A DMAIC Framework to Improve Quality and Sustainability in Additive Manufacturing—A Case Study

Rodrigo Rodriguez Delgadillo, Khaled Medini and Thorsten Wuest
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Rodrigo Rodriguez Delgadillo: Grenoble INP, 38031 Grenoble, France
Khaled Medini: Mines Saint-Etienne, University Clermont Auvergne, INP Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, UMR 6158 LIMOS, 42023 Saint-Etienne, France
Thorsten Wuest: Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Additive manufacturing as a key Industry 4.0 technology brings radical changes to how we execute production and services operations. However, this innovative technology has not reached maturity and research and development are still in progress to unleash its full sustainability potential. This paper aims to provide operational guidance to decision makers to jointly improve quality and sustainability performance of additive manufacturing processes. We propose a framework based on the DMAIC (Define/Measure/Analyze/Improve/Control) methodology and comprehensive pool of targeted key performance indicators (KPIs) and illustrate this framework through a single case study. The paper evidences the feasibility of extending DMAIC to the growing additive manufacturing domain to achieve quality and sustainability objectives. The case study uncovered some challenges, e.g., the need for customization to a company/industry context, which must be addressed in order to widely apply the proposed framework successfully.

Keywords: additive manufacturing; smart manufacturing; quality; sustainability; six sigma; agile manufacturing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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