To achieve these continuous improvements, a clear strategy must be developed and followed. A six-step method can be used as an effective strategy to realize results:
1. Audit—perform an energy and/or waste reduction audit. This can be done either internally or exter- nally. In either case, be critical, thorough, and hon- est. Don’t be hampered with questions or concerns about how reductions can be made, but focus on identifying areas of waste within your process.
For those identified areas, estimate the energy use or waste quantities by using the best current infor- mation available. The tabulation of these findings can be done for an entire facility, department by de- partment, or by production process. Don’t be overly concerned about a high degree of accuracy; just get a relative estimate of the size of the use or waste.
2. Benchmarking—for organizations with multiple facilities, compare your initial findings with those from other facilities. If public or trade group data is available, it can also be enlightening to compare your findings with those from other organizations with similar processes.
3. Possible Solutions/Reductions—to identified wastes should be researched. Here the possibilities are endless:
• Remember; never underestimate the level of knowledge and ideas that may already exist on your plant floor. Some of the best waste reduc- tion ideas come from those who operate and monitor the process on a daily basis.
• AFS has been very proactive in publishing numerous articles in Modern Casting, AFS Transactions and other publications regard- ing the improvement of foundry operations. Additionally, several AFS committees are ac- tively working on waste reduction projects and publishing results of committee activities. Any committee chair should be able to assist in pro- viding a contact with the most up-to-date ideas available.
• Numerous organizations have informational resources available to foundries. Organiza- tions like your electric utility, gas supplier and “Focus on Energy” (a Wisconsin-based pro- gram) all have assistance personnel and ener- gy reduction programs. Web sites like FIRST
www.foundryrecycling.org can provide valu- able information on potential methods of reus- ing spent foundry sