Efficient Plant July 2018 - 14

feature | operating strategies
Fig. 2. The Manufacturing-Materials Life Cycle
Product
Design
Extraction/
Harvesting

Energy,
Water,
and
Chemicals

Mfg.
Processes

Raw
Materials

Upstream
Logistics

Recycle/
Reuse

Finished
Goods

Downstream
Logistics

Waste

On the other hand, materials, especially energy, are
required for shoppers to travel to retail outlets. Furthermore, a large amount of materials, especially land,
are required to construct, energize, and maintain
retail outlets. For example, in the United States, an
estimated 6,000 acres/day are being lost to commercial real-estate development. That alarming trend can't
continue indefinitely.
The jury is not yet in on which mode of purchasing
has more impact on the environment. On the supply
side, manufacturers can influence energy and other
materials required to ship products to customers by
way of the downstream supply chain and influence
the amount and type of packaging materials, e.g.,
virgin or recycled.

MEASURE AND IMPLEMENT
Effluent to
Air, Water,
or Soil

Life-cycle analysis
(LCA) seeks to evaluate
how efficiently and
effectively materials
are utilized in the
manufacturing process
and the logistics that
support it.

components been prioritized in the design?
 Is the plant designed for reliability, operability,
maintainability, and safety to increase the life of the
machines and reduce the likelihood of adverse events
that could cause harm to employees, the community,
and consumers?
 Does the plant follow operations and maintenance
best practices so as to increase machine life, reduce
energy consumption, minimize the likelihood of
leaks and spills, and maximize safety?
 Are measures taken to capture, recycle, and reuse
energy, water, and chemicals and minimize harmful
solid, liquid, and gas effluent?
The last leg of the process involves delivery. Much
like a product itself, there are demand and supply
aspects to the product-delivery challenge. On the
demand side, increasing numbers of products are
being shipped directly to customers as a result of
online-shopping options. This situation, on one hand,
reflects the loss of an environmentally related economy of scale from shipping in large volume to retail
outlets where consumers shop. Additionally, this form
of shopping requires a great deal of packaging material to ensure products are delivered undamaged.

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As with any management initiative, industrial
operations must assess where they are with sustainable manufacturing, set goals, and create plans to
achieve them based upon economic, societal, and
environmental goals; implement the plans; measure
progress; and continuously improve. Fortunately,
tools, techniques, and information are available to
assist your organization in this regard. To get started,
refer to the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development, Washington (oecd.org), which has
created a useful set of metrics and indicators and an
associated guide.
Implementation of sustainable manufacturing, like
any other major initiative, requires a measured and
managed approach. Begin by educating key decision-makers and influencers to gain buy-in. Once you
gain commitment, follow the standard management
process that's defined in ISO 14000 (environmental
management), ISO 26000 (social responsibility), and
collateral standards such as ISO 55000 (asset management) and ISO 45000 (safety management), among
others, to develop a policy, a strategy, goals, and plans.
The policy represents the organization's commitment
to sustainable manufacturing. The strategy (which
should be long-term), defines the goals and components necessary to achieve them. The plans describe
how the strategy will be achieved. In short, policy =
why; strategy = what; and plans = how.
It will be necessary to benchmark your current

JULY 2018

http://www.oecd.org http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM

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