Green Before Green... Lean Manufacturing

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5/11/2010
Richard L Dennis
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Green Before "Green"... Lean Manufacturing

Going Green seems to be the new marketing ploy for many companies. Everywhere we look, whether on store shelves or on the internet, going green is the new trend and is a way for businesses to try and separate themselves from their competition. Green also seems to be good for business. According to Mintel International, sales of "green" products and organic foods have jumped 15 percent since 2006.

Companies like Walmart and Target are going green by pushing reusable bags and offering a large variety of green products in their stores. While "green" seems to be working for many retailers, what does it mean for manufacturers... specifically, metal stamping firms?

It's easy to see that the automotive companies have all jumped on the hybrid band wagon. Many of the huge food companies are now offering organic and natural products, but how is a metal stamping firm to benefit from "Going Green"?

Thinking about this for a few minutes, I came to realize that Lean manufacturing is really all about being efficient and promoting sustainability. Let's take a look at the four goals of Lean.

The four goals of Lean manufacturing systems are to:

Improve Quality

To stay competitive in today’s marketplace, a company must understand its customers' wants and needs and design processes to meet their expectations and requirements. For most customers

Eliminate Waste

Waste is any activity that consumes time, resources, or space but does not add any value to the product or service. There are seven types of waste:

Transport (unnecessary movement of materials)
Inventory (excess inventory not directly required for current orders)
Motion (extra steps taken by employees because of inefficient layout)
Waiting (periods of inactivity)
Overproduction (occurs when production should have stopped)
Over Processing (rework and reprocessing)
Defects (do not conform to specifications or expectations)

Reduce Time

Reducing the time it takes to finish an activity from start to finish is one of the most effective ways to eliminate waste and lower costs.

Reduce Total Costs

To minimize cost, a company must produce only to customer demand. Overproduction increases a company’s inventory costs because of storage needs.

By manufacturers utilizing Lean manufacturing systems, the companies are not only being more profitable for their bottom lines, but also using less resource such as raw materials, electricity, gas, water and transportation costs to limit their impact on the environment. Lean manufacturers are probably some of the greenest companies on the planet.

Now let's not kid ourselves, most companies aren't going green because they really love the environment and because it's just the right thing to do. Most companies are making the switch to green and to Lean because it's affecting their bottom line in a profitable way. While the big boys like Walmart and Target take front and center stage for going green, I'd like to give recognition to the Lean manufacturers around the world that were going green through Lean systems before going green was the "in" thing to do.

In what ways do you think Lean manufacturers will utilize green advancements in technology; such as solar power, wind power and other technologies, to improve quality, eliminate waste, reduce time and reduce total costs?

Labels: green green manufacturing LEAN manufacturing manufacturing manufacturing trends News