A Conceptual Approach of 5S to Improving Quality and Environmental Performance of Malaysian Oil Palm Dealers

Global concerns on quality and environmentally sustainable products are giving extensive pressure on the competitiveness of Malaysian palm oil industry. As part of palm oil supply chain, the fresh fruit bunch (FFB) dealers play an important role in the development of the industry as well as contributing a significant impact on the environmental pollution. Despite the adoption of codes of practice (COPs) by dealers, recent studies reveal the problem of quality deterioration of FFB is caused by ineffective handling practices including poor housekeeping and delay in transportation. Empirical evidence shows that the quality and environmental performance of firms improve through 5S practices. Therefore, this conceptual study primarily aims to improve the existing practices for the handling of harvested oil palm by incorporating the 5S concept (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain) into COPs. In this context, several propositions are formulated based on literature. The findings of survey and case studies within FFB dealer sub-sector shall be used as input to enhance the proposed improvement work. The propositions shall be validated by a panel of experts through the Delphi technique before it can be used as a reference by FFB dealers to simultaneously improve their quality and environmental performance.