Multi-stage DEA as a Measurement of Progress in Environmentally Benign Manufacturing

The industrial establishment is beginning to realize the value of a sustainable enterprise. As resource consumption is most noticeable in the manufacturing sector, this activity is the usual target for reform. Research in the area of sustainability includes industrial ecology and green manufacturing, but arguably all fall under the umbrella of Environmentally Benign Manufacturing (EBM). Generally, EBM is enacted with three areas: Manufacturing, Research and Design (R&D), and Reclaim. The computer industry has done much in the area of recycling, seeking to reuse the valuable copper found in many components, and reclaiming the harmful lead. Yet no system is in place to assess the efficiency of a company’s EBM efforts. This research proposes use of multistage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to assess corporate enactment of EBM as work parts move from place to place in a company. The algorithm measures loss as products move from R&D to manufacturing to any recycle/reuse systems in place. When completed, a numerical value representing a company’s environmentally benign efficiency should emerge. This experimentation is directed toward establishing DEA as an internal efficiency measurement of closed-loop manufacturing systems so that EBM may be pursued in a more streamlined and educated fashion.

工业企业开始认识到可持续企业的价值。由于资源消耗在制造业最为显著，该行业通常是改革的目标。可持续性领域的研究包括工业生态学和绿色制造，但可以说都属于环境友好型制造（EBM）的范畴。一般来说，EBM在三个方面得以实施：制造、研发以及回收。计算机行业在回收利用方面做了很多工作，试图重新利用在许多零部件中发现的有价值的铜，并回收有害的铅。然而，目前还没有一个系统来评估公司在EBM方面所做努力的效率。本研究提出使用多阶段数据包络分析（DEA）来评估随着工件在公司内部流转时企业对EBM的实施情况。该算法衡量产品从研发到制造再到任何已有的回收/再利用系统过程中的损耗。完成后，应该会得出一个代表公司环境友好效率的数值。本实验旨在将DEA确立为闭环制造系统内部效率的衡量标准，以便能够以更高效和更明智的方式推进EBM。