companies to achieve successful implementation of sustainable manufacturing so as to compete in a much more sustainable manne

Redesign for sustainable manufacturing

Sustainable manufacturing is becoming increasingly common and necessary among the different manufacturing industries around the world. It is essential to aim resources at improving the environmental, social and economic issues of manufacturing; if we, as a society, want to achieve a sustainable development. In this thesis project, two cast aluminium components are analysed throughout their product life cycle in order to know which life cycle stages should be targeted so as to improve their overall level of sustainability. These components belong to a product created by Vitsœ, a leading company in the furniture industry. The CES Edu Pack software has been used to conduct life cycle assessments and try to solve the challenge of finding the dominant life cycle phase. During the project, it has been discovered that the material life cycle phase is responsible for nearly 90% of the total energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the products life, so the next step in the project is finding ways to improve this life cycle phase’s sustainability. Relate to this issue, another big challenge in this project is finding ways to reduce the high embodied energy and CO2 emissions that come along with the aluminium industry. Consequently, in the project’s discussion and conclusion, different suggestions such as using new manufacturing systems like Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing, redesigning the product, changing the product’s material or evaluating how recycled material affects the product life cycle, are analysed and presented; finding that these suggestions can be good strategies to follow.Outgoin

A collection of tools for factory eco-efficiency

co-efficiency is generally defined as doing more with less, aiming to decouple environmental impact from economic and social value creation. This paper presents three tools to guide the implementation of eco-efficiency in factories: (1) definition and patterns of good practices for sustainable manufacturing, (2) a self-assessment tool and maturity grid, and (3) a factory modelling framework

Smart Sustainable Manufacturing Systems

With the advent of disruptive digital technologies, companies are facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Advanced manufacturing systems are of paramount importance in making key enabling technologies and new products more competitive, affordable, and accessible, as well as for fostering their economic and social impact. The manufacturing industry also serves as an innovator for sustainability since automation coupled with advanced manufacturing technologies have helped manufacturing practices transition into the circular economy. To that end, this Special Issue of the journal Applied Sciences, devoted to the broad field of Smart Sustainable Manufacturing Systems, explores recent research into the concepts, methods, tools, and applications for smart sustainable manufacturing, in order to advance and promote the development of modern and intelligent manufacturing systems. In light of the above, this Special Issue is a collection of the latest research on relevant topics and addresses the current challenging issues associated with the introduction of smart sustainable manufacturing systems. Various topics have been addressed in this Special Issue, which focuses on the design of sustainable production systems and factories; industrial big data analytics and cyberphysical systems; intelligent maintenance approaches and technologies for increased operating life of production systems; zero-defect manufacturing strategies, tools and methods towards online production management; and connected smart factories

Contributions of lean six sigma to sustainable manufacturing requirements : an Industry 4.0 perspective

Industry 4.0 is reshaping modern manufacturing with increased data availability and accessibility. Therefore, further support of the system and product lifecycles is provided. On the other hand, sustainable manufacturing gains more attention due to the environmental concerns and resource consumption. The green impact of lean six sigma has been approached in literature. However, the changes to a manufacturing system’s nature provide new insights to employ lean six sigma quality tools for further sustainability. This paper proposes a framework of using six sigma to achieve the sustainable manufacturing requirements from the perspective of Industry 4.0 and its enablers. The influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the relationship between sustainable manufacturing 6R and lean six sigma DMAIC is studied. A case study of cylindrical cell battery assembly line is used to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The framework can be adjusted to suit different types of manufacturing processes and systems

Drivers to sustainable manufacturing practices and circular economy: A perspective of leather industries in Bangladesh

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Sustainable manufacturing practices and the circular economy have recently received significant attention in academia and within industries to improve supply chain practices. Manufacturing industries have started adopting sustainable manufacturing practices and a circular economy in their supply chain to mitigate environmental concerns, as sustainable manufacturing practices and a circular economy result in the reduction of waste generation and energy and material usage. The leather industry, in spite of it contributing remarkably to a country's economic growth and stability, does not bear a good image because of its role in polluting the environment. Therefore, the leather industries of Bangladesh are trying to implement sustainable manufacturing practices as a part of undertaking green supply chain initiatives to remedy their image with the buyer and to comply with government rules and regulations. The main contribution of this study is to assess, prioritize and rank the drivers of sustainable manufacturing practices in the leather industries of Bangladesh. We have used graph theory and a matrix approach to examine the drivers. The results show that knowledge of the circular economy is paramount to implementing sustainable manufacturing practices in the leather industry of Bangladesh. This study will assist managers of leather companies to formulate strategies for the optimum utilization of available resources, as well as for the reduction of waste in the context of the circular economy

Sustainability and the Bottom Line: The Responsible Collusion of Economics, Social Responsibility, and the Environment

The Interface model has become the paradigm of sustainable manufacturing in a world where there is dwindling disagreement as to the debilitating effects of expanding landfills and increasing CO2 emissions, all of which adversely affect ecosystems and human health. In Mid-Course Correction, CEO Anderson examines the troubled past of Interface and its firm commitment to righting these wrongs while examining ways to actually begin a restorative process

A FRAMEWORK AND METRICS FOR SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AT THE PRODUCTION LINE, PLANT AND ENTERPRISE LEVELS

Sustainable manufacturing is becoming increasingly important due to scarcity of natural resources, stricter regulations and increasing customer demand for sustainable products. Sustainable manufacturing involves the use of sustainable processes and systems to produce more sustainable products. In order to meet these demands for sustainable products, manufacturing companies have to adopt numerous strategies to achieve sustainable manufacturing. The approach for evaluating sustainable products and processes have been investigated in previous work where product/process sustainability indices were proposed. However, no comprehensive methods are available for sustainable manufacturing performance evaluation at the system level. This work aims to develop two alternate methods for evaluating sustainable manufacturing performance at enterprise, plant and production line levels. First, requirements for a sustainability metrics framework are identified through studying and reviewing existing literature where the three pillars of sustainability, total life-cycle stages, and 6R concepts are concurrently addressed. Then index-and value-based methods are proposed to evaluate sustainable manufacturing performance by conducting assessment on economic, environmental and societal aspects. Finally, the application of these two methods is illustrated for a representative enterprise producing consumer electronics at the enterprise level; a case study for a satellite television dish production is used to demonstrate the application of these methods at the production line level. Results obtained from these two methods are compared and analyzed at the enterprise level. The proposed methods can provide information to a company to identify improvement strategies and for decision making for sustainable development