Integration model of lean and cleaner production for sustainable and responsive manufacturing in Malaysia

• Main Author: Yusup, Muhamad Zaki
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: T Technology (General); TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/20460/; https://plh.utem.edu.my/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=105849

Sustainability and responsive manufacturing were two performance criteria’s that need to be balanced to remain competitive in a challenging manufacturing environment. In achieving this equilibrium, the integration of lean and cleaner production perceived to offer a robust tactical action to meet the sustainable and responsiveness performance. Thus, the objective of this research is to develop an integration model of lean and cleaner production for a better performance on sustainability and responsiveness by Malaysian manufacturing firms. In this research, the survey data from 107 manufacturing firms in Malaysia is used. A preliminary analysis shows that the implementation of lean production in environmental management has a significant relationship to the implementation of cleaner production in layout design, logistics design, and in assessing the impacts of manufacturing systems on the economic and environmental sustainability. This was achieved through an ongoing support and commitment by management. Meanwhile, through an advanced statistical analysis using Partial Least Squared-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the validated structural models are developed. The results from PLS-SEM analysis show that lean and cleaner production practices have a direct positive effect on economic and competency sustainability with a path coefficient value () above 0.3 at the significant p-value<0.01, while only cleaner production practices has a significant effect on environmental sustainability (=0.704, p-value<0.01). Analysis also shows that both lean and cleaner production practices have produced a significant positive effect on the performance of manufacturing responsiveness at -value above 0.3, p<0.01. In the meantime, the presence of the manufacturing responsiveness as a mediator has produced a significant indirect effect on environmental and economic sustainability (>0.4, p<0.01), although the direct effect of cleaner production on economic sustainability has been compromised. Despite that, the presence of manufacturing responsiveness is apparent to break the effect on competency sustainability, although the direct effect is positive and significant. This validated integration model has a significant implication in translating the strategy and policies into action, especially to absorb any changes or uncertainty in economic and environmental sustainability issues. In addition, researchers, industrial practitioners, government and local authority can refer this integration model to understand the diverse effects of the integration of lean production and cleaner production, as well as to identify the strength and weaknesses in setting the strategy and policies to achieve the basis of implementation for sustainable and responsiveness manufacturing.