Material efficiency measurements in manufacturing: Swedish case studiesShow others and affiliations
2018 (English)In: Journal of Cleaner Production, ISSN 0959-6526, E-ISSN 1879-1786, Vol. 181, p. 17-32Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
A major factor in the continued deterioration of the global environment is unsustainable management of resources that includes the type and quantity of resources consumed and manufactured as well as the subsequent generation and treatment of wasted materials. Improved material efficiency (ME) in manufacturing is key to reducing resource consumption levels and improving waste management initiatives. However, ME must be measured, and related goals must be broken down into performance indicators for manufacturing companies. This paper aims to improve ME in manufacturing using a structured model for ME performance measurements. We present a set of ME key performance indicators (ME-KPIs) at the individual company and lower operational levels based on empirical studies and a structured literature review. Our empirical findings are based on data collected on the performance indicators and material and waste flows of nine manufacturing companies located in Sweden. The proposed model categorizes ME-KPIs into the following categories: productive input materials, auxiliary input materials, output products, and residual output materials. These categories must be measured equally to facilitate the measurement, assessment, improvement and reporting of material consumption and waste generation in a manufacturing context. Required qualities for ME-KPI suggested in literature are also discussed, and missing indicators are identified. Most of the identified ME-KPIs measure quality- and cost-related factors, while end-of-life scenarios, waste segregation and the environmental effects of waste generation and material consumption are not equally measured. Additionally, ME-KPIs must also be connected to pre-determined goals and that defining or revising ME-KPIs requires communication with various external and internal actors to increase employees’ awareness and engagement.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2018. Vol. 181, p. 17-32
Keywords [en]
Key performance indicators, Material efficiency, Sustainable production, Benchmarking, Efficiency, Manufacture, Sustainable development, Manufacturing companies, Material consumption, Performance indicators, Performance measurements, Resource consumption, Waste management
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-33400DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.215Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85042354105OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-33400DiVA, id: diva2:1188771
Note
Funding details: Knowledge Foundation; Funding text: The studies are connected to projects Innofacture, CiMMRec and SuRE BPMS. The authors acknowledge the funding received for these projects from the Swedish Knowledge Foundation, Mistra Closing the loop II and Vinnova. The research was conducted within the contexts of the XPRES initiative involving MDH and Swerea, as well as Chalmers Advanced Area of Production.
2018-03-082018-03-082020-01-07Bibliographically approved