Improving metal finishing process efficiency isdifficult because few facilities maintain metrics for material use,waste generation and operating costs in a format that enablesthem to identify the areas of greatest inefficiency. EPA RegionIX developed a protocol to efficiently collect data to establishprocess efficiency metrics, use a spreadsheet tool to analyze thedata, and finally to effectively apply the data to identify andaccelerate process efficiency improvements. This paperdescribes: (1) The value of establishing and quantifying facilityprocess metrics; (2) U.S. EPA Region IX's approach toquantifying metrics using the protocol; and (3) how thespreadsheet output is used to identify target areas for processefficiency improvements. The results from testing this pollutionprevention assessment approach at 14 metal finishing facilitiesare also presented. Finally, the potential is discussed for usingdata from these assessments to establish metal finishing benchmarks.
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