Understanding the Linkages: A Dynamic Sustainability Assessment Method and Decision Making in Manufacturing Systems

Abstract

Abstract Traditional sustainability assessment conducts life cycle economic, environmental, and social impact assessment individually and utilizes multi-criteria or optimization methods for decision making. This method is usually challenged by systems thinkers who believe that system is an integrated whole with elements interconnected and the analysis requires continuous learning and understanding. In manufacturing systems, there is still a lack of understanding on linkages of economic, environmental and social activities and impacts, especially the interactions based on manufacturing system behaviors. This hinders manufacturer strategic and tactic decision making at unit process, shopfloor, and enterprise levels. This articles proposes a dynamic sustainability assessment method based on system dynamics modeling of behaviors and systemically connects economic, environmental, and social impact assessments in manufacturing system sustainability assessment. The method identifies sustainable manufacturing problems with characteristics. Creative method design from systems science is used to incorporate knowledge from system dynamics, risk assessment, sustainability assessment, and life cycle engineering to tackle complex problem, and design the method structure. A case study demonstrated that modeling based method is able to assist manufacturing practitioners and researchers understand the underlying economic, environmental, and social relations in manufacturing systems.