SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION - THE ULTIMATE RESULT OF A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

To fulfil market requirements, companies have introduced cost awarenes s, quality programs and techniques to become flexible. These items sho uld be handled as a continuous process of improvement. The cost awaren ess implies that e.g. material waste is avoided during production, the quality programs take care that non-qualified products are avoided, w hile flexibility results in avoiding waste of time. It is argued that a continuous improvement of efficiency, quality and flexibility will b ring a company closer to a state of sustainable internal production. H owever, as a sustainable production can be defined as an industrial pr oduction resulting in products that meet the needs and wishes of the p resent society without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and wishes, all phases during the lifetime of a pr oduct have to be considered. From a company's view this means that pro duct design, internal production and product, parts and material recov ery have to be considered in relation to the usage of materials and th e quality of products, processes and systems. As is shown, then concur rent engineering techniques are related to shop-floor improvement tech niques regarding efficiency, quality and flexibility. It is concluded that companies using sustainable production techniques will have an ad vantage over their competitors because of reduced costs, improved qual ity and better organisation of the shop-floor, while a market share in crease may be expected as a result of the costumer's sympathy for 'gre en' products. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.