An integrated fuzzy framework for analyzing barriers to the implementation of continuous improvement in manufacturing

The impact of organizational culture and total quality management on the relationship between green practices and sustainability performance

Purpose

This study aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of organizational culture (OC) and total quality management practices (TQMPs) on the relationship between green practices (GPs) and sustainability performance (SP) by using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

This study proposed a conceptual research model of the relationships and formulated six hypotheses. This study used a structured questionnaire based on previous studies to collect relationship data to test these hypotheses, and 441 full-time managers from various US businesses responded. The complete and valid survey responses were then tested against the hypotheses using IBM SPSS Statistics and SEM-AMOS.

Findings

Results supported the relationships proposed in the research model. They indicated that a strong supporting OC and TQMPs might improve positive SP and GPs. Additionally, the more managers are aware of their companies' GPs, the more likely they will feel positive about the organization's SP.

Research limitations/implications

A larger sample size to ensure statistically minimum representation in several major industries would better validate the findings and help identify significant differences in industry-specific OCs, TQMPs, GPs and SPs. Similarly, ensuring a varied geographical representation (both within the USA and internationally) would help determine if the findings vary according to the respondent's location. Furthermore, collecting the data during Year 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic may have skewed the results. Thus, once the working environment has been normalized, the survey should be repeated to determine if the findings are valid post-pandemic.

Practical implications

The findings of this study provide important strategic guidance for managers who work to balance the implementation of corporate GPs and the triple bottom line dimensions of SP. For practitioners, the results showed that companies could accomplish both profitability and sustainability if they are willing to continuously pay attention to environmental issues and strategically invest in cost-efficient and eco-friendly initiatives.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the first to explore how OC and TQMPs, directly and indirectly, affect the relationship between GPs and the triple bottom line dimensions of SP. These results imply that OC and TQMPs have a significant indirect impact on the relationship between GPs and the SP dimensions.

Lean manufacturing in fabrication industry: literature review and framework proposal

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report a review of various perspectives of lean in heavy engineering and fabrication industries and to propose a framework.

Design/methodology/approach

Lean manufacturing (LM) earlier known as Toyota Production System (TPS) was mainly used by automobile industries where the operations occur in sequence and the adoption of LM was easier. When it comes to heavy engineering industries, the concept of lean can be adopted in a versatile operating environment to have more advantages by waste elimination thereby having higher profit. Thus, an effort is made to consolidate various lean perspectives, namely, barriers, principles, tools and performance measures and a framework was proposed on how various lean perspectives can be adopted in a systematic way.

Findings

A comprehensive analysis of lean from various perspectives from viewpoint of the fabrication industry are done and the review is presented. Also, the framework linking barriers, principles, tools and performance measures is being contributed as an outcome of the review.

Originality/value

The review of lean from various perspectives for the fabrication industry and the development of a framework is the original contribution of the authors.

Barriers to circular economy implementation in designing of sustainable medical waste management systems using a new extended decision-making and FMEA models

The idea of the circular economy (CE) has gained prominence in the policies of the European Union (EU), commerce, and academic studies. Basically, CE is capable of achieving the best value and resolving many of the systemic challenges in the society and commerce of a country, thus leading to sustainable development and preventing irreparable damage to the environment. Medical waste management has proved a daunting challenge with the increase in the global population and the demand for medical services. Fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making approaches try to cover the different and uncertain views of decision-makers (DMs). The present study suggests a novel strategy based on multi-objective optimization using the ratio analysis (MOORA) in the area of spherical fuzzy sets (SFSs) to counterbalance the disadvantages of the failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) method, such as the lack of weight assignment for risk factors and consideration of uncertainty. In the proposed method, first, the barriers are identified using the FMEA method, and the risk factors are given values. Then, the barriers identified using MOORA are prioritized in the spherical fuzzy (SF) area. The computational procedure of the proposed methodology is established through a case study of the barriers to circular economy implementation in designing sustainable medical waste management systems problems under an SF environment. The proposed approach was compared with IF-MOORA and was found that the results are more reliable using the proposed method, also the ranking in the MOORA method was compared with the TOPSIS method in terms of degree of correlation.

Critical analysis of Lean Six Sigma black belt certification courses offered in Brazil

Purpose

This study aims to present an overview and analyze the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) certifications offered by institutions operating in Brazil.

Design/methodology/approach

This research analyzed LSSBB certification courses offered by 48 institutions in Brazil by comparing the syllabi of the classes to the reference model proposed by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) in the Six Sigma Black Belt Body of Knowledge. This study employed the content analysis technique and hierarchical cluster analysis to analyze the data.

Findings

The results revealed a lack of standardization in the content of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) training in Brazil. 100% of the LSSBB courses analyzed covered four of the 108 techniques recommended by the ASQ Body of Knowledge (i.e. data types, measurement scales, sampling, and data collection plans and methods). In contrast, more than 75% of the courses covered all techniques related to the macro areas of organization-wide planning and deployment, organizational process management and measures, measure, and improve. The major shortcoming of LSS training is related to the macro area Design for Six Sigma framework and methodologies. LSS training is offered in a highly concentrated area in Brazil, the wealthiest region, where universities play a crucial role in disseminating LSS.

Originality/value

The literature lacks studies that critically examine LSS certification courses. There is little research on LSS in Brazil and there are no studies on LSS training in this country.

An integrated fuzzy sustainable supplier evaluation and selection framework for green supply chains in reverse logistics

Green supply chain management considers the environmental effects of all activities related to the supply chain, from obtaining raw materials to the final delivery of finished goods. Selecting the right supplier is a critical decision in green supply chain management. We propose a fuzzy green supplier selection model for sustainable supply chains in reverse logistics. We define a novel hierarchical fuzzy best-worst method (HFBWM) to determine the importance weights of the green criteria and sub-criteria selected. The fuzzy extension of Shannon's entropy, a more complex evaluation method, is also used to determine the criteria weights, providing a reference comparison benchmark. Several hybrid models integrating both weighting techniques with fuzzy versions of complex proportional assessment (COPRAS), multi-objective optimization by ratio analysis plus the full multiplicative form (MULTIMOORA), and the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) are designed to rank the suppliers based on their ability to recycle in reverse logistics. We aggregate these methods' ranking results through a consensus ranking model and illustrate the capacity of relatively simple methods such as fuzzy COPRAS and fuzzy MOORA to provide robust rankings highly correlated with those delivered by more complex techniques such as fuzzy MULTIMOORA. We also find that the ranking results obtained by these hybrid models are more consistent when HFBWM determines the weights. A case study in the asphalt manufacturing industry is presented to demonstrate the proposed methods' applicability and efficacy.