Leaning toward Green

摘要

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) at the Rochester Institute of Technology has integrated lean and environment, and lean and energy toolkits into its lean and energy and environment (LE2) program. Tecmotiv (USA) Inc, a remanufacturer in upstate New York, partnered with NYSP2I to use this approach to reduce energy use and its environmental footprint while increasing profitability and productivity. Consistent with the LE2 approach, Tecmotiv and NYSP2I added an environmental health and safety expert to their kaizen improvement team. Implementation of specific strategies -- such as increased spray-washer temperature, increased batch sizes and widening of orifices in abrasive blast equipment -- reduced the use of electricity, compressed air, water and detergent, decreased the consumption of glass beads and cut down on the creation of nonhazardous waste water and solid waste.