Implementation of environmental lean six sigma framework in an Indian medical equipment manufacturing unit: a case study

Abstract

PurposeThe present environmental concern has enforced manufacturing firms to re-evaluate their business practices to reduce the adverse impact on the environment with optimum production. Therefore, the present study aims to deal with the implementation of the environmental lean six sigma (ELSS) framework in an Indian medical equipment manufacturing industry to obtain operational and environmental sustainability.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed ELSS framework is based on the DMAIC (Define–Measure–Analyze–Improve–Control) methodology, sustainability and lean tools. The efficacy of the developed framework is tested through a case study in an Indian medical equipment manufacturing unit.FindingsIn the case company, four major issues were reported, i.e. improper material handling, non-productive movement of men and material, poor indoor air quality and rework. The ELSS project facilitates the case organization to enhance their capacity utilization from 59.25% to 74.3%, defects per million opportunities reduce from 309,523 to 48,951.44 and indoor air quality levels decrease from 156.87 to 86.85 µgm3.Research limitations/implicationsThe efficacy of the developed ELSS framework is evaluated through a case study conducted only in one Indian manufacturing environment.Practical implicationsThe present study facilitates industrial managers and practitioners to achieve sustainability and process excellence through ELSS implementation. Organizations that intend to simultaneously improve operational and environmental performance can benefit from this paper as it can be used as a guide to conduct similar projects with both operational and environmental benefits.Originality/valueThis paper presents a successful implementation of the ELSS framework in the healthcare industry to achieve operational and environmental sustainability.

Empirical analysis of strategies to overcome the barriers of LSS implementation in Indian small manufacturing enterprises: an application of ISM-MICMAC

“…To produce the quality products with minimal waste, there is essential need of LSS approach which leads to control the process statistically and diminish the wastage inside the industry (Singh and Rathi, 2023). In the past, the researchers proposed a few model to implement LSS approach in manufacturing environment but only model is not sufficient to adopt LSS comprehensively (Alexander et al , 2021).…”

“…LSS is a process that aims to eliminate waste, reduce defects and improve the quality of the product to increase efficiency (Singh et al , 2023a). In recent years, big organizations in India have tried to adopt LSS practices to improve their operational efficiency, reduce waste and enhance customer satisfaction and obtained success up to some extent (Singh and Rathi, 2023). But Indian SMEs are struggling towards adoption of LSS in their existing systems due to lack of resources, expertise, and infrastructure (Singh and Rathi, 2021b).…”

“…The demand of quality products, and quick services have directed the manufacturing industries towards adoption of emerging approaches like Six Sigma (SS), Lean Six Sigma (LSS), Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing and Just-in-time (JIT) (Vyavahare et al , 2020) (Singh and Rathi, 2023). Among these approaches, LSS is more prominent approach that combines both Lean and Six Sigma techniques and is effectively control the wastage and minimize the process variation statistically (Singh et al , 2022).…”

“…Among these approaches, LSS is more prominent approach that combines both Lean and Six Sigma techniques and is effectively control the wastage and minimize the process variation statistically (Singh et al , 2022). The LSS approach has been implemented successfully up to some extent in mature organizations like textile industry (Adikorley et al , 2017); IT support service (E.V et al , 2019); logistics (Şişman, 2022); health-care company (Singh and Rathi, 2023) and many more. Other side, literature lacks to uncover the implementation of LSS case study in context of small manufacturing industries (SMEs) of developing nations.…”

Integrated Green Lean Six Sigma-Industry 4.0 approach to combat COVID-19: from literature review to framework development

“…GLSS can be a potential solution at this juncture as it provides high-quality inpatient care at reduced costs with less environmental impact (Swarnakar et al , 2021). GLSS leads to high-quality inpatient care at low cost and a faster service level through the systematic reduction of various wastes and variations in existing systems or processes (Singh and Rathi, 2023). It reduces the length of hospital stays (LOSs) and incorporates time-saving for doctors and other health-care staff that would otherwise be wasted in nonvalued added activities (Iswanto, 2021).…”