Process management framework for chemical waste treatment laboratories
Business Process Management Journal
ISSN: 1463-7154
Article publication date: 25 October 2019
Issue publication date: 5 March 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a process management framework for Chemical Waste Treatment Laboratories (CWTL) that can be used as a management tool to identify and manage critical process.
Design/methodology/approach
Proposition of a generic classification for categories of chemical waste; use of the ABC analysis as a tool for analysis of priority in relation to the inputs of an CWTL; use of the process matrix (variety vs volume) to identify the key resources required to perform the activities of a CWTL; and use of mapping process techniques to map the processes defined and calculate times.
Findings
The proposed framework was applied to a CWTL at University of São Paulo, Brazil, and showed that the high variability of demand is a significant factor in the management of this laboratory, requiring processes that are flexible to meet this demand. The results showed that the applicability of the production and operations management theories within the scope of process management of CWTLs, proved to be useful tools for improving the treatment efficiency of chemical waste in these facilities.
Originality/value
The novelty of this work is in the fact of using production and operations management tools in the management of CWTLs to propose diagnoses to improve the management of their processes. The proposition of a comprehensive classification for chemical wastes generated in CWTLs is also highlighted.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the unified scholarship program for undergraduate students from the University of São Paulo and Laboratory of Chemical Waste of the University of São Paulo – Campus of Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil and the Central Administration of the USP Campus of Ribeirão Preto. The authors also would like to thank the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).
Citation
Leoneti, A.B., Vitorino dos Santos, D., da Silva, R.S., Henriques Ferreira, A., César Pimenta, A. and Valle Walter Borges de Oliveira, S. (2020), "Process management framework for chemical waste treatment laboratories", Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 447-462. https://doi.org/10.1108/BPMJ-06-2019-0233
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited