i
AWARENESS OF SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING PRACTICES IN
MALAYSIAN MANUFACTURERS
SAMAN JAFARTAYARI
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
iv
Awareness of Sustainable Manufacturing Practices in
Malaysian Manufacturers
SAMAN JAFARTAYARI
A project report submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Engineering (Industrial Engineering)
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
APRIL 2010
iii
DEDICATION
This paper is dedicated to my mother, Mrs. Maryam K., my father, Mr. Mansour J.T.
and my sister, Sanaz who each gave the time and space for me to complete another
chapter of my life and also to Marya L. for her sincere and help and support. Words
cannot express my gratitude. Thank you for everything.
Also this paper is dedicated to Dr. Farzam, the great master, who taught me to
investigate the world and see the big picture and also Prof. Dr. Noordin Mohd Yusof
for all of his support and guidance.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Professor Dr.
Noordin Mohd Yusof, for his encouragement, guidance, advices and critics.
Without his continued support and interest, this project would not have been the
same as presented here. My fellow friends also are recognized for their support and
thanks for their direct and indirect involvement.
My sincere appreciation also
extends to others who have provided assistance at various occasions.
v
ABSTRACT
This research is targeted at investigating all aspects of sustainable
manufacturing awareness and practice level based on the 6R concept. Malaysian
manufacturers have been assessed and categorized into electrical and electronics
industries, engineering supporting and machinery industries, and other industries.
There were four main objectives determined for this study: determining the level of
awareness about the sustainability concept among Malaysian manufacturers,
determining the companies’ practices related to sustainability and proposing
improving actions contributing to the sustainability enhancement of products and
processes. For data collection, online questionnaire was used and there are six main
sections use to help analyze the factors and find the correlations within the factors
and their correlation with general information of the company and the person in
charge of questionnaire. Six main sections that involved are general information,
sustainability concept, three issues of society, environment and economics, energy
saving and waste tracking methods, reusing- recycling - remanufacturing, life cycle
activities and suggestions. General information and the conceptual questions were
analyzed with descriptive analysis. Likert scaled questions were analyzed with mean
score and correlation analysis (regression and ANOVA), Fisher test (for StD
differences) and T-test (for mean differences). Lastly the survey results show that the
level of awareness on sustainable manufacturing has direct relationship with the
sustainable manufacturing practices. The sustainable awareness and practices related
to most of the Rs (6Rs) is at a satisfactory level while in some of the Rs the practice
levels seem to need attention.
vi
ABSTRAK
Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji semua aspek kesedaran dan amalan bagi
sustainable manufacturing berdasarkan konsep 6R. Syarikat-syarikat pembuatan
Malaysia dinilai dan dikategorikan kepada industri elektrik dan elektronik, industri
pemesinan dan sokongan kejuruteraan, dan lain-lain industri kandungan. Terdapat
tiga objektif utama bagi kajian ini: mengkaji tahap kesedaran syarikat-syarikat
pembuatan Malaysia tentang konsep sustainable manufacturing, mengkaji amalan
syarikat 'yang berkaitan dengan sustainable manufacturing dan mencadangkan
tindakan
penambahbaikan
yang
menjurus
kepada
peningkatan
sustainable
manufacturing bagi produk dan proses. Bagi tujuan pengumpulan data, kertas soal
selidik atas talian telah digunakan dan terdapat 6 bahagian utama bertujuan bagi
menganalisis faktor-faktor dan mengkaji hubungan korelasi faktor-faktor tersebut
serta hubungannya dengan maklumat umum syarikat dan juga individu yang
bertanggung jawab terhadap kertas soal selidik. Enam bahagian utama yang terlibat
adalah: maklumat umum, konsep sustainable manufacturing, masyarakat, alam
sekitar, ekonomi, penjimatan tenaga dan kaedah pengesanan pembaziran,
penggunaan semula, kitar semula dan pengeluaran semula, aktiviti-aktiviti kitaran
hidup dan cadangan. Maklumat umum dan soalan-soaln berkaitan dengan konsep
dianalisis
dengan
menggunakan
analisis
deskriptif.
Soalan-soalan
yang
menggunakan skala Likert dianalisis dengan skor min dan analisis korelasi (regresi
dan ANOVA), ujian Fisher (bagi perbezaan StD), dan T-test (bagi perbezaan min).
Keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa tahap kesedaran terhadap sustainable
manufacturing mempunyai hubungan langsung dengan amalan sustainable
manufacturing. Kesedaran dan amalan sustainable manufacturing yang berkait rapat
dengan sebahagian besar daripada Rs (6Rs) berada pada tahap yang memuaskan
namun terdapat juga beberapa Rs yang masih memerlukan perhatian.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
TITLE
PAGE
DECLARATION ....................................................................................... ii DEDICATION .......................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... v ABSTRAK ................................................................................................. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................ vii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................. xii LIST OF APPENDIX ............................................................................. xiv 1
2
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 1 1.2 Research Background ............................................................... 2 1.3 Problem Statement .................................................................... 3 1.4 Research Objectives ................................................................. 3 1.5 Scope of the Research............................................................... 4 1.6 Significant of the Research ....................................................... 4 1.7 Thesis Organization .................................................................. 5 1.8 Conclusion ................................................................................ 6 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................. 7 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 7 viii
2.2 Sustainability ............................................................................ 7 2.2.1 Green Product And Sustainable Product ....................... 8 2.3 Sustainable Assessment ............................................................ 9 2.3.1 Life Cycle Assessment .................................................. 9 2.3.2 Brief Review on LCA ................................................... 9 2.3.3 Sustainability Elements ............................................... 11 2.3.4 6R Concept .................................................................. 14 2.3.5 Material Flow, 3R and 6R Concept............................. 15 2.3.6 Measuring and Assessment of Product Sustainability 17 2.3.7 A Generic Methodology For Assessing The 6Rs ........ 19 2.3.8 Evaluation of the Product Sustainability ..................... 21 2.4 Sustainability Perspective ....................................................... 24 2.4.1 Concept of Sustainable Society .................................. 25 2.5 Reuse and Remanufacturing ................................................... 26 2.5.1 Estimating the Reliability Before Disassembly .......... 27 3
2.6 Flow of the Comet Circle ....................................................... 29 2.7 Factorial Analysis ................................................................... 33 2.8 Likert Scale ............................................................................. 33 2.9 Conclusion .............................................................................. 34 COMPANIES PROFILE ................................................................. 35 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................ 35 3.2 Industries in Malaysia ............................................................. 36 3.2.1 Basic Metal Products Industry .................................... 36 3.2.2 Electrical and Electronics Industry ............................. 37 3.2.3 Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Industry ... 39 3.2.4 Engineering Supporting Industry ................................ 39 3.2.5 Food Industry .............................................................. 43 3.2.6 Machinery and Equipment Industry ............................ 43 3.2.7 Medical Devices Industry ........................................... 44 3.2.8 Petrochemical and Polymer Industry .......................... 45 3.2.9 Pharmaceuticals Industry ............................................ 45 3.2.10 Rubber-Based Industry ............................................. 46 ix
3.2.11 Textiles and Apparels Industry ................................. 47 3.2.12 Wood Based Industry................................................ 48 3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................ 48 4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................... 49 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 49 4.2 Methodology ............................................................................. 49 4.3 Research Process ...................................................................... 50 4.4 Survey Instrument..................................................................... 52 4.5 Data Collection ......................................................................... 57 4.5.1 Treatment of Missing Data ....................................................... 57 4.5 Data Analysis ............................................................................ 58 4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................ 58 5
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS ...................................... 59 5.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 59 5.2 Data collection and response rate ............................................. 59 5.3 Factorial Analysis ..................................................................... 60 5.4 Data Analysis ........................................................................... 63 5.4.1 General Information ........................................................ 63 5.4.1.1 Respondents’ Positions .................................... 64 5.4.1.2
Industry Categories Of Our Respondents ........ 65 5.4.1.3 Size of the Companies ....................................... 66 5.4.1.4 Standard Certification ....................................... 67 5.5 Score Mean Analysis for the Primary and Main Factors .......... 72 5.5.1 Analysis of the main means score chart: ......................... 74 5.5.2 Correlation Analysis between factors ............................ 75 5.5.2.1 Correlation Analysis for Size of the Company ... 75 5.5.2.2 Correlations of Concept factor ........................... 79 5.5.2.3 Correlations of General Practices Factor (F3).... 82 5.5.3 Suggestions received from the manufactures .................. 84 5.6 Conclusion ................................................................................ 85
x
6
Conclusion ......................................................................................... 86 6.1 Introduction .............................................................................. 86 6.2 Project Summary ...................................................................... 86 6.3 Suggestions ............................................................................... 87 6.4 Future Research ........................................................................ 89 6.5 Conclusion ................................................................................ 89 REFERENCES
APPENDIX A
................................................................................................ 90
93
xi
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE NO.
TITLE
PAGE
2.1
Sustainability elements
24
2.2
Consumer survey on weighting sustainability elements
24
5.1
Response rate
60
5.2
Main factors and variables
61
5.3
R-value for correlations of size factor
75
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO.
TITLE
PAGE
2.1
Closed loop product life-cycle
9
2.2
Life cycle analysis (a) green product design; (b) 3 ‘r’ strategy
11
2.3
Sustainability factors
14
2.4
Material flow and its interaction with 6rs
16
2.5
The product value ($) over its life-cycle stages
17
2.6
The closed loop product life-cycle system
19
2.7
A generic scoring methodology for assessing the 6rs
20
2.8
Factor design framework for sustainable assessment
23
2.9
Results of consumer survey
25
2.10
Ccurrent reuse strategy
27
2.11
Maintenance data analysis
28
2.12
Two-step methodology for lifetime prediction
29
2.13
Concept of a sustainable society the comet circle tm
30
4.1
Methodology for Phase 1
51
4.2
Methodology for Phase 2
52
4.3
Online questionnaire snapshot 1
56
4.4
Online questionnaire snapshot 2
56
5.1
Respondents' position
65
5.2
Respondents' industry category
66
5.3
Size of the companies according to their industry type
67
5.4
Quantity of standard certificates in different industries
68
5.5
Percentage of certified companies with local and international
69
xiii
5.6
Percentage of raw material used in the studeied companies
70
5.7
Industry-wise raw material used in companies
70
5.8
Life cycle stages trackability
71
5.9
Life cycle stages trackability in different industries
72
5.10
Mean score of primary factors
73
5.11
Mean score of main factors
74
5.12
correlation chart between concept index and size of company
76
5.13
correlation chart between 3 issues factor and size of company
77
5.14
correlation chart between general practices and size of company
77
5.15
correlation chart between factor 4 and size of company
78
5.16
correlation chart between reduce (f5) and size of company
78
5.17
correlation chart between factor 6 and size of company
79
5.18
Correlation chart between 3issues and concept factor
80
5.19
Correlation chart between general practices and concpet
80
5.20
Correlation chart between factor4 and concept factor
81
5.21
Correlation chart between reduce(factor 5) and concept factor
81
5.22
Correlation chart between factor 4 and general practices
82
5.23
Correlation chart between reduce(factor 5) and general practices
83
5.24
Correlation chart between factor 6 and general practices
83
5.25
Improving suggestions of manufacturers
85
xiv
LIST OF APPENDIX
APPENDIX.
A
TITLE
Questionnaire
PAGE
93
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Introduction
Achieving sustainable production or in an older perspective, green
manufacturing, has become the main part in many companies' vision.
The
economical and environmental benefits obtained as a result of having sustainable
processes and products, have put this issue in the center of attention during recent
years. There have been many strategies to achieve this goal and many efforts have
been done to increase the sustainability of the products and processes.
According to Jawahir et al., (2006a) there are six main contributing factors to
the sustainability of the products and they coined the term 6Rs (Reduce, Reuse and
Recycle Recover, Redesign, Remanufacture) to reflect them although traditionally a
3R concept (reducing resources, reusing materials, and recycling wastes and
residuals were considered as a criterion for sustainability. Thus there are many
factors related to sustainability of the products. The difficulty in assessment of
sustainability was brought about in this point, due to the fact that measuring these
factors and quantifying them to develop a sustainability index for the variety of the
products requires an impeccable methodology supporting them all. Although many
2
methodologies are offered in the recent articles, none of them can act the role of an
adjustable wrench in sustainability assessment. Therefore the issue needs more
research since the need to a determinant sustainability index is felt more and more
for different industries by the development of the technologies.
This study was started based on the target to find an assessment method for
measuring industries greenness.
The basic information for this study was to
understand the level of awareness on sustainability issues among the manufacturing
companies.
In order to investigate the level of awareness a research on sustainability
elements should be performed in accordance with 6Rs (Jawahir et al., 2006a). This
could cover the whole area of concern related to sustainability. Moreover, it would
conclude separate indices of awareness for every individual R, helping future
improvements needed for every individual factor. The indices can also be used for
any legislation amendments required for as the infrastructure contribution to
sustainability.
1.2
Research Background
Investigating the sustainability awareness is the thing that should be done in a
broad range among the manufacturers.
Due to the variety of Malaysian
manufacturers and the extent Malaysian industries are developing. We have chosen
categorized manufacturing companies according to MIDA. This is the study that has
not yet done for local manufacturers in a wide area of sustainability covering the
recently defined elements of sustainability.
3
Although there are many methodologies for assessing the sustainability of the
products, a need to a simply implementable method for sustainable assessment is
realized.
The main data and the platform of this study is the data related to
sustainability awareness level and the current practices performed for achieving the
sustainability of the products and processes. By and large, the research on the local
companies’ awareness can help us to fulfill the requirements of the assessment
models and make useful suggestions on sustainability improvements for machining
oriented manufacturers.
1.3
Problem Statement
Nowadays, many companies practice the sustainability improvements in their
processes. However comprehensive research has been conducted to investigate the
level of their awareness and the degree they are practicing these methods. Moreover,
this can give us the basic input for developing a good methodology of assessing the
sustainability of the products and processes.
1.4
Research Objectives
There are three main objectives of the study;
1. To determine the level of awareness about the sustainability concept
among the case study companies.
2. To determine the companies’ practices related to sustainability.
4
3. To propose improving actions contributing to the sustainability
enhancement of products and processes.
1.5
Scope of the Research
This research is targeted to investigating all aspect of sustainability awareness
based on a the 6Rs proposed by (Jawahir et al., 2006a). This wide area of research
can give us a broad perspective on the sustainability concept for developing an
assessment methodology.
The main sustainability assessment is aimed at the
products of the local companies and the processes involved.
1.6
Significant of the Research
This research had categorized the significance of the research into four major
groups. These four groups consist of Globe, Malaysia, studied companies, future
research.
a)
Global
Any study contributing to sustainability enhancement can have direct and
indirect impact on the environment. This can benefit the planet and human beings as
a whole.
5
b)
Malaysia
In general, this research will benefit Malaysia.
Research like this is an
approach that can suggest an improvement to increase the sustainability as a whole.
The result of the study can help and also can be the guideline to the local industry to
implement sustainability. Indirectly this research also will bring positive impact to
improve the economy that also benefits Malaysian people.
c)
Studied company
The questionnaire that will be distributed among the Malaysian
manufacturers can give them a hint for future improvement. Since they will be asked
about all the aspects of sustainability and also many details of the process
sustainability are stated, they would be motivated to future enhancements.
1.7
Thesis Organization
This study consists of six main chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction of the
study. This chapter is about the research background, problem statement, research
objectives, scope of the research and matters that related to the introduction of the
research.
Chapter 2 is the literature review of the project.
It describes the
sustainability’s definition, concepts, principle and tools that used in its assessment.
6
This chapter is the heart of the research.
This literature will be the guideline to
make sure the researcher keep on the right track in all the way completing the
research.
Chapter 3 is Malaysian companies’ profile and description of industries in
Malaysia.
Chapter 4 is the research methodology. This chapter is describe the methods
that will used by the researcher to conduct the study.
This all includes data
collection and method to do the data analysis.
Chapter 5 is result and data analysis while Chapter 6 is discussion, conclusion
and recommendations of the research.
1.8
Conclusion
In this chapter the researcher has discussed on the initial parts that should be
explained to enhance the understanding to the study. The next chapter will present
the literature review which will be used in conducting the research.
7
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Introduction
In this chapter, the discussion done based on the previous researches and case
studies that related to sustainability assessment.
The concepts and the theories
related to sustainability will be elaborated in detail to enhance the understanding to
the topic.
2.2
Sustainability
“Sustainability is broadly defined by the Brundtland Commission as
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. By extending this definition to products,
sustainable products can be defined as those products that provide environmental,
societal, and economic benefits while protecting social health and welfare, and
8
maintaining the environment, over their full life-cycle from raw materials extraction,
use, to eventual disposal, and reuse,” (Jaafar et al., 2007).
.
2.2.1
Green Product and Sustainable Product
Green product is broadly defined as a product with low environmental impact
during the use stage of its life-cycle while other stages of life-cycle have their own
environmental impact - sustainability requires a comprehensive, multi-life cycle
approach.
Therefore, it can be realized that simply manufacturing and using green
product does not totally solve the environmental problem. A clear distinction may
have to be made at this point between green and truly sustainable products.
According to this fact, industrialized countries definitely have made improvements in
the sense of being green in their use of materials while waste generation still
continues to rise. It is a worrying fact that as much as 75% of material resources
used in products and their manufacture are disposed back to the environment as
waste within a year. If this trend is not restrained over the next half decade, where
demand for resources and the resulting waste may go up tenfold, the situation may
even turn disastrous, (Jaafar et al., 2007).
9
2.3
Sustainable Assessment
2.3.1
Life Cycle Assessment
The four stages of total life-cycle of a manufactured product in a closed loop
system are: pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, use and post-use. These four stages
are revealed in Figure 2.1, (Jawahir et al., 2006b).
Figure 2.1 Closed loop product life-cycle system according to “6Rs” for perpetual
material flow (Source: Jawahir et al., 2006b)
2.3.2
Brief Review on LCA
LCA is a method for analytically assessing the environmental impacts of
products during their life cycle from the mining of raw materials through processing,
manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use, recycle, disposal, remanufacturing
10
and final disposal. Recently, many manufacturers of consumer products such as
washing machines, computer printers and monitors, photocopier, etc., have been
estimating the carrying out of LCA in products.
Market pressure, legislation,
standards, the need to preserve competitive advantage, etc., have induced the product
manufacturers to consider the environmental impact of their products. In addition to
diminishing the danger of looming regulation at the international level, the
manufacturers are aware of the societal demand for green products. Inside the
‘design and manufacturing process loop’ (Figure 2.2a), the green circle contains the
three main elements: material, energy and end-of-life.
Eco-labels supplement the 3-R strategies: Recycling, Remanufacturing and
Reuse of products (Figure 2.2b). Recycling raises decisions, which have social
implications, for the reason that many customers want their product to look new.
Remanufacturing makes new generations of the product either by upgrading the older
technology or initiating new technology. Reuse raises the questions of durability of
the product.
Three groups of tools – analysis tools, improvement tools and decision tools –
have been developed to support the LCA process.
Analysis tools are used to
discover the environmental impact of a product all over the life cycle. Improvement
tools simplify a designer’s role in improving the environmental performance of their
products. Improvement tools have been developed to address environmental issues
including minimisation of hazardous material, design for recycling, design for
disassembly, design for energy efficiency, and conformity with regulations and
standards design for remanufacture. A decision support tool is used to make the
judgment on whether or not to use the candidates (Mahalik and Soak, 2006).
11
Figure 2.2 Life cycle analysis (a) Design for better environment; (b) Three ‘R’
strategy (Source: Mahalik and Soak, 2006)
2.3.3
Sustainability Elements
“A sustainable Society realizes that Economy must function within the limits
of the Environment, and that sustainability is achieved when the greatest good is
achieved for the greatest number. It is the inequality of sharing the Environmental
and Economic resources between members of the current Society and also that of
future generations that causes instability,” (Jaafar et. al., 2007).
Six major “Sustainability Elements” have been recognized and introduced in
this model.
These are: product’s environmental impact, societal impact,
functionality, resource utilization and economy, manufacturability and recyclability/
remanufacturability (Figure 2.3) (Silva et al., 2009). Each of these elements was
further analyzed and a sub-element level was achieved with identified influencing
factors (Table 2.1). The need for introducing six specific elements that differ from
12
the conventional three broad categories (environment, society and economy) was to
incorporate processes and systems criteria that are significant in sustainability
decision making. Functionality is a key aspect of a product where upgradeability,
modularity, and maintainability all contribute to sustaining a product (Silva et al.,
2009)..
Manufacturability deals with assembly, transportation and packaging where
new legislations are coming into effect. Recyclability/remanufacturing is a very
extensive element where the electronics industry (the article’s case study) has to
focus heavily on waste minimization and resource preservation. The inputs of the
model consist of data available at the design stage of the product development
process and the output is an index that indicates the level of sustainability in the
product. This index will represent the six elements individually to gain a greater
understanding of the product’s relationship with sustainability (Silva et al., 2009).
Table 2.1: Sustainability elements
Sustainability
Sub-Elements Of Sustainability
Influencing Factors
Elements
Environmental Impact
Life Cycle Factor
Recover Rate After First Life
Recovery Cost
Potential For Next Life
Environmental Effects
Toxic Substances
Emission
Societal Impact
Ethical Responsibility
Take-Back Options
Product Pricing
Societal Impact
Safety
Quality Of Life
Functionality
Reliability
Type Of Material
Maintenance Schedule
Service Life/Durability
Maintenance Schedule
13
Functionality
Upgradeability
Ease Of Installation
Option For Upgrade
Functionality
Resource Utilization
Modularity
Modules Available
Ergonomics
Safety
Maintainability/ Serviceability
Maintenance Schedule
Energy Efficiency
Production Energy
And Economy
Energy For Use
Recycle Energy
Material Utilization
Type Of Material
Quantity Of Material
Cost Of Material
Manufacturability
Use Of Renewable Source Of Energy
Option For Other Energy Sources
Market Value
Current Market Value
Operational Cost
Cost To Operate
Packaging
Take-Back Options
Packaging Material Quantity Used
Assembly
Number Of Parts/Components
Transportation
Cost Of Transportation
Storage
Cost For Storage
Duration Of Storage
Recyclability/
Recyclability
Cost Of Recycling
Recycle Energy
Remanufacturability
Recycling Method
Type Of Material
Separability
Value Of Recycled Material
Disposability
Disposal Options
Remanufacturability
Number Of Recovered Parts
Disassembly
Number Of Parts/Components
Recovery Of Materials
Number Of Parts/Components
Type Of Material
14
Figure 2.4 Sustainability factors
2.3.4
6R Concept
In view of the material flow in a sustainable product life cycle, the 3Rs (i.e.,
reduce, reuse, and recycle) have often been referred to as crucial ingredients. A more
comprehensive and complete depiction would include three other Rs. These are
Recover, Redesign, and Remanufacture. Reduce involves activities that search for
simplifying the current design of a specified product to make possible future post-use
activities.
According to Abu-Farha and Khraisheh (2008) reduce contains the reduction
in the following sects:
15

Material use

Energy consumption

Cost

Material waste

Pollution and green house gases
Of all the end-of-life activities in the post-use stage, reuse may potentially be
the stage incurring the lowest environmental impact, mainly because it usually
involves relatively fewer processes.
Recycle refers to activities that include shredding, smelting, and separating.
Recover represents the activity of collecting end-of-life products for subsequent postuse activities (Jawahir, et al., 2006a). It may also refer to the disassembly and
dismantling of specific components from a product at the end of its useful life.
Redesign works in close conjunction with reduce in that it involves redesigning the
product in view of simplifying future post-use processes. Remanufacture is similar
to manufacturing. However, it is not conducted for the first time. By contrast, it is a
stage conducted as a subsequent operation after other post-use activities.
The
introduction of the 6R concept into a product’s life cycle seeks to attain, or at least
approach,
the
condition
of
a
perpetual
material
flow,
resulting
in
a
minimization/elimination of that product’s ecological footprint (Jaafar, 2007).
2.3.5
Interaction of the Material Flow with 3R and 6R Concept
Figure 2.4 illustrates the material flow of a product throughout its life-cycle.
The interaction between the life-cycle stages with 3R and 6R concept is also
depicted. Lean manufacturing is applicable for the first 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and
16
Recycle) while the total sustainability concept can also cover the newly added 3Rs
(Recover, Redesign, Remanufacture).
Figure 2.5 Flowchart showing the material flow and its interaction with 6Rs for
multiple life-cycle (Source: Jawahir, et al., 2006a)
The value of different life-cycle stages of product is plotted in the Figure 2.6.
The increasing trend of value is obvious during the manufacturing and premanufacturing stages. The value of product depreciated in use stage as it gets closer
to end-of-life. The product can make profit for the manufacturer at reuse stage, since
the product is not totally disposed. The value of the products can be increased in
recycling, recovering, redesigning and remanufacturing. The value of the product
after these stages remains lower than the initial value. This means lower reducing
17
costs and the benefit for the customer which can buy the product cheaper. Thus in
6R stages both manufacturer and consumer benefit.
Figure 2.6 Plot showing the product value ($) over its life-cycle stages (Source:
Jawahir, et al., 2006a)
2.3.6 Measurement and Assessment of Product Sustainability
The quantification of product sustainability is essential for a comprehensive
understanding of the sustainability component in a manufactured product. It is
becoming increasingly obvious that the societal appreciation, need, and even demand
for such a sustainability rating would become apparent with increasing societal
awareness and user value to all manufactured products. This is analogous to the
current demand for comprehensive food labeling, energy efficiency levels in
electrical appliances, and fuel consumption rating in automobiles. It is not surprising
18
that a quantifiable sustainability rating would one day be required for all
manufactured products through mandatory regulations.
Almost all previous research on sustainability assessment of products has
produced qualitative results that are mostly, with the exceptions of a few recent
efforts, difficult to quantify. Hence, these analyses are largely no analytical and less
scientific in terms of being their perceived value of contributions. Moreover, product
sustainability does not just cover a simplistic assessment of the environment as a
contributing measure; it involves a comprehensive simultaneous assessment of the
environmental, economic, and societal impact categories, which are all interrelated.
The three components of sustainability, each containing measurable indicators, can
be used to form a meaningful sustainability matrix. A large amount of information is
required to evaluate product sustainability. Adding to this predicament would be that
some of the scope of sustainability issues may also be beyond a company’s power to
control.
Ongoing work at the University of Kentucky (UK) within the Research
Institute for Sustainability Engineering (RISE) involves a multidisciplinary approach
aimed at formulating a more comprehensive method for product sustainability
assessment. A group of design, manufacturing/industrial, and materials engineers,
along with social scientists, economists, and marketing specialists are actively
participating in the program to establish the basic scientific principles for developing
a product sustainability rating system. This includes the development of a sciencebased product sustainability index = (PSI).
The importance of this type of assessment is highlighted by the growing
interest among the various business investors on the high valued industrial machinery
equipment and also to determine the Return of Investment (ROI). A comprehensive
and simple guide to determine the level of sustainable of a product design is still
lacking.
19
Figure 2.7 shows a closed loop/“cradle to cradle” product life-cycle system.
Conversely, in an open loop/“cradle to grave” life-cycle system, products are
consumed and disposed of at the end of its useful life. With this scenario, material
resource, waste output, energy usage, and other system emissions are primarily a
function of consumer demand (Jaafar, 2007).
Figure 2.7 The closed loop product life-cycle system (Source: Jaafar, 2007)
2.3.7
A Generic Methodology For Assessing The 6Rs
In terms of economy, environment and society a generic scoring methodology
for assessing the 6Rs in terms of economy, environment and society for an entire
life-cycle and subsequent life-cycles of a given product is shown in the
20
Figure 2.8.
The matrix shows the interaction between the 6Rs and the
different stages of the product life-cycle. The first life-cycle does not contain any
assessments for Reuse, Recycle, Remanufacture Recover or Redesign but is assessed
in terms of Reduce only, since the other Rs do not have any significance until the
post-use stage of the first life-cycle of the product. These have varied importance
after the use stage of the first life-cycle. The methodology for this rating is based on
the Product Sustainability Index (PSI) rating for a total life-cycle.
First, each
element in the matrix is filled by one or all of the Rs as relevant. For example in the
use stage of the second life-cycle, the product is assessed in terms of society by
considering Reduce, Reuse and Recycle only. The other three Rs do not have a
significant role to play in this particular element of the matrix and therefore are
neglected. The Rs are selected and then rated on a scale of 1-10 in terms of factors
influencing them in a particular stage of the life-cycle of the product. The average
scores for these influencing factors are taken and its percentage is calculated. The
assessment is then represented visually depending on the percentage obtained
(Jawahir et al., 2006a).
Figure 2.8 Matrix showing a generic scoring methodology for assessing the 6Rs in
terms of economy, environment and society for multiple life-cycles (Source: Jawahir
et al., 2006a).
21
2.3.8
Evaluation of the Product Sustainability
As mentioned before the significance of developing a model for evaluating
the product sustainability motivates researchers to improvise newer models. In Silva
et al. (2009) we can find a new method called sustainability scoring for evaluating a
new product for its integral elemental and overall sustainability contents impacting
the end-of-life product. This covers the effective residual use of recovered materials
in the subsequent life-cycle of the same or different products. The procedure also is
used for comparing similar products, like prior or a subsequent model, or one from a
rival.
The evaluation of products’ sustainability plays an act in a long run for
reserving the resources s which would be used for a future ‘green product’. The
economic benefits of producing green products, which have put them in the center of
attention, have been proved in many articles (Dataschefki, 1999; Dataschefki, 2002).
The need for a predictive model has been realized during the last two
decades. One of the methods is Sustainability Target Method (STM). In this model
the gap between economic value of the products and environmental impact is bridged
by calculating some economic indicators of resource productivity and ecofriendliness (Dickinson and Caudill, 2003)
Environmental effects can also be considered at the design stage (Kaebernick
et al., 2003a). Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies are brought into the
design stage as well (Kaebernick et al., 2003b)
22
Although many studies have been done on the environmental, societal and
economic effects of the products, there has been no comprehensive report trying to
quantify the inherent sustainability level.
The negative point with using LCA and other similar methods is the need to a
profound amount of data; this amount of data can barely be found and collected to
meet the requirements for running the model. The feasibility of the study is also
questioned according to the time and money needed to carry their out their
methodology.
Numbers of new methods are offered which can be run with the simple data
available in the design stage. One of them is mentioned by (Pascual and Boks, 2004)
with a case study of electronic products manufacturers.
The new method offered by (Silva et al., 2009) start with six main factors
mentioned in previous sections.
The categorization starts with 44 different
influencing factors belonging to 24 sub elements. The index is used to represent all
six main factors separately to give a great understanding of the sustainability (Figure
2.8).
23
Figure 2.9 Factor design framework for sustainable assessment (Source: Silva et al.,
2009)
In the next step, scoring of each factor in the given product is done. Scoring
is done according to a 0-1 scale (0 is the lowest and 1 is the highest). These scales
are expected to be determined by manufacturer of the products with getting
assistance of their environmental and design team working in tandem with their
marketing team. The marketing team can be a good help by conducting regular
