Opportunities for Cleaner Production (CP) Using Process Flow Analysis: Case Study of a Furniture Manufacturer in the City of Palhoça (SC, Brazil)

The present article was aimed at identifying opportunities for cleaner production (CP) from the process flow analysis of a furniture manufacturing company located in the municipality of Palhoca (SC, Brazil). The company was used as an exploratory case study with a qualitative approach. The criteria used for the flow analysis and for identifying the opportunities of CP were associated to the systems and technologies employed, as well as to the process analysis and to the project layout factors (stock location, movement). With this, 107.24 m2 of wasted areas were found in the production environment, of which 72.06 m2 included the floor area with material to be discarded (waste) and 66.93 m of flow lines with returns and crossings. The study identified that the total flow lines of the company represented a total of 775.58 m, with the possibility of being reduced by 29.45%. This reduction is a result of optimizing the physical space and reducing waste with material handling. Twenty-five opportunities of a CP associated to the process flow analysis (layout) were listed. The analyses also indicated that the association of CP to process flows as a preventive measure leads to a new connection between process optimization and environmental performance.