# Data-Driven Quality Improvement for Sustainability in Automotive Packaging
## 1 Introduction
These three processes are among the most common causes for one supplier's containers getting mixed with another supplier's containers. Part selection is an integral portion of sustainability in automotive packaging. While it may not be obvious how parts are designed or even the materials that are selected, they can change the type of packaging required to transport said parts safely and efficiently. Traditionally, it might be assumed that selecting more durable yet lighter materials to be included in the assembly of a vehicle is strictly to improve the fuel economy of that vehicle. While this is certainly a large consideration when it comes to material selection, it is also important to understand how material selection can impact packaging. As could be expected, heavier or oddly shaped components can require specialty packaging, which greatly increases the cost of maintaining a packaging loop. Material selection can be the determining factor of whether a component can be transported in a relatively simple tote or if a specialized rack will have to be designed to transport this part--which adds material costs, design costs, and fabrication costs that might not have been required otherwise. If any given part is damaged but is not caught by quality checks before it makes it onto the vehicle, this can lead to far more unnecessary expenditures. Some worst-case scenarios involving this would be if a vehicle found a defect in a part after the entire vehicle was assembled that damaged other parts and would make the vehicle considered a total loss. Even here, the vehicle itself is not the major cost--the loss of production time is. When an issue like this occurs in a larger time frame across many vehicles being produced, it is possible that a recall could occur for this vehicle. This is generally the most expensive mistake that can happen across vehicle production, as the company has to pay for the new part along with the costly labor required to remove the old part and install the new part. The purpose of this paper is to review the current methods for auditing packaging conditions and improving the process. Automotive companies are plagued with the environmental and social responsibility to produce the most sustainable vehicles possible using sustainable practices. All stages of the life cycle of a vehicle can have a significant impact on the environment, from the sourcing of materials to the assembly of the vehicle and even the vehicle itself [6]. The basic process for evaluating packaging involves manual data collection, entry, manipulation, and visualization. Through the creation of different tools and automation, this evaluation can be reduced to the singular manual step of data collection. With the help of a more streamlined process, it is possible to evaluate historical data to drive conversations with stakeholders and reduce expendable packaging usage. Sustainability in the form of packaging is based on reducing the amount of expendable packaging used and prioritizing recyclable or biodegradable materials for most forms of packaging. Coincidentally, this waste reduction will additionally reduce the amount of money spent in the automotive plant on packaging overall.