Lean Six Sigma and environmental sustainability: the case of a Norwegian dairy producer

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the application of Lean Six Sigma in the continuous process industry, taking insight into the food processing industry; and to evaluate the impact of Lean Six Sigma on environmental sustainability. We present observations and experiences from the application of Lean Six Sigma at a Norwegian dairy producer, with the aim of bringing out pertinent factors and useful insights that help us to understand how Lean Six Sigma can contribute towards greater environmental sustainability in this industry type, something that is so far lacking in the extant literature.Design/methodology/approach: We adopt a single, longitudinal field study approach as we observe an entire cycle of the VSM-DMAIC Lean Six Sigma process, which evolved over a six-month period at the dairy. Findings:We highlight some of the important elements that should be considered when using LSS as a contributor towards greater environmental sustainability in fresh food supply chains. We also present some of the specific outcomes and key success criteria that became apparent to the implementation team following the deployment of the VSM-DMAIC approach. Originality/value:We demonstrate how Lean Six Sigma can be applied in the food processing industry as a contributor to greater environmental sustainability. We also make 2 useful reflections regarding the success criteria that can be used by researchers and practitioners for the effective deployment of such an approach, particularly in the continuous process industry.

Sustainability Assessment of logistics activities in a dairy: An example of an emerging economy

“…Regarding the logistic aspects, the actions occurred in the storage activities (using aluminum tanks for storage and transportation of raw milk), transportation (with an increase in the frequency of collections, initiatives to improve traceability), and processing (with producer-supplied milk separation and quality testing). Powell et al (2017) studied the application of methods to reduce waste in the Norwegian dairy chain, focusing on environmental sustainability. Logistics activities associated with loss of raw material in the movement between the links were highlighted, mainly in the processing link.…”

A Systematic Literature Review for Better Understanding of Lean Driven Sustainability

“…Both try to increase the quality of processes and products at all stages through value creation and elimination of waste [148,149,154]. Both concepts were often integrated with six-sigma and TQM methodology to strengthen quality focus of implementation [56,107,[155][156][157][158]. Integration of six-sigma is truly beneficial since lean and sustainability methodologies could leave some soft spots in terms of technical and statistical analysis tools due to their nature.…”

Towards Sustainability Through Green, Lean and Six Sigma Integration at Service Industry: Review and Framework

“…Also, LSS can be effectively applied in the food processing industry as a contributor toward the environmentally sustainable fresh food supply chain. Powell et al (2017) Continue of Table 3 Sectors Implication Source(s) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)…”

“…The literature suggests that Lean and LSS approaches make a positive contribution to the sustainable performance of organisations and offer a better culture to deploy sustainability philosophies, tools and methods (Powell, Lundeby, Chabada, & Dreyer, 2017;Cherrafi et al, 2017). Lean practices has some synergies with sustainability as waste reduction, reduction of environmental impacts as well as efficiency of water and conservation of energy, creation of greener supply chains, lead time reduction and techniques to manage people (Chiarini, 2014;Garza-Reyes, 2015a;Chugani et al, 2017), and this actions could be enhanced when Lean and Six Sigma are used together (Verrier, Rose, Caillaud, & Remita, 2014).…”