surveys among customers. All the data will be integrated to create weighting factors.
Influencing factors can be measured according to the existing models such as EcoIndicator 99, (Sun et al., 2003).
In implementing new methodologies Silva et al. (2009) (also obvious in the
case studies) is the lack of information in the companies to fulfill the requirement of
the model. Thus, more study for developing a much simpler model is still realized.
24
2.4
Sustainability Perspective
The perspective of sustainability concept in customers’ minds differs from
that of manufacturers. According to one survey conducted by Silva et al. (2009),on
the elements of sustainability, manufacturers are more concerned about functionality
and environmental impacts while the top choices of consumers are societal impact,
functionality and resource utilization (economy). The results of this survey are
depicted in Figure 2.9.
Table 2.2: Results of consumer survey on weighting sustainability elements
(Source: Silva et al., 2009)
25
Comparison of Expectations of Manufacturers (OEM) and Consumers
Environmental Impact
Recyclability/
Societal Impact
Remanufacturability
Manufacturability
Functionality
Resource Utilization & Economy
Figure 2.10 Results of consumer survey (Source: Silva et al., 2009)
2.4.1
Concept of Sustainable Society
For the Ricoh Group to become the type of organization we envision, not
only does the Group need to realize change towards the creation of a sustainable
society but society as a whole also needs to realize such change. In 1994, we
established the Comet Circle as the basis to encourage such change. The Comet
Circle expresses the greater picture of our environmental impact reduction scheme,
which includes not only the scope of the Ricoh Group as a manufacturer and sales
company but also the entire lifecycle of our products, including upstream and
downstream of our business activities. Being well aware that product manufacturers
like Ricoh, because of their involvement in the early phases of a product's lifecycle,
can make the greatest contribution to reducing environmental impact, we engage in
all business taking into account the Comet Circle.
26
2.5
Reuse and Remanufacturing
Sustainability can make a great evolution in industries by introducing the
concept of ‘doing more with less’. This means to reduce the use of resources and
energy during the life cycle of the product (Westkamper, 2000).
This can be
satisfied by shifting the companies from an environmental perspective to recovery
strategies (i.e. recycling, remanufacturing reuse (Kaebernick et al., 2002). As the
lack of global resources is more realized the old recycling strategy doesn’t suffice for
achieving sustainability.
The more environmentally viable and economically
superior (due to the waste produced in recycling strategy) is reuse of used parts
(Kaebernick et al., 2002).
The only unattractiveness of this approach is the
uncertainty about quality of products after the first life-time which is in
responsibilities of manufacturers.
Cumulatively it benefits both society and
manufacturer. The current reuse cycle is shown in Figure 2.10. Before deciding on
the reuse of products we need environmental, technical and economic justification.
The negative point is that the products that have a slow technological development
are the only products that can be reused. The next requirement for the product is the
availability. Availability is the readiness of a product to perform end-of-life or
beginning of second life. For this stage some test should be done. First is to check if
the product can start operation well. The second is to test the reliability of the
product over certain period. Reliability can be defined as the probability that the
product can perform during the second life.
The all these test the economic
feasibility of the reuse should be considered. This can be achieved by comparing the
economy revenue and total life cycle costs (such as cleaning, remanufacturing and
testing)
27
Figure 2.11 Current reuse strategy (Source: Kaebernick et al., 2002)
2.5.1
Estimating the Reliability of the Product Or Part For the Second Life
Before Disassembly
In testing the reliability of the product, one of the concerns is the waste of
money. For decreasing the risk of wasting money in dissambly and cleaning of nonreusable items, there are some methods such as statistical methods explored by the
researchers (Kaebernick et al., 2002). Life time prediction can be done by using
either statistical reliability analysis or condition monitoring. The data required for
the first is failure data collected eiher from in-house testing or maintanance activities.
In-house testing or accelerated life testing is performed to estimate the
performance of the products over a given period. Using maintanance data is also
another source of data used for this prediction. Mainataince center of the company
records the failed items. However more coprehensive data is needed which is shown
in Figure 2.11.
28
Figure 2.12 Maintenance data analysis (Source: Kaebernick et al., 2002)
Other than statistical methods, condition monitoring (CM) is a precise
method of esimation of life cycle. In this method potential failure is predicted by
using advanced data analysis thechniques. The precision of this method is highly
dependant on the completeness of the recorded life cycle data.
In Kara et al. (2005) a more comprehensive methodology for reuse potential
estimation is seen presented in a two steps. The first step is selecting components
with reuse potential, the second step is to check the data behaviour by performing the
data analysis (Figure 2.12).
29
Figure 2.13 Two-step methodology for lifetime prediction (Source: Kara et al.
2005)
2.6
Flow of the Comet Circle
Each circle in the chart below represents our partners that can help develop a
sustainable society. The new resources harvested by the materials supplier from the
natural environment (upper right) will be turned into a product through moving from
the right to left along the upper route, finally reaching the users (customers). The
used products will follow the route below from left to right (Figure 2.13).
30
Figure 2.14 Concept of a sustainable society: The comet circle TM (Source: Ricoh,
2009)
The Steps Involved In This Concept Are Stated Herein (Ricoh 2009)
1. Identifying and reducing the total environmental impact at all stages of the
lifecycle
To reduce the environmental impact all over the product lifecycle, we
should recognize the degree of impact at each stage, from business process to
transportation, by all involved parties—the manufacturer, suppliers, customers,
and recycling companies. Using the Sustainable Environmental Management
Information System, which covers all of these stages, we identify the
environmental impact to endorse development of environmental technology and
reuse and recycling of the products, thus striving to reduce the total
environmental impact.
31
2. Putting priority on inner loop recycling and promoting a multitiered
recycling system
Resources have the highest economic value when they are manufactured
into products and used by customers. The priority should be put on reusing and
recycling products and parts, expressed as the inner loops of the Comet Circle, to
return used products to their highest economic value. When a part cannot be
reused in a product, we will recycle it as a material. In such cases, we make
every effort to recycle the part into a material with a quality as high as possible or
to recycle it in the closed loop recycling system, or a system which allows the
recycled material to be used within the closed loop of the system, thereby
achieving the highest possible economic value.
3. More economically rational recycling
In a sustainable society, used products should not be treated as waste but
as valuable resources. That is, a recycling system must be developed in which
products and money flow in opposite directions in the post-product-use stages as
well as the original production and marketing stages. Making use of an upgraded
design, has a system can be established to reuse parts repeatedly in production.
In partnership with recycling companies, we have been working on quality
improvement of recycled resources and minimization of energy used and costs
needed for reuse and recycling.
This way, we are promoting a more
economically rational recycling system that has a smaller impact on the
environment.
32
4. Reducing the needs of new resources with greater use of recovered resources
Since the initiation of the Comet Circle in 1994, a system has been built
under which used products are recovered and reintroduced into the market,
giving way to more efficient use of resources. Given the possibility that some
mineral resources may be depleted in the near future, manufacturing styles
cannot be said to be sustainable if they require large amounts of resources. We
can shift to the new style of manufacturing, whereby the value of resources is
maximized through recycling and use of new resources in production is greatly
reduced.
5. Establishing a partnership at every stage
To effectively reduce the environmental impact, close communication and
information-sharing among partners is critical. Environmental impact should be
reduced in all of its business areas through partnerships with parties at all stages
of the product lifecycle. The initiatives include the reduction of environmentally
sensitive substances in cooperation with materials and parts manufacturers,
improved efficiency in transportation, and green marketing.
We also offer
solutions to our customers to reduce the environmental impact of their offices.
Disclosing information and know-how garnered through these activities and
working with local communities helps reduce the environmental impact of
society as a whole (Ricoh, 2009).
33
2.7
Factorial Analysis
“Exploratory factor analysis may be appropriate when you have obtained
measures on a number of variables, and want to identify the number and nature of the
underlying factors that are responsible for covariation in the data. In other words,
exploratory factor analysis is appropriate when you want to identify the factor
structure underlying a set of data”(Hatcher, 1994)
2.8
Likert Scale
A Likert is a psychometric scale frequently used in survey researches and it is
a rating scale for investigating the ranking level of pre-defined variables (Likert,
1932).

