As more stringent regulations are applied to resources such as water and energy and raw material costs increase, sustainable business practices are now more imperative than ever. This is in a context where the well-being of the environment is a mainstream issue and populations are looking to influence Government and industry, through votes and buying decisions, to encourage the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices that ensure the long-term future of the planet. The good news is that industry, through the implementation of Lean Manufacturing principles is already part of the way there.

The Queensland Government has recognised the importance of sustainable business practices with its flagship scheme, ecoBiz administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EcoBiz is a partnership program which assists businesses to identify efficiencies in waste, water and energy for both environmental and financial benefits.

For those involved in Lean, the idea of minimising waste for financial gain is not new. It has been one of the founding tenets of Lean Manufacturing philosophy since its inception. In a sustainability context, waste is one of the three pillars of environmental impact management, along with water and energy, and hence companies that have embraced Lean principles have already made significant inroads into improving environmental performance by committing to improving business performance by eliminating and reducing non value-adding activities and steps. While fundamentally being driven by cost and time reduction, these activities also result in improved environmental performance. If your company employs or is thinking of employing Lean, then congratulations, you are making a difference to the planet as well!  So, what more can be done?

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the opportunities offered by Lean as a springboard for environmentally sound manufacturing practices and makes the following three key observations[1]:

• Lean produces an operational and cultural environment that is highly conducive to waste minimisation and pollution prevention
• Lean can be leveraged to produce even more environmental impact
• There is a window of opportunity for environmental considerations when companies are embarking on Lean initiatives and investments

This signifies clearly that Lean is an ideal starting point for further practices that reduce environmental impact.  But, what are the challenges?

The US EPA identified the following three 'gaps' as offering significant opportunity:

• Lean does not consider resources such as water and energy but concentrates on the direct materials involved in a manufacturing process
• Environmental personnel are not integrated into operations
• Information on tools and best practice methods for reducing environmental impact does not often reach lean practitioners

How do we meet these challenges?

Many of the tools in the Lean Toolbox consider the optimisation of resources – labour and materials – against measures of lead time, cost or quality.  To consider some of the wider issues as part of a  sustainability initiative, we must also consider the optimisation of additional resources – water and energy, as well as supplementary materials used in manufacturing processes, abrasive media, solvents etc.

Value Stream Maps are an invaluable part of the Lean Toolbox as they allow companies to understand and map the sequence of activities utilised to produce a product or family of products. A modification of the VSM process can include environmental considerations such as energy, water and material usage; pollutants, emissions and wastes; and hazardous substances.

5S to 6S - The pillars of 5S, Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain are extended by the inclusion of Safety which aims to reduce risks, improve waste management and ensure that the facility is a safe and healthy place to work.

Concurrent Engineering has long encouraged a holistic view of all functions required to produce a product, and includes concepts such as Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA), Design for Maintenance (DFM) and Design for Testing (DFT). These ideals are often a trade-off however, and the inclusion of environmental drivers can make the optimal solution harder to identify. For example, a DFMA parts reduction exercise may indicate that two components be designed to snap-fit together.  However, a Design for Recycling analysis indicates that the subsequent required disassembly of this component will be made harder as the two parts are difficult to separate. 

Design for Environment is an approach to eliminate environmental impacts at the product design stage and should be a longer term goal for all manufacturing companies. Just as sustainable manufacturing principles can be easily integrated with Lean, so sustainable product development issues can be considered further upstream at the design stage. This concept is highly relevant to companies servicing those markets where the environmental impact of products is of concern to the consumer, or where regulation places the end-of-life responsibility back onto the manufacturer. Currently, only 17% of companies in Queensland consider the lifecycle implications of their new products[2].

Factory layout activitiesshould also be recognised for their potential contribution. A good factory layout will reduce the footprint required for a given facility and this can have substantial benefits, particularly in the energy required to heat and cool the facility.   

Longer term benefits that are harder to measure include reduced raw material need arising from better manufacturing processes, reduced scrap rate and better design, which avoids the environmental impact of their extraction processing and transport.  Making better quality products in the first place should also lead to a longer life with less need for repair and replacement and the same points will apply. 

All of these activities will encourage the more efficient use of resources, whether they are those that are traditionally scrutinised in a Lean implementation – people and materials – or those which are of concern in the wider sustainability context – energy, water and waste. This all relies on the availability of accurate data so that baselines can be drawn and improvements measured. Case studies (including our own) on Lean implementations rarely cite the environmental benefits but this will change with the work being undertaken by organisations such as EPA, through ecoBiz, and by the UNEP Cleaner Production group based at the University of Queensland.   The UNEP Group aims to disseminate best practice knowledge and information to the wider Queensland industry base through fact sheets and seminars.

What are the results?

Bridgestone / Firestone's plant in Aiken County, South Carolina produces tyres for automotive applications. As this facility has implemented Lean processes since 2000, they have seen a reduction in hazardous and solid waste generation of 53% and a decrease in material scrap of 38%[3].

Austicks changed its chainsaw blade and reduced sawdust waste by 50% [4].

Boeing's Everett, Washington production facility implemented a Lean chemical point-of-use system to reduce mechanic movement and downtime that also lowered chemical usage by 12% per plane[5].

SC Johnson now makes only two types of bottles and spray triggers. This simplified production line reduces energy consumption, a significant cost benefit. Manufacturing processes are regularly assessed to reduce air emissions, waste emissions, waste water, energy and fuel usage; the company's goal is to reduce waste output by 50% each year. Air, water and solid waste disposals in operations have been roughly halved over five years, and before conventional waste management practices are employed all recycling opportunities are explored [6].

Ferra Engineering instigated changes to its coolant system to produce water savings of 72,000 litres per year and reduce coolant cost by 80% or $49,000 per year[7].

Southcorp Whitegoods, an Australian appliance manufacturer, developed a new line of Dishlex dishwashers that use fewer than 18 litres of water for a full load. The manufacture of the new dishwashers requires fewer materials, with each unit weighing up to seven kilograms less than previous models. Plastic components are coded to make recycling and disassembly easier; other major components are designed for easy disassembly[8].

Goodrich Aerostructures consolidated the manufacturing operations at its Chula Vista, California facility into two buildings from five while doubling output as a result of implementing Lean methods. This decreased overall facility space needs by 50 %[9].

Conclusion

This more holistic view of the manufacturing facility – which considers ALL inputs and outputs as targets for continuous improvement, extends and complements the reach of Lean towards a sustainable manufacturing industry. 

Lean provides an ideal springboard for companies to make additional process improvements and improve manufacturing efficiency, whilst simultaneously taking responsibility for their environmental impact, and being prepared for growing global awareness and future regulation.

[1]  Lean Manufacturing and the Environment: Research on Advanced manufacturing Systems and the Environment and Recommendations for Leveraging Better Environmental Performance, US EPA, EPA100-R-03-005

[2] Environmental Sustainability and Industry: Road to a Sustainable Future, Australian Industry Group Sept 2007

[3] Shingo Prize 2002 Business Prize Recipients at http://www.shingoprize.org

[4] EPA Queensland 2007

[5] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, August 20, 2000.

[6] Product Innovation The Green Advantage, An Introduction to Design for Environment for Australian Business, Environment Australia,  April 2001, ISBN 0 642 54723 8

[7] EPA Queensland

[8] http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/essentials_third.cfm?LinkAdvID=7588

[9] George Cahlink. "Air Support," Government Executive Magazine. (http://www.govexec.com) (June 2001)