Applying quality concepts to achieve environmental sustainability in the freight transport sector – reviewing process management and lean

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to revisit lean manufacturing and process management to review how these have targeted environmental sustainability and determine whether these have the potential to achieve environmental sustainability in small- and medium-sized companies within the freight transport sector. Design/methodology/approach The methodology for this paper was divided into three steps. The first step involved a narrative literature review, including previously designed search strings. The second step involved a snowball approach, where the identification of new sources departed from previously selected articles. The third step included a completing narrative review to search for the most recent articles published related to the purpose. The analysis was based on the identification of benefits, challenges and the potential of lean and process management to deal with environmental demands among transport companies. Findings The findings suggest a potential of lean and process management for achieving environmental sustainability, if adapted appropriately. The potential is on the operative and strategic levels, respectively. Research limitations/implications This study included two of the concepts from the quality movement from a literature perspective. Hence, there is a need for research to evaluate these results empirically. Additionally, other aspects should be studied within the quality movement for achieving environmental sustainability. Originality/value This paper aims to be a basis and a path for further theoretical and empirical research for the quality movement to support environmental sustainability. This paper particularly aims to fill part of the gap in the literature on how the freight transport sector can enhance environmental sustainability in its operations.

Business process management effectiveness and maturity through lean management practices: the Brazilian federal police experience

“…One of the main value of BPM is its different way of understanding organizational business processes from a functional perspective to an end-to-end process view and from a customer’s initial request until its full satisfaction (Maddern et al , 2014). The process management specifically is conceptualized as a way of dealing with the stages of an operation that pursue continuous process improvements and customers value creation (Navarro, 2021).…”

“…The investigations and the applications involving lean practices and BPM have already been carried out in the healthcare (Ferreira et al , 2018; Fiorillo et al , 2021) and transport sectors (Navarro, 2021) and also in universities (Hess and Benjamin, 2015). Van Assen (2018) found that lean practices are positively related to process improvement.…”

Auditoría de gestión de calidad en el servicio de transporte de carga pesada para la compañía “Transroymansur” de la ciudad de Cuenca

“…Se encontró que hay una investigación continua en este tema, utilizando diversos tipos de modelos y herramientas; sin embargo, aún quedan aspectos por resolver, como la necesidad de desarrollar modelos dinámicos que consideren otros factores y agentes en la cadena de suministro. Navarro (2021) investigó la relación entre la gestión de procesos y la sostenibilidad ambiental en las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PY-MES) del sector de transporte de carga. Aquí se expone que la gestión de procesos puede contribuir a la sostenibilidad ambiental, pero se requiere de más investigación empírica para respaldar estos hallazgos y abordar otros aspectos relacionados con la calidad del movimiento y la sustentabilidad ambiental.…”

The Influence of Lean Management Practices on Process Effectiveness: A Quantitative Study in a Public Institution

“…For that, Maldonado et al (2020) highlight essential elements such as a focus on customers, continuous improvement, standardization of processes and the search for lower costs. Navarro (2021) argues that process management combined with lean management has provided companies with effective solutions and results in terms of economic, time, and material resources.…”