Number of scales
In choosing number of scales many articles have referred and we conclude
that both reliability and validity are independent of the number of scale points used
for Likert-type items (Matell and Jacoby, 1971).
34
2.9
Conclusion
On the whole, the significance of sustainability and the need to assess the
level of sustainability is felt. The assessment can be done on both products and
processes involved. Many methodologies have been developed, but a comprehensive
methodology supporting a variety of products should be created.
The main
requirement of this assessment is the data from the current sustainability activities in
the companies. The methodology of this research can be seen in next chapter.
35
CHAPTER 3
COMPANIES PROFILE
3.1
Introduction
Manufacturing sector in Malaysia has a vast expansion and improvement by
the advent of new technologies in the country and the new governmental perspective
toward country’s self-sufficiency. The information here is based on the database of
Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), -the government's principal
agency for the promotion of the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. The
current main categories of manufacturing in Malaysia are as follows:

Basic Metal Products

Medical Devices

Electrical & Electronics

Petrochemical & Polymer

Electronics Manufacturing

Pharmaceuticals
Services

Rubber Products

Engineering Supporting

Textiles & Apparel

Food Processing

Wood-based

Machinery & Equipment
36
In the next section a brief description of the industries and the portion of their
contribution to the country’s industrial development can be seen.
3.2
Industries in Malaysia
3.2.1 Basic Metal Products Industry
Malaysia's basic metal industries, which include the iron and steel industries
and the non-ferrous metal industries, have experienced considerable growth since the
last decades along with the country's industrial development.

Iron & Steel
The Malaysian iron and steel industries sector consists of the primary
steel products such as blooms/slabs, sponge iron, hot briquetted iron (HBI), steel
billets and a very extensive range of long and flat products like hot and cold
rolled coils, coated steel coils, roofing sheets, steel pipes and sections, steel
billets, steel bars, wire rods, wire mesh, hard drawn wires, galvanized wires, steel
wire ropes, steel wire products, stainless steel pipes/pipes fittings and stainless
steel wire and fasteners. There are presently 230 companies producing these
products with an output of RM32.2 billion per annum and total employment of
30,100 workers. The iron and steel industries bridge the supply of basic raw
materials and components to other divisions of the country’s economy, especially
the construction, electrical/electronic, automotive, furniture, machinery and
engineering fabrication industries.
37
3.2.2
Electrical and Electronics Industry
The electronics industry is the dominant sector in Malaysia's manufacturing,
contributing considerably to the country's manufacturing output (29.3 per cent),
exports (55.9 per cent) and employment (28.8 per cent). In 2008, gross output of the
industry totaled RM167.2 billion (US$53.9 billion), exports amounted to RM233.8
billion (US$75.4 billion) and the industry created employment opportunities for
296,870 people.
Over the years, Malaysia's electronics industry has developed significant
capabilities and skills forth manufacture of a wide range of semiconductor devices,
high-end consumer electronic and information and communication technology (ICT)
products.Electronics manufacturers in the country have continued to move-up the
value chain to produce higher value-added products. These include intensification of
research and development efforts and outsource non-core activities domestically.The
electronics industry in Malaysia can be categorized into three sub-sectors:

Consumer Electronics
This sub-sector includes the manufacture of color television receivers,
audio visual products such as digital versatile disc (DVD) players/recorders,
home theater systems, blue-ray, mini disc, electronics games consoles and digital
cameras. The sector is represented by many renowned Japanese and Korean
companies, which have contributed significantly towards the rapid growth of the
sector.
38
The leading companies are now undertaking R&D activities in the
country to support their Asia Pacific markets. Exports of consumer electronic
products in 2008 amounted to RM21.5 billion (USD6.9 billion).

Electronic Components
Products/activities which fall under this sub-sector include semiconductor
devices, passive components, printed circuits and other electronic components
such as media, substrates and connectors. The electronics components are the
most important sub-sector and accounted for 58.7 per cent of the total investment
approved in the electronics sector in 2008.
Majority of the investments were from foreign sources. The sub-sector is
dominated by the semiconductor players, mainly undertaking packaging,
assembly and test.
The industry is very volatile and is affected by the global economic
slowdown.
It constituted 91.5 per cent of the total export of electronic
components or 38.4 per cent of the total electronics export for 2008.

Electrical
Electrical products are categorized into three sub-sectors, namely
industrial equipment sub-sector, electrical component sub-sector and household
appliances. There are presently more than 381 companies producing a wide
range of products such as household electrical appliances, wire and cables and
electrical industrial equipment.
39
3.2.3
Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) Industry
EMS providers are assuming an increasingly important role and making a
significant impact on manufacturing concerns worldwide. EMS companies function
as strategic partners to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Original Design
Manufacturers (ODMs) and Original Brand Manufacturers (OBMs) by providing
them with a full range of services from contract design and manufacturing to postmanufacturing services. By using the services of EMS providers, OEMs, ODMs and
OBMs can concentrate on their core competencies such as research and
development, brand building and marketing.
3.2.4
Engineering Supporting Industry
Malaysia's engineering supporting industries, which include the moulds and
dies, machining, metal stamping, casting, heat treatment and plating/surface
treatment industries, have developed rapidly over the last three decades in tandem
with the overall growth of the country's manufacturing sector. To-date, Malaysia is
recognised internationally for its capabilities and quality production in diverse range
of engineering activities. It has a good network of engineering supporting industries
capable of meeting the needs of OEMs in supplying parts and components and the
provision of precision engineering services globally.
Over the past five years, outsourcing has matured as a trend, and Malaysia's
engineering supporting industry is benefitting from this trend. Malaysia is a major
outsourcing
destination
for
MNCs
in
the
E&E,
automotive,
machinery
manufacturing, oil & gas, aerospace, medical, defence and photovoltaic industries.
Malaysia is at present encouraging companies to position themselves to become ‘One
40
Stop Centres' providing total solutions to customers. These ‘One Stop Centres'
would offer integrated services from product conception to serial production and
manage the entire processes including procurement, logistics, packaging, testing and
certification.

Moulds and Dies
The moulds and dies sector is the leading engineering supporting industry in
the country. There are about 400 companies currently employing some 14,000
workers of which 50% are in the skilled and professional categories. Malaysia's
moulds and dies companies have the capabilities to fabricate most types of
moulds, dies and toolings to cater to the diverse tooling needs of the
manufacturing sector.
Currently, 40% of moulds and dies produced caters toward the electrical and
electronics industries, while 27% of the output is for the plastics industry. The
moulds and dies industry in Malaysia has immense potential for growth and it
is estimated to cater for 60% of the local market demand. Future growth in the
industry will focus mainly on the production of high precision and complex
toolings for the electrical and electronics sector, while large moulds would be
for the automotive components industry.

Machining
The machining industry in Malaysia can be classified into two categories:
41
1. Companies which provide machining services to other industries on a
jobbing basis.
2. Companies which produce precision machined parts such as jigs &
fixtures, turned parts, shafts, pins, bushes and other machined
components.
Presently, there are over 170 companies in operation, providing
specialized precision machining services and general supporting machining
services to meet the demand of the local manufacturing sector. Some of these
highly integrated machining solution providers can work to machining
tolerances as low as 1 to 5 microns. Turning diameters range from as low as
1mm to about 550mm.
Most of these companies possess state-of-the-art machining centres with
milling capabilities on products sizes of up to 0.6 m3 and some have the
capabilities of machining minute precision gears and shafts for watches,
clocks and cameras. A number of these highly capable machining companies
have also diversified their activities into the design and manufacture of
automation systems and equipment mainly for the semiconductor, electrical
and electronics industries. The fast pace of development in the electrical &
electronics, machinery manufacturing and automotive industries in Malaysia
will increase the demand for machined parts and components as well as
machining services.

Metal Stamping
The metal stamping industry is an established industry in Malaysia with over
300 companies supplying stamped/pressed parts to the automotive, electrical &
electronics, machinery & equipment and precision measuring & testing
42
equipment industries. The industry is growing and developing towards high
speed stamping and into the manufacture of higher precision and miniaturized
parts. Some of the large companies are capable of stamping parts to a precision
tolerance of between 5-10 microns.

Die Casting
The die-casting sector is a major supplier of components for the electrical,
electronics, automotive and telecommunications industries. There are presently
more than 60 companies in operation. About 50% of the die-castings produced
in Malaysia cater for the needs of companies producing computers, computer
peripherals, cameras and home electrical appliances, while another 30% is for the
production of automotive components.

Plating/Surface Treatment
Malaysia's plating/surface treatment sector, comprising over 40 companies,
has the capabilities to undertake various precision processes such as batch and
continuous electroplating, precision electroplating, electroless plating, functional
electroplating, catholic electrodeposit, dacrotised treatment, phosphating,
passivation, anodizing, chromating, electroplating for the semiconductor industry
including integrated circuits and lead frames, sinter plating and physical vapour
deposition. The increasing demand for plating/surface treatment services in the
electrical, electronics, automotive and machinery component industries has
created opportunities for new ventures. Malaysia encourages the establishment
of modern plating plants to complement the country's rapid industrial
development and to address environmental concerns linked to the plating
industry.
43

Heat Treatment
There are about 20 companies in Malaysia offering heat treatment services in
continuous mesh-belt heat treatment, carburising, carbonitriding, nitriding, nitrocarburising, vacuum hardening, quenching, annealing, normalising and tempering
for a diverse range of steel manufactured products.
3.2.5 Food Industry
Malaysia's food industry is as diverse as the multi-cultures of Malaysia, with
a wide range of processed food with Asian tastes. In 2008, the food processing
industry contributed about 10% of Malaysia's manufacturing output and companies
in this industry are predominantly Malaysian-owned.
3.2.6 Machinery and Equipment Industry
The Government has identified the machinery and equipment (M&E)
industry to be one of the key areas for growth and development. The growth will
focus on the manufacture of high value-added and high technology M&E.
The long term objectives outlined under the Third Industrial Master Plan
(IMP3) for the M&E sector is to position Malaysia as :-
44
I.
The regional production hub for high technology and specialized
M&E;
II.
III.
The main distribution centre in the region for all types of M&E; and
The centre for maintenance related services, refurbishment,
reconditioning and upgrading of high technology and specialized
M&E.
Malaysia's competitive edge lies in its ability to provide engineering design
services with R&D, high skilled and knowledgeable workforce, and high technology
and high quality production at lower cost compared to other industrialized countries.
With increasing competition from lower cost producing countries, the
industry is expected to move away from the manufacture of low-end and lowtechnology M&E. Malaysia is now moving towards or focusing on high technology
and high value added M&E i.e. standard M&E for niche market, and specialized or
custom made M&E. Although Malaysia competes with developed countries where
these M&E are produced, Malaysia would have the cost competitive edge.
3.2.7
Medical Devices Industry
Malaysia continued to maintain its position as the world's leading producer
and exporter of medical gloves and catheters, supplying 80 per cent of the world
market for catheters, and 60 per cent for rubber gloves. The production of medical
gloves has moved up the value chain, with higher quality and specialty gloves being
manufactured such as low protein, powder free medical gloves, safety gloves and
clean room gloves.
45
Other medical device products manufactured in Malaysia include syringes,
surgical equipment, blood transfusion sets, blood pressure transducers, dialysis
solutions, medical gases, hypodermic /spinal/ AV fistula needles, medical tubes &
bags, diagnostic radiographic equipment, orthopedic products and procedural kits.
3.2.8 Petrochemical and Polymer Industry
The petroleum and petrochemical industry covers natural gas, petroleum
products and petrochemicals. The industry is an important sector in Malaysia with
investments totalling RM57.2 billion as at 2008.
There are more than 1,550
companies in operation, producing products ranging from common household items,
packaging materials and conveyance articles to parts and components for the
electrical
and
electronics,
automotive,
office
automation,
computer
and
telecommunications industries.
3.2.9 Pharmaceuticals Industry
Malaysian pharmaceutical manufacturers have the capability to produce
medicines in all dosage forms e.g. tablets (coated & non-coated), capsules (hard and
soft gelatine), liquids, creams, ointments, sterile eye drops, small volume injectables
(ampoules and vials), large volume infusions, dry powders for reconstitution and
active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). The principal regulatory authority on the
production, import and sale of pharmaceuticals (including traditional medicines) in
Malaysia is the Drug Control Authority (DCA) of the Ministry of Health. To date, a
46
total of 234 pharmaceutical companies with Good Manufacturing Practices
certification have registered with the DCA.
3.2.10 Rubber-Based Industry
The Malaysian rubber products industry is made up of more than 510
manufacturers producing latex products; tyres and tyre-related products; and
industrial and general rubber products. The industry employed more than 68,700
workers and contributed RM10.58 billion to the country's export earnings in 2007.
Rubber products accounted for 1.7 per cent of Malaysia's total exports and 2.3 per
cent of Malaysia exports from the manufacturing sector.
Malaysia's natural rubber production in 2007 amounted to 1.20 million tonnes
compared with 1.28 million tonnes in 2006. The major natural rubber consuming
industries for 2007 were rubber gloves 63.8%, rubber thread 13.0% and tyres and
tubes 11.8%. The total consumption of the three industries constitutes 88.6% of the
overall domestic consumption of natural rubber. The rapid growth of the industry
has enabled Malaysia to become the world's largest consumer of natural rubber latex.
The latex products sub-sector is the largest sub-sector within the rubber
products industry and comprises 163 manufacturers producing medical, household
and industrial gloves, catheters, latex threads, balloons, finger stalls and foam
products. This sub-sector accounted for 72 per cent of the total value of exports,
largely contributed by gloves, catheters and latex threads. Malaysia continued to
maintain its position as the world's leading producer and exporter of catheters, latex
threads and natural rubber medical gloves, supplying more than 80 per cent of the
47
world market for catheters, 70 per cent for latex threads and 60 per cent for rubber
gloves.
There are currently 126 companies in the tyres and tyre-related products subsector comprising nine tyre producers while the remaining companies produce
retreads, tyre treads for retreading, valves and other accessories. There are three
major tyre producers producing passenger car tyres, commercial vehicle tyres and
earthmover tyres, and another six manufacturing other types of tyres. Exports value
of rubber tyres, flaps, and inner tubes in 2007 amounted to RM891.6 million. The
industrial and general rubber products sub-sector comprises 194 companies
producing a wide range of rubber products such as mountings, beltings, hoses,
tubings, seals, and sheetings for the automotive, electrical & electronics, machinery
& equipment and construction industries, largely for the domestic market.
3.2.11 Textiles and Apparels Industry
The growth of Malaysia's textiles and apparel industry accelerated in the early
1970s when the country embarked on export-oriented industrialisation. With exports
valued at RM 10.49 while imports amounted to RM 5.46 billion thus making
Malaysia a net exporter of textiles and textile products. There are 662 licensed
companies in production with investments of RM8.3 billion. The industry employs
more than 68,264 workers.
48
3.2.12 Wood Based Industry
The wood-based industry in Malaysia comprises four major sub-sectors.
Sawn timber veneer and panel products which include plywood and other
reconstituted panel products such as particleboard/chipboard/fibreboard; mouldings
and builders' joinery and carpentry (BJC) such as doors/windows and its
components, panels and flooring board/parquet. Furniture and furniture components.
The industry is predominantly owned by Malaysian and it is estimated that 80%-90%
of the companies comprise small and medium-size (SME) establishments.
3.3
Conclusion
In this chapter, the Malaysian manufacturers and their main categories were
discussed. The next chapter will present the research methodology used for the
study.
49
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1
Introduction
This chapter presents the details of the methodology used to investigate the
level of awareness in sustainable manufacturing.
The details of the research
methodology will also be presented in flowcharts.
4.2
Methodology
The main goal of this project is ‘investigating the level of awareness on
sustainability among the manufacturing companies’. Many methods ha been offered
for assessing the sustainability of the products.
The main topic is sustainability of the product and processes involved. Due
to the broadness of this topic, a good paper review is needed. Moreover, this survey
50
should be both applicable to all types of business which in the project is determined
to be Malaysian manufacturers. An online questionnaire is used for this purpose as
an alternative data gathering method to our hard-copy questionnaire.
4.3
Research Process
The research steps and processes are defined in this subsection. The main
stages of the research are as below which are based on a guideline material (Thomas,
2004):
Phase 1:
1.
Initial planning
2.
Referring to articles, papers and standards
3.
Stating the questions that we are going to find answer for (Factorial
design)
4.
Identifying the target audience
5.
Developing the questionnaire
Phase 2:
6.
Expert Validation
7.
Determining the sample number
8.
Data Collection
9.
Data analysis
10.
Developing the reports and taking decisions
51
The detailed methodology is shown in a two flow charts, each for each phase
of the project (Figure 4.1 and 4.2). This flow chart will be the guidelines for the
whole project path.
Figure 4.1 Methodology for Phase 1
52
Figure 4.2 Methodology for Phase 2
4.4
Survey Instrument
For this exploratory study the best method is using a questionnaire to evaluate
the awareness level of manufactures. Online questionnaire was used. The details are
53
brought in the following subsections (you can also refer to Appendix A to see the
questionnaire):

Main sections of the questionnaire
This questionnaire has 6 main sections to help analyze the factors easily and
find the correlations within the factors and their correlation with general
information of the company and the person in charge of questionnaire’s filling
up. The main sections of the questionnaire
o Section 1: General Information
This section consists of general information of the company and the
person in charge of filling up the form. The size of the company, the
industry category, used materials and products were asked in this part of
the questionnaire.
o Section 2: Sustainability Concept, Society, Environment,
Economics
In this part the focus was on the understanding of the sustainability
concept and how the manufacturers take in the meaning of sustainable
manufacturing. The three main elements of sustainability were stated to
estimate the people’s awareness about them.
54
o Section 3: Energy Saving and Waste Tracking Methods
Practices about energy saving methods were stated. The questions in
this part were related to three different energy saving categories of
electricity, water and transportation-wise.
Three of the Rs of
sustainability (refer to 6R concept-literature review chapter) were
focused; Reduce, recover and redesign where the main target of this
section. The data from this part can help estimate the level of practices
done in these areas.
o Section 4: Reusing, Recycling and Remanufacturing
According to the definition of reuse, recycle and remanufacture (refer
to 6R concept-literature review chapter), different questions were asked to
assess how good factories are in practicing these concepts in their
products and processes involved.
o Section 5: Life Cycle Activities
The purpose of the questions in section 5 was to know how far the
companies can keep track of their products in life cycle stages. In other
words, the questions can help understand if the manufacturers are fully
aware of or informed about their products’ status in different stages of life
cycle comprising pre-manufacture, manufacture, use and post-use. It can
be used as a road map for developing improvement frameworks in future.
55
o Section 6: Suggestions
Any improvement should be started from the inside by soliciting their
suggestions about what are the best actions to take and what are the best
incentives that can induce the manufacturers to increase their awareness
level toward sustainability and to increase the practice level of sustainable
manufacturing.

