An integrated framework using VSM, AHP and TOPSIS for simplifying the sustainability improvement process in a complex manufacturing process

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated approach for assessing the sustainability of production and simplifying the improvement tasks in complex manufacturing processes. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed approach has been investigated the integration of value stream mapping (VSM), analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). VSM is used as a basic structure for assessing and improving the sustainability of the manufacturing process. AHP is used for weighting the sustainability indicators and TOPSIS for prioritizing the operations of a manufacturing process regarding the improvement side. Findings: The results carried out from this study help the managers’ staff in organizing the improvement phase in the complex manufacturing processes through computing the importance degree of each indicator and determining the most influential operations on the production. Research limitations/implications: The major limitations of this paper are that one case study was considered. In addition, to an average set of sustainability indicators that have been treated. Originality/value: The novelty of this research is expressed by the development of an extended VSM in complex manufacturing processes. In addition, the proposed approach contributes with a new improvement strategy through integrating the multi-criteria decision approaches with VSM method to solve the complexity of the improvement process from sustainability viewpoints.