| 1. |
- Shahbazi, Sasha, et al.
(author)
-
Material Efficiency Measurement: Empirical Investigation of Manufacturing Industry
- 2017
-
In: Procedia Manufacturing. - : Elsevier BV. - 2351-9789. ; 8, s. 112-120, s. 112-120
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Improving material efficiency contributes to reduce the volume of industrial waste as well as resource consumption. However, less has been published addressing on what to measure for material efficiency in a manufacturing company. This paper presents the current practice of material efficiency performance indicators in a manufacturing context through a bottom-up approach. In addition to literature review, the empirical data was collected via a multiple case study at seven global manufacturing companies located in Sweden. The results show that existing material efficiency indicators are limited and are mainly measured as a cost or quality parameter rather than environment. The limited number of measurements relates to the fact that material efficiency is not considered as a central business in manufacturing companies and is managed by environmental department with limited correlation to operation. Additionally, these measurements do not aim to reduce waste volume or improve homogeneity of generated waste.
|
|
| 2. |
- Shahbazi, Sasha, et al.
(author)
-
Comparison of Four Environmental Assessment Tools in Swedish Manufacturing: A Case Study
- 2019
-
In: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 11:7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To achieve sustainable development goals, it is essential to include the industrial system. There are sufficient numbers of tools and methods for measuring, assessing and improving the quality, productivity and efficiency of production, but the number of tools and methods for environmental initiatives on the shop floor is rather low. Incorporating environmental considerations into production and performance management systems still generally involves a top-down approach aggregated for an entire manufacturing plant. Green lean studies have been attempting to fill this gap to some extent, but the lack of detailed methodologies and practical tools for environmental manufacturing improvement on the shop floor is still evident. This paper reports on the application of four environmental assessment tools commonly used among Swedish manufacturing companies—Green Performance Map (GPM), Environmental Value Stream Mapping (EVSM), Waste Flow Mapping (WFM), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)—to help practitioners and scholars to understand the different features of each tool, so in turn the right tool(s) can be selected according to particular questions and the industrial settings. Because there are some overlap and differences between the tools and a given tool may be more appropriate to a situation depending on the question posed, a combination of tools is suggested to embrace different types of data collection and analysis to include different environmental impacts for better prioritization and decision-making.
|
|
| 3. |
- Shahbazi, Sasha, et al.
(author)
-
Material efficiency in manufacturing: swedish evidence on potential, barriers and strategies
- 2016
-
In: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 127, s. 438-450
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Improved material efficiency is a key to improve the circular economy and capturing value in industry. Material efficiency reduces the generation of industrial waste, the extraction and consumption of resources, and energy demands and carbon emissions. However, material efficiency in the manufacturing sector, as a means of improving the recyclability, reusability, reduction and prevention of industrial waste, is little understood. This study aims to investigate, on a micro-level, further material efficiency improvement opportunities, barriers and strategies in selected manufacturing companies in Sweden, focusing on increasing waste segregation into high quality circulated raw material. Improvement opportunities at large global manufacturing companies are investigated; barriers hindering material efficiency improvement are identified and categorized at two levels; and strategies that have been deployed at manufacturing companies are reviewed. Empirical findings reveal (1) further potential for improving material efficiency through higher segregation of residual material from mixed and low quality fractions (on average, 26% of the content of combustible waste, in weight, was plastics; 8% and 6% were paper and cardboard, respectively); (2) the most influential barriers are within budgetary, information, management, employee, engineering, and communication clusters; (3) a lack of actual material efficiency strategy implementation in the manufacturing companies. According to our analysis, the majority of barriers are internal and originate within the manufacturing companies, therefore they can be managed (and eradicated if possible) with sufficient resources in terms of man hours, education and investment, better operational and environmental (waste) management, better internal communication and information sharing, and deployment of material efficiency strategies.
|
|
