Improving metal finishing processefficiency is difficult because few facilities maintain metrics for material use, waste generation and operating costs in a format that enables them to identify the areas of greatest inefficiency. EPA Region IX developed a protocol to effic8ently collect data to establish process efficiency metrics, use a spreadsheet tool to analyze the data, and finally to effectively apply the data to identify and a ccelerate process efficiency improvements. This paper describes: (1) The value of establishing and quantifying facility process metrics; (2) U. S. EPA Region IX's approach to quantifying metrics using the protocol; and (3) how the spreadsheet output is used to identify target areas for process effciency improvements. The results frm testing this pllution prevention assessment approach at 14 metal finishing facilities are a lso presented. Finally, the potential is discussed for using data from these assessments to establish metal finishing benchmarks.
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