Human Lean Green Method—A New Approach toward Auditing Manufacturing & Service Companies

Abstract

The article presents the method of assessing the sustainable development of enterprises implemented in the form of an audit, dedicated to manufacturing and service companies. Modern organizations are heading towards the idea of sustainable development. Its essence lies in the belief that the chances of a specific economic entity for survival are possible by harmonizing economic, environmental and social aspects. Emphasizing the essential role of the human factor within the Lean Green concept and the growing popularity of the idea of CSR encouraged the authors to propose a Human Lean Green approach, on which the developed method of assessing the sustainable development of the company is based. The assessment of the company’s sustainable development is carried out by measuring the indicators obtained from the analysis of answers to questions concerning the use of good practices in manufacturing and/or service processes. The study is conducted in three areas: process improvement (Lean), environmental impact (Green) and quality and safety of the workplace (Human). The innovative elements of the method, compared to those proposed so far, are: singling out a Human module, laying emphasis on good practices that guarantee the effectiveness of operations and the possibility of assessing both manufacturing and service companies.

Enhancing the Decision-Making Process through Industry 4.0 Technologies

“…These developments naturally impact the performance of companies that have become more agile to comply with new market requirements. To this end, many companies are seizing the opportunities offered by emerging technologies, especially those related to Industry 4.0 [1], and many works have studied the relationships between Industry 4.0, lean or continuous improvement and their impact on social systems or, more generally, on sustainability issues [2][3][4][5][6].…”