As they struggle to transform and survive, one of the safest bets companies can place is on lean manufacturing tools. Implemented properly, lean is a low-cost high return strategy designed to encourage all your employees to endlessly pursue better ways to generate more value for your customers and produce less waste.

Lean tools borrowed from the Toyota Production System, like value stream mapping, kaizen blitzes, and continuous improvement programs will contribute to saving your company money, boosting output and profits.

But lean also has another fortunate by-product: you produce less waste and it’s less damaging to the environment.

Until the economy fully rebounds, we can expect manufacturers to be less likely to invest time or money in any green initiatives just for the sake of going green. Many companies fighting for survival through this economic upheaval won’t assign a high value to anything that can’t be easily measured — and environmental initiatives often fall into that category. Understandably, companies are also less concerned about scoring public relations points while they are fighting to keep their factory doors open and creditors at bay.

That’s why the journey to lean is so enticing. Your company should be doing it anyway, so there’s really no great risk for lean proponents in raising the issue with senior managers.

There are also handy tools available to get you started right now. You can download a toolkit on lean and green from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s website: (www.epa.org/lean)

This 96-page toolkit builds the case for the benefits for coordinating your lean efforts with your environmental ones, which include:

• reduced costs;
• improved process flow and reduced lead times;
• lowered regulatory non-compliance risk;
• meeting customer expectations;
• improved environmental quality
• improved employee morale and commitment.

In the first lean and green summit held in 2008, (www.leanandgreensummit.com) government groups, companies and research firms presented papers and case studies about how to blend the two philosophies. Another summit is planned for June 8-9 in Savannah, Georgia so you might consider attending.

At last year’s event, Irmco LeanGreen Consulting (www.irmco.com), talked about their efforts, especially those in the automotive sector, to help firms use lean tools to reduce their environmental footprint. Auto industry firms need the help. Consider that it takes more than 39,000 gallons of water to make one automobile. (Pollution and Equipment)

Irmco applies lean and green practices to any process that involves the use of oil, chemicals and water in metal forming to final assembly, cleaning and paint.

Companies like Toyota are investing in new production methods designed to reduce their use of chemicals, and water. In one operation, Irmco reports that the company built frame components without using oil and reduced natural gas, water and chemical usage.

The processes reduced non-value, shortened cycle times, reduced rework and scrap and was a cleaner process. It also used less energy, reduced chemicals and water. So, an improved production methodology, as part of a lean initiative, contributed directly to a reduced environmental footprint.

This is only one example. Without a doubt, there are dozens of opportunities for you to rework a process or production system to be more efficient, make more margin and reduce your waste.

So what are you waiting for?

Todd Phillips (tphillips@clbmedia.ca) is the founding editor of Advanced Manufacturing and a longtime observer of manufacturing.

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