Aligning Lean Six Sigma Strategies with Environmental Challenges: A Case Study of Australian Paper

TASK A
How Australian Paper can align lean six sigma strategies to support current environmental
challenges without jeopardizing their business success.

Table of Contents
Summary.....................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4
Literature review and case study.................................................................................................................5
Literature review.....................................................................................................................................5
Case studies of firms who have successfully integrated lean six sigma efforts with the ongoing
environmental efforts..............................................................................................................................9
Findings and recommendations................................................................................................................13
Findings.................................................................................................................................................13
Recommendations.................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................14
References.................................................................................................................................................16
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................20
Table 1: The Seven lean wastes...................................................................................................................6
2Adapted from The U.S Environmental Protection Agency's professional guide to lean six sigma.............7
Table 3:Companies who have achieved in environmental efforts...............................................................9
4 Courtesy of U.S Environmental protection Agency.................................................................................12

Summary
It has become a matter of concern to not only maximize production at minimal cost but also to
ensure the environment is not destroyed in the process. As organizations strive to adopt the
radical lean six sigma strategies which will see them achieving a near perfect production system,
some have realized that it is good to try and streamline their LSS objectives with those of
environment to ensure a process that is both efficient and environment friendly while some are
still being encouraged to do so.
Among such organizations to be encouraged to do so is the Australian paper manufacturing
company, The Australian Paper. Some of the measures the company can adopt in order to
achieve this include funding of environmental efforts, participating in kaizen activities and
events among others. It is hoped that implementation of such strategies will greatly help in the
environment conservation efforts.

Introduction
Lean and six sigma are two different action plans aimed at significantly enhancing a given
process. The phrase ‘Lean Six Sigma’ was coined in the 1990s and 2000s to describe the
combination of lean and Six Sigma philosophies to provide an integrated strategy for
business performance (Ruben, Vinodh, & Asokan, 2017). Lean six sigma is a systematic team
effort-based strategy seeking to ameliorate performance by eliminating waste and defects
(Pettersen, 2009). The defects in this context refer to seven kinds of wastes namely; Over-
production, waiting, non-utilized talents, transportation, inventory, motion and extra processing.
When lean six sigma concepts are successfully implemented, it will help the firm to reduce the
variation in process, reduce production lead time and help ensure the business progresses (Salah,
Rahim, & Carratero, 2010).
Lean refers to any method that assists in identifying and eliminating wastes in any given process
(Hilton & Sohal, 2012). Lean manufacturing refers to a systematic means with which waste is
minimized in a manufacturing system without causing a drop in productivity. Lean
manufacturing highlights what adds value by reducing everything else that does not add value
(Abdul, A, & Sulaima, 2013). From the consumer perspective, value is anything that the
consumer is willing to pay for (Forrester , Shimizu , & Soriano-Meier , 2010). Six Sigma on the
other hand refers to methods that are used in improving manufacturing processes. The
terminology was introduced by an engineer in Motorola in 1986. It is intended at recognizing and
removing causative agents of defect and variations in manufacturing and business processes. Six
Sigma has DMAIC (stands for define, measure, analyze, improve and control) phases that are
used in Lean Six Sigma (Assarlind, Gremyr, & Bäckman, 2012). It refers to a method for
improving, optimizing and stabilizing manufacturing and other business processes that is driven
by data. It is this combination of Lean and Six Sigma approaches that gives rise to Lean Six
Sigma strategy that seeks to achieve a perfectly efficient production system.
With the ever-increasing environmental degradation, the world over, it no longer suffices to only
focus on a perfect system where all wastes and defects as regards resources are eliminated. It has
become a matter of priority to try and arrest the situation before the world environment is
degraded beyond repair and rendered hostile and unfit for our very selves. Therefore, firms
should not only aim at implementing Lean Six Sigma strategies but do so with an aim to ensure

that the surrounding is not destroyed. This has been the subject of many a debate as well as
research work all over the world. Many manufacturing firms all over the world have also heeded
the call and are now trying to ensure the environment is well taken care of while at the same time
trying to maintain or even improve their production levels.
This report provides a raft of recommendations derived from journal articles of research as well
as the case studies of firms that have implemented the Lean Six Sigma strategies around the
world to the Australian Paper on how best it can align, deploy and adapt Lean Six Sigma
strategies with the current environmental challenges without jeopardizing their business success.
Literature review and case study
Literature review
Implementation of lean six sigma alone without any further considerations in itself will by
default lead to environmental conservation. This is because lean six sigma aims to eliminate the
seven kinds of lean wastes some of which end up directly end up in the environment thus
polluting it as the table below will show (U.S Environmental Protection Agency, 2009).
This is an interesting finding that the Australian paper must put into consideration in order to not
only achieve a near perfect production system but to ensure a minimally degraded environment
along with it. This is because the waste types targeted by lean are the chief causes of
environmental pollution around the world. The seven types of wastes are discussed in details in
the table below

Table 1: The Seven lean wastes
Type of lean waste Impact on the environment
Overproduction
Is the manufacturing of products which have
not been ordered
 More raw materials will be required
which could have been saved
 The extra products will likely become
obsolete thus will be disposed of
 Extra chemicals used in production
will result into more environmental
pollution
Inventory
Extra raw materials, work in progress or
finished items
 Waste from damage of stored items
 More materials to be used in replacing
damaged ones
Defects
Production of products that are not good
enough resulting in rework or defective goods
 Raw materials and energy used in
production of defective products is
wasted
 The defective materials will have to be
disposed
Transport
Transportation of excess products that are not
required at that moment
 Extra unnecessary energy is used for
transport
 Extra avoidable emissions resulting
from the transportation
 Products may be damaged during
transportation
 Transporting hazardous products
require special packaging to avert
negative consequences during
accidents
Motion
Are unnecessary or straining human
 More space required for movement
thus increasing demand for lighting,