Scaling Method
The Likert scale was applied to facilitate the analysis using statistical
software. Five scale points were used. According to section 2.8 of this paper
there is no correlation between the number of scale points used and the reliability
and validity of questions.

Online questionnaire
An online questionnaire was developed to simplify the data collection
process. It was used as an alternative data collection method to our hard copy
questionnaire. Therefore this helped us increase the response numbers. One
advantage of online survey research is that it takes advantage of the ability of the
Internet to provide access to groups and individuals who would be difficult, if not
impossible, to reach through other channels (Garton et al, 1999).
The snapshots of the developed online questionnaire can be seen in Figures
4.3 and 4.4.
56
Figure 4.15 Online questionnaire snapshot 1
Figure 4.16 Online questionnaire snapshot 2
57
4.5
Data Collection
In this stage, the contact with many manufacturers was established and the
questionnaire was sent in two different forms to target companies.

Through email and sending the online link to them

Using available personal contacts and sending them the hard copy of
questionnaire.
4.5.1
Treatment of Missing Data
Main reasons for missing data are listed herein:
 Omission during entering data from original questionnaire.
 Accidental lack of response by the respondents
 Lack of cooperation in filling up the questionnaire
The forms containing less than 5% of missing data were accepted by filling
the missing part with the mean. However, the forms with more than five percent of
missing data were dropped.
58
4.5
Data Analysis
Statistical models and software should be applied to analyze the data gathered
from the surveys. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) can be applied for exploring
the interrelationships among variables to discover if those variables can be grouped
into a smaller set of underlying factors. The decision and suggestions could be made
after the data analysis process.
4.6
Conclusion
In this chapter the discussion was done on the research methodology.
It is
important to understand the process of the research to ensure the reseach goes
smoothly. Generally, what has been done in this study consist of an exploratory
research done through a survey with the means of both hard copy and online
questionnaire. The development of the questionnaire was done according to the last
methods
59
CHAPTER 5
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
5.1
Introduction
The analysis of the data was done according to the type of questions. General
information and the conceptual questions were analyzed with descriptive analysis.
Likert scaled questions were analyzed with mean score and correlation analysis
(regression and ANOVA), Fisher test (for StD differences) and T-test (for mean
differences).
5.2
Data collection and response rate
In this stage, the contact with many manufacturers was established and the
questionnaire was sent in two different forms to target companies.

Through email and sending the online link to them
60

Using available personal contacts and sending them the hard copy of
questionnaire.
According to Table 5.1, the response rate was satisfactory, which is quite
higher than the expected rate. Achieving this high rate can be related to the close
contact method that we used and employing online questionnaire which is also an
incentive to those who see it difficult to fill up a hard copy questionnaire.
Table 5.1: Response rate
5.3
Online
Hard Copy
Distributed
40
31
Received
16
20
Response rate
40.0%
60%
Factorial Analysis
According to Factor analysis is appropriate when you want to identify the
factor structure underlying a set of data (Hatcher, 1994). After we determined the
factors of the initial questionnaire, we should reconsider all of them to decrease their
total number to simplify the analysis stage. Table 5.3 shows the primary factors.
The primary variables and the combined factors according to the Chrobach’s
Alpha method have shown in the Table 5.2. Note that there are some overlapping in
the factor categorizations. The duplication of data is done for the parts that data has
contribution to more than one variable and a new question code is assigned for the
61
duplicated data. For example there are many common questions between Economy
and Reduce factors due to the shared concept in the cost sub-section of Reduce factor
(refer to section 2.3.4).
Table 5.2: Main factors and variables
Code
F1
F2
Cronbach'
s Alpha
0.680
0.925
F3
0.807
F4
0.724
F5
F6
0.894
0.867
Combined
Factors
Concept
3Issuses
General
Practices
Recover,
Redesign and
Reuse
Reduce
Remanufactu
re and
Recycle
Primary
Factors
Concept
Economy
Environmen
t
Society
General
Practices
Recover
No. of
Questions
3
7
5
Redesign
Reuse
Reduce
Remanufact
ure
2
2
24
3
Recycle
2
2
5
6
The Chrobach’s Alpha is calculated for every each of the combined factors to
estimate reliability of the involved questions in the questionnaire and as you see in
the above-mentioned table, all the estimated alpha is satisfactory indicating a good
level of reliability.

Concept factor
Concept is the first variable for our questionnaire and it consists of the
understanding of the definition of sustainable manufacturing and its concept.
62

Economy, environment and society
These are the main elements of sustainability. Their definitions have been
written in the section 2.3.3. The main focus of this section is to assess how good
the target companies are in practicing sustainability in terms of economy,
environment and society.
What we have aimed in Economy part is cost decreasing issues which
comprises of amount of used materials and waste of materials and also energy
consumption. For environment we focus on the greenness of the products and
processes ranging from GHG emission measurement and control, controlling and
measuring the harmfulness of sewage path that is discharged to nature, toxic
materials isolation and so on.
The society factor is involved with the policies enforced on customer rights
and products’ safety and after-sale services.

General Practices
The ‘General practices’ factor is based on the life cycle analysis, reliability
analysis and also the trackability of life cycle stages. Moreover, organizing the
sustainable manufacturing courses is also considered a general practice.
Recover, Redesign, Reuse, Reduce, Remanufacture and Recycle, which were
brought in Table 5.2, are based on sustainable manufacturing 6Rs which have
been defined in section 2.3.4. The level of practice for every individual factor
has been investigated in this section of variables.
63
5.4
Data Analysis
The analysis of the data was done according to the type of questions;
o General information questions and also conceptual questions were
analyzed with descriptive analysis
o Awareness questions were analyzed using mean score analysis .The
correlation between different factors was also estimated using analysis
of variance, Fisher test (for StD differences) and T-test (for mean
differences).
5.4.1
General Information
The general information comprises of the information about the company and
the person in charge of filling up the questionnaire. The main sections of general
information are as follows:
i.
Respondents’ position
The position of the person who fills up the form within the
organization.
ii.
Industry categories of the target companies
The companies are categorized according and to Malaysian Industrial
Development Authority’s data base and for simplifying the data analysis
we combine them into three main categories.
of ‘Electrical and
Electronics Industries’, ‘Engineering supporting and also Machinary
Industries’, and Other Industries’
64
iii.
Size of the companies
The companies were classified due to their size in 5 main groups of
’0-20 employees’, ’21-50 employees’, ’51-500 employees’, ’501-1000
employees’, and ’above 1000 employees’,
iv.
Standard certification
In this part we investigate companies in terms of the local or
international standard that they are certified with. The input data was
categorized ISO 9002, MS ISO 9002, ISO 9001, ISO 14004, ISO 14001,
Other (The certificates related to green house gasses or local standards
such as Sirim.
5.4.1.1 Respondents’ Positions
The postion of the respondents in the companies has been chategorized into
two main section of Executive and Managerial postions. As illustrated in Figure 5.1,
the managerial and executive positions form 60 and 40 percent of our respondents
respectively.
65
Figure 5.1 Respondents' position
5.4.1.2 Industry Categories Of Our Respondents
Three main categories of our respondents are as follows:
1. Electrical and Electronics Industries, 64%
2. Engineering supporting and also Machinary Industries, 20%
3. Other Industries, 16%
Figure 5.2 shows the chart related to this categories and their ratio among all
the respondents.
66
Figure 5.2 Respondents' industry category
5.4.1.3 Size of the Companies
Size of the companies according to industry type can be seen in Figure 5.3.
For example in electronic industries the highest percentage belongs to ‘Above 1000’
group and the lowest percentage belongs to the small sized companies which have
21-50 employees.
67
Figure 5.3 Size of the companies according to their industry type
5.4.1.4 Standard Certification
Among the studied companies 80.6 percent of them were certified with at
least one local or international standard and every company has 1.32 numbers of
certificates on average which are categorized into:

ISO 9002

MS ISO 9002

ISO 9001

ISO 14004

ISO 14001

Other: consists of the certificates related to green house gasses or local
standards such as Sirim.
68
The quantity of standard certificates in different industry types is shown in
Figure 5.4
Figure 5.4 Quantity of standard certificates in different industries
For every each of the mentioned categories , the percentage of certified
companies can be seen in Figure 5.5.
69
Figure 5.5 Percentage of certified companies with local and international
standards

Raw Material
Raw materials used in the studied companies were categorized into the
following main groups:
 Metal
 Composite
 Synthetic Polymer
 Silicon
 Natural Organic Material
 Plastic Parts
 Natural Inorganic Material
 Other
The details is shown in Figure 5.6.
Electronic Parts
70
Figure 5.6 Percentage of raw material used in the studeied companies
The used raw material in different industry sects is depicted in Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7 Industry-wise raw material used in companies
71

Life cycle stages’ Trackability
According to the literature review chapter (refer to section 2.3.1 Life cycle
assessment), the main life cycle stages of the product are pre-manufacture,
manufacture, use and post-use.
In this part of the questionnaire we investigate the companies for the stage of
life cycles that they can track. As Figure 5.8 illustrates, the most trackable stage
for our studied companies is manufacturing stage and the less level of trackability
belongs to post-use. This means that the main focus is on manufacturing and
there is still less attention to the products after they finish their useful life. This
can convey also the meaning that the companies do not focus enough on
recovering their products.
Use stage is also a critical stage of lifecycle and tracking it can be beneficial
to both manufacturer (for developing their design according to customer needs)
and customer (due to the higher safety, reliability and performance of products
during use stage).
Figure 5.8 Life cycle stages trackability
72
Figure 5.9 shows the number of companies in different industry sect which
can track products in different stage of lifecycle. As an example, the post-use is
tracked more in Electronic and Electronics industries than that of other industries.
Or you can see that the manufacturing is the most focused stage in all industry parts
while the pre-manufacturing stage (which is related to design, redesign and material
extraction and processing) is a still a big concern of electrical and electronics
companies in Malaysia.
Figure 5.9 Life cycle stages trackability in different industries
5.5 Score Mean Analysis for the Primary and Main Factors
As it was previously mentioned in section 5.2 the primary factors chosen for
the analysis are as below:

Concept

Economy
73

Environment

Reuse

Society

Reduce

General Practices

Remanufacture

Recover

Recycle

Redesign
The mean scores of the primary factors have been illustrated in Figure 5.10.
Figure 5.10: Mean score of primary factors
The mean score for the main factors of the questionnaire which are also listed
at the following are illustrated in Figure 5.11.

Concept

3 Issues

General Practices

Recover, Redesign and Reuse
74

Reduce

Remanufacture and Recycle
Figure 5.11: Mean Score of main factors
5.5.1
Analysis of the main means score chart:
As illustrated in Figure 5.11, the highest mean score belongs to ‘Concept’
factor. This means that the concept of sustainability and the understanding of the
concept are quite in a satisfactory level. One of the main objectives of this study was
assessing the awareness level on the concept of sustainability. The conclusion that is
drawn from this part of the questionnaire can be preliminary information for any
further study on sustainable manufacturing.
75
The next factors in terms of the highest mean are ‘3issues’ and ‘Reduce’ and
General Practices. The ‘3issues’ factor is a combination of the main three elements
of sustainability or Environment, Economy and Society.
A high score in this
3elements can be another indication to a high level of sustainability awareness. This
is in line with the concept factor level which was also high.
Reduce factor is also in a satisfactory level which signifies a good level of
practice in terms of Reduce (you can refer to the definition of 6R in section 2.3.4).
General practices level of sustainability are also in an adequate level.
‘Recover, Redesign and Reuse’ and ‘Recycle and Remanufacture’ are the
factors which need the highest attention due to their low level of mean score. The
low level in these factors is evidence of their low practice level in Malaysian
manufacturers.
5.5.2
Correlation Analysis between factors
5.5.2.1 Correlation Analysis for Size of the Company
The R-values for size factor calculated from regression analysis is shown in
Table 5.3.
76
Table 5.3: R-value for correlations of Size Factor
SizeConcept
(F1)
R -value
0.50
Size-
Size-General
3issues(F2)
Practices(F3)
0.41
0.35
SizeRecoRedReu
(F4)
0.16
Size-
Size-
Reduce(F5)
RemanRecy(F6)
0.42
0.14
Though all the R-values are at low levels, in the correlation charts we can see
a slight positive correlation between Size of the company and all the main variables
except Factor 4.
However we can confidently say that there is no correlation
between Size and F4 and F6 due to their very low R-value. With a medium value of
R for Concept we can conclude that increasing the number of employees can have
positive effect on understanding the Concept of sustainable manufacturing.
(Concept
(Concept Index
Index Vs
Vs Size
Size of
of
Figure 5.12 Correlation chart between concept index and size of the company
77
Figure 5.13 Correlation chart between “3 issues” factor and size of the company
Figure 5.14 Correlation chart between general practices and size of the company
78
Figure 5.15 Correlation chart between factor 4 and size of the company
Figure 5.16 Correlation chart between reduce (F5) and size of the company
79
Figure 5.17 Correlation chart between factor 6 and size of the company
5.5.2.2 Correlations of Concept factor
Sustainability Concept (F1) Factor has a positive correlation with
understanding of the 3 sustainability elements (F2) (R=0.64), Implementing the
Reduce actions (F5) (R= 0.54), General practices of sustainability (F3) (R=0.50). No
significant correlation can be between concept factor with Implementing recover,
redesign and reuse (F4) and Implementing Remanufacture/ Recycle (F6). The related
charts can be seen in Tables 5-18 to 5-21.
80
Figure 5.18 Correlation chart between “3 issues” and concept factor
Figure 5.19 Correlation chart between general practices and concpet
81
Figure 5.20 Correlation Chart between factor 4 and concept factor
Figure 5.21 Correlation chart between reduce (factor 5) and concept factor
82
5.5.2.3 Correlations of General Practices Factor (F3)
Factor 3 has a positive correlation with F4(R=0.33) and F6 (R=0.54) and also
a significant positive correlation with F5(R=0.74). For F3, other correlations are not
significant. You can see the correlation charts of ‘General Practice’ factor in Figures
5-22 to 5-24.
Figure 5.22 Correlation chart between factor 4 and general practices
83
Figure 5.23 Correlation chart between reduce (Factor 5) and general practices
Figure 5.24 Correlation chart between factor 6 and general practices
84
5.5.3 Suggestions received from the manufactures
In this part of the questionnaire, as mentioned before in section 4.3.1.6 , we
solicit manufacturers’ suggestions toward improving the level of awareness and
practice of sustainable manufacturing.
There has been many different suggestion received from the companies.
However we categorized them in the initial grouping of suggestions which is listed
here:

Tax incentives

Implementation of environmental legislations

Measuring and controlling the sustainability level of the companies

Organizing sustainability oriented courses for increasing the awareness

Government incentives for improving sustainability

Increasing the investment in research on sustainability

Other
These data are summarized in Figure 5.25 . The greatest ranks belong to
organizing sustainability-oriented coerces, tax and government incentives.
The
lowest rank can be seen in government’s regular controlling and measurements on a
continuous sustainability practices in manufacturing companies.
85
Figure 5.25 Improving suggestions of Manufacturers
5.6
Conclusion
The survey results show that the level of awareness on sustainable
manufacturing has direct relationship with the sustainable manufacturing practices.
Among
suggestions
received
from
the
companies,
organizing
courses,
tax/governmental incentives have the highest frequencies. Redesign, Remanufacture
and Recover are the factors that need more attention. The concept of sustainability is
understandable and somehow familiar to manufacturers. Moreover, customers and
society are seen to have a high value in manufacturer’s perspective.
86
CHAPTER 6
Conclusion
6.1
Introduction
This chapter first gives a summary of the entire study. Some interesting
findings from the study will then be addressed. Suggestions to improvement and
recommendations for future studies will be given as well. Lastly, the chapter ends
with a final conclusion on the study.
6.2
Project Summary
The purpose of this study was to assess the level of sustainable manufacturing
awareness in Malaysian companies and to investigate the practices involved. Finding
out the correlation between sustainability awareness and sustainability practices was
also another target of the study.
87
A questionnaire was developed for this exploratory study. The factors were
based on the sustainability 6Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign,
Remanufacture). Experts from both industrial and academic sect reviewed the
questionnaire and a final version was prepared. An online survey was conducted (as
an additional data collection method to the hardcopy questionnaire). The hard-copy
was also sent to some manufactures through personal contact.
Factorial analysis was employed to combine the primary factors to the main
variables. Analyzing the data, the conclusion was drawn and the correlations between
factors were estimated.
Awareness level on sustainable manufacturing was proven to be high while
some shortcomings were felt in three of the factors.
Lastly, suggestions to improve were given according to the analyzed
information. The link to a future study was established and lack of a comprehensive
framework for implementing sustainability in manufacturing companies was pointed
out.
6.3
Suggestions
There were many suggestions received from the companies and then
categorized into some main groups. The most frequent group is the suggestions
related to organizing sustainability-oriented courses and tax incentives for more
sustainable companies. Analyzing the data, it is found out that there is a focus
88
needed on redesigning, recovering and remanufacturing to fill the gap of
sustainability knowledge.
There are also many actions that can be taken inducing the companies to have
a total increase in sustainability of their organization. According to section 2.6 (the
steps proposed by Ricoh) we should put the priority on inner loop of the system and
promote a multi-tired recycling system.
Another framework which can be used for implementing the sustainability in
the manufacturers is the steps proposed by Kanal Consulting (Kanal and Flores,
2009) . This paper is a blueprint to help organizations succeed in all dimensions of
sustainability. The twelve key points are:
1. Integrate sustainability into the company's vision, values, or core mission
statement.
2.
Set goals that are specific, credible, measurable, and normalized for business
changes.
3. Treat sustainability projects with the same business case requirements as
other projects.
4. Let the CEO and senior executives be the key spokespeople, and demonstrate
internal commitment.
5. Establish a strong governance model.
6.
Ensure employee engagement.
7. Drive operational efficiencies.
8. Implement technologies and policies to reduce business travel and
commuting.
9. Employ product life-cycle analysis to inform new designs.
10. Communicate internally and externally.
11. Partner with the Supply Chain.
12. Engage various stakeholders.
89
6.4
Future Research
Considering that there is no comprehensive framework developed for
increasing the awareness on sustainable manufacturing and improving the practices
involved, this research can be continued. The framework can be a good guideline for
companies to improve the sustainable practices by following determined stages and
procedures independent from their industry type.
6.5
Conclusion
The summary of what can be concluded from the survey is listed in the
following statements:

The survey results show that the level of awareness on sustainable
manufacturing has direct relationship with the sustainable manufacturing
practices.

Among suggestions received from the companies, organizing courses,
tax/governmental incentives have the highest frequencies.

Redesign, Remanufacture and Recover are the factors that need more
attention.

The concept of sustainability is understandable and somehow familiar to
manufacturers.

Customers and society has a high value in manufacturer’s perspective.
90
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