Cleaner Production and PDCA cycle: Practical application for reducing the Cans Loss Index in a beverage company
Introduction
Environmental management has emerged as a strategic factor for many organizations (Anacleto et al., 2012). In fact, environmental management has become integral to the success of a business, owing to the recognition received in the competitive market as well as the need to comply with government laws and regulations. Furthermore, the improvements generated in the processes for the implementation of sustainable practices are seen to bring about significant cost effectiveness in the long run.
Organizations that develop environmental actions and meet regulatory requirements may have some competitive advantages: higher productivity, better products, improved services, and considerable cost savings (Garcés-Ayerbe et al., 2012). In this way, they are likely to be better evaluated by customers, and gain prominence ahead of competitors.
There are several methods that facilitate the inclusion of environmental practices in different types of businesses. One of these approaches is the Cleaner Production (CP).
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) defines the term Cleaner Production (CP) as “the continuous application of an integrated environmental strategy to processes, products, and services to increase efficiency and reduce risks to humans and the environment” (UNEP, 2012). This concept connects environmental management to the economic management of an organization, i.e. emphasizes integrated development of the economic and ecological aspects.
According to Almeida et al. (2013), the economic and environmental development involves improvements in the following aspects: selection and use of materials; energy consumption; health and worker safety; as well as reduction of emissions to air, water and soil, disposal of solid waste to landfills, and environmental impacts caused by products. In other words, the efficient use of resources leads to better cost results and also reduces adverse impacts on people and the environment.
Several economic benefits can arise from the practice of CP(Shi et al., 2008). However, many organizations find it difficult to implement the actions based on this methodology, as there are limitations of conceptual, technical, political, hierarchical, economic and financial natures (Maciel and Freitasde, 2013).
Many works have addressed the integration of quality tools and environmental management systems (item 2.2.3) since the integration of quality systems and sustainability programs will bring about more advantages to the productive process than the implementation of systems alone could.
According to Stone (2006), implementation of CP may be facilitated by the use of quality tools, among which the plan-do-check-action (PDCA) method can be applied to the implementation of environmental management programs appropriate to specific organizations. This way, the actions will have a better performance, and a future vision is developed, with results based on continuous improvement.
Based on this assumption, this study builds on the model proposed by Silva et al. (2013), who presented a methodology that relates the PDCA cycle and other quality tools to CP. The objective of the present study, carried out in a beverage production company, was to implement a CP program based on the PDCA method to reduce the Cans Loss Index (CLI) of the firm. This indicator was chosen as it is directly related to both cost management (loss of inputs) and environmental management (solid waste generation) of the organization.
This article is organized as follows: the first section presents the literature review on PDCA and Cleaner Production Cycle. It is then related to the methodology used for the implementation of the study. Subsequently, we present the case study based on the beverage company. Finally, we present the main conclusions.
Section snippets
Literature review
In this review, we examine the factors that underpin the achievement of the goal. Therefore, we have discussed several studies on: PDCA cycle; Quality tools; Cleaner Production and its implementation strategies; And the incorporation of quality tools into environmental management programs.
Methodology
This research starts with a systematic review of the literature on the PDCA Cycle, the Cleaner Production program the integration between quality systems and environmental management programs. The available scientific studies were used to reconstruct existing thoughts and concepts, as well as to articulate existing knowledge from various sources. This review attempted to find possible solutions to the problem of wasted canning in the beverage industry.
For the selection of articles, the
Results and discussion
The study results present the company and the sector where the study was carried out; the step-by-step of the method applied in the enterprise; quality tools used as a support; and the results of the CLI after the implementation of the improvements.
Concluding remarks
The study has gained prominence because it integrates two distinct systems (quality and sustainability), using two known tools (PDCA and CP) to improve the company's economic and environmental performance. Economic improvements as well as reduction of waste were evident throughout the work.
The most important drawing from the investigation was the continuous improvement of the system. Finally, future studies should concern the impacts of CLI on the diversity of productivity and efficiency
References (51)
- et al.
Cleaner Production initiatives and challenges for a sustainable world: an introduction to this special volume
J. Clean. Prod.
(2013) - et al.
Benefits of management systems integration: a literature review
J. Clean. Prod.
(2015) - et al.
The roles of cleaner production in the sustainable development of modern societies: an introduction to this special issue
J. Clean. Prod.
(2010) - et al.
The theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) as option generation tool within cleaner production projects
J. Clean. Prod.
(2010) - et al.
Sustainable value and cleaner production - research and application in 19 Portuguese SME
J. Clean. Prod.
(2015) - et al.
Application of cleaner production as an important sustainable strategy in the ceramic tile plant - a case study in Guangzhou, China
J. Clean. Prod.
(2013) - et al.
Recent cleaner production advances in process monitoring and optimisation
J. Clean. Prod.
(2012) - et al.
Choosing cleaner and safer production practices through a multi-criteria approach
J. Clean. Prod.
(2013) - et al.
Strategies for sustainable solutions: an interdisciplinary and collaborative research agenda
J. Clean. Prod.
(2014) - et al.
Overview of household solid waste recycling policy status and challenges in Malaysia
Resour. Conserv. Recycl.
(2014)
Evolution of integrated management systems research on the Journal of Cleaner Production: identification of contributions and gaps in the literature
J. Clean. Prod.
Adopting PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle for energy optimization in energy-intensive SMEs
J. Clean. Prod.
Cleaner production, environmental sustainability and organizational performance: an empirical study in the Brazilian metal-mechanic industry
J. Clean. Prod.
Barriers to the implementation of cleaner production in Chinese SMEs: government, industry and expert stakeholders' perspectives
J. Clean. Prod.
Are cleaner production innovations the solution for small mining operations in poor regions? the case of Padua in Brazil
J. Clean. Prod.
Limitations of cleaner production programmes as organisational change agents I. Achieving commitment and on-going improvement
J. Clean. Prod.
A review of the circular economy in China: moving from rhetoric to implementation
J. Clean. Prod.
Cleaner production in small firms taking part in Mexico's sustainable supplier program
J. Clean. Prod.
Evaluation of the Application of the Pdca Cycle in Decision-making in Industrial Processes
Eco-efficiency and cleaner production: an analysis of the publications in four Brazilian periodicals of production engineering (in Portuguese)
Syst. Manag. Electron. J.
Reject analysis of Cement bags in the cement CSN (In Portuguese)
Cad. UniFOA Spec. Ed. Prod. Eng.
Quality improvement in manufacturing processes using SQC tools
Int. J. Eng. Res. Appl.
Continuous improvement concepts as a link between quality assurance and implementation of cleaner production: case study in the generic pharmaceutical industry
Chem. Industry Chem. Eng. Q.
Application of the PDCA cycle for distance learning improvement - case study: forest management of the federal university of paraná (in Portuguese)
Mag. For.
The importance of management processes in cleaner production results: a study in the plastic industry (In Portuguese)
Electron. Mag. Environ. Manag. Educ. Technol.
Cited by (63)
Green quality circle: Achieving sustainable manufacturing with low investment
2022, Resources, Conservation and Recycling AdvancesEnvironmental sustainability, innovation capacity, and supply chain management practices nexus: A mixed methods research approach
2021, Sustainable Production and ConsumptionMain challenges involved in the adoption of sustainable manufacturing in Uruguayan small and medium sized companies
2021, Journal of Cleaner ProductionEvaluating critical factors to implement sustainable oriented innovation practices: An analysis of micro, small, and medium manufacturing enterprises
2021, Journal of Cleaner ProductionCitation Excerpt :It helps the smaller firms optimise their resource needed to help businesses (Gitupulos et al., 2017). Silva et al. (2017) stated that firms would become more profitable when finding new methods to reduce and dispose of waste. Small enterprises attempt to incorporate these models, which will generate huge revenue by selling the products.