Lean and Environmental Impact

What is it to be Lean and Green?

First and foremost Lean and Green is a way of thinking about how information, products and services move through your business processes. The traditional notion of producing and moving in large batches of products or services (information, goods, or paper), is costly and is quickly becoming obsolete. The new "Lean way" of thinking is to keep those work elements moving continually within your system, without stopping, from order to delivery - this is what Lean thinkers call flow. In order to achieve flow, waste must be eliminated from the end-to-end system.

Energy Waste:

The type of energy waste that can be associated directly with, or as a result of the other Lean wastes categories is considered non-value added or non-conversion energy waste. These wastes are found inside and outside process activity steps. An example of Energy Waste found outside the process step would be Inventory - we have to store it in lighted areas both on-site and off-site, keep it warm or cool, and transport it within the facility. Another type of Energy Waste occurs directly within a process step and requires more technical analysis. An example of this is a machine or device required to run for 10 mins./hr to modify (add value) to a product or service and we find that it is running constantly. Perhaps the machine's capacity is more than is required to complete the task thus consuming more energy than necessary. The challenge is to change our way of thinking not only about how we flow goods and services through our business but how we use (or misuse) energy to produce the product or service.

Energy Value Stream Mapping

Until now, reduced energy consumption has been a by-product of Lean waste elimination and we have not had a vehicle with which to capture the energy waste or to quantify it. The tool we now use is Energy Value Stream Mapping. Energy Value Stream Mapping creates a practical representation of the Value Stream for visualizing the wastes, including energy, in the processes. From the drawing and analysis of the Energy Value Stream Mapping (EVSM), a comprehensive Future State and Implementation Plan is created with measurable improvements identified.

Energy Value Stream Mapping is part of Enterprise Value Stream Mapping. In simplified form EVSM follows a work unit through a process capturing both the value and non-value added activity within that process and creates a metric showing actual processing time and the time that the work unit spends (the lead time) going through the Value Stream. Lead-time is typically measured in days or weeks and processing time is measured in minutes or hours. EVSM follows a product through a process capturing the energy consumption both the process energy and the energy used outside the process activities. Once those metrics are in place we can then create a plan to systematically remove the energy waste from the process without affecting the way the product or service is produced and without purchasing any new equipment.

Benefits

Total Energy Waste will be identified and reduced systematically through an Energy Reduction Plan. The key to a successful implementation is to reduce or eliminate the waste without affecting the way the product is made or the service delivered. Technical solutions should be planned and implemented through structured Lean events in the same way any other Lean events are executed.

Additional impacts of Energy Waste elimination can take other, less obvious forms such as lowering emissions and hazardous waste. The key is to focus on Energy Waste elimination specifically and other environmental impacts will be identified and resolved as a result of eliminating/reducing Energy Waste.

The reduction in energy consumption will save significant bottom-line dollars year over year and reduce the carbon footprint of the facility while improving your responsive to clients/customers making you more competitive. In addition, experts can convert the energy saved into tons of CO2 emissions that can be traded on various exchanges.

Becoming Lean and Green is a Win-Win - improves your business/creates wealth, plus decreases the demand for natural resources.

DO YOU QUALIFY FOR GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS?

Government assistance programs can help you reap the benefits of implementing Lean and Lean and Green. Government pressure on manufacturers to reduce Greenhouse Gases and other toxins comes at a time when many companies are struggling for their very existence. The desire to improve the environment is not the problem. Proven tools like Lean and Green can both, reduce cost of production and have a dramatic, positive impact on the environment. The payback from even a modest investment in Lean and Green is measured in days and weeks--but even this cost can be a deterrent. Federal and provincial governments are desperately trying to preserve the country's manufacturing base and have created funding assistance for Small/Medium Enterprises (SME). They are offering funding for companies that work to transform using Lean and/or Green concepts to become globally competitive. You may qualify for government funding that can be used to bring Lean and Green thinking and tools into your workplace.