Beyond "Leanear" production: A multi-level approach for achieving circularity in a lean manufacturing context. (10th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schmitt, Thomas; Wolf, Christopher; Lennerfors, Thomas Taro; Okwir, Simon
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 318(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-10
• Subjects: Lean manufacturing -- Lean green -- Closed-loop -- Circular economy -- Reuse -- Remanufacturing; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128531
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: Despite the growth of the research on lean and green manufacturing systems, consideration of how circular economy principles complement lean has been virtually absent from the literature due to a mismatch between research on lean green, which has focused on the internal manufacturing operations (product and process levels), and research on the circular economy, which takes a broader, more holistic view of environmental impact (the system level). Only a few researchers have considered the lean and the circular together. We argue that there is a need to understand the complementarities and conflicts between "lean" and "circularity". By combining the system level with process and product levels, this paper highlights which potentials in a lean manufacturing context are identified from a circular perspective and how to realize them. In this paper, we present a critical case study conducted at a Swedish manufacturing firm/original equipment manufacturer within the heavy-duty and off-road (HDOR) industry. Our results show that the company is locked into a lean and linear production, where material waste is not seen as a resource. We present how the three levels interplay and argue that they be combined when trying to integrate circular measures into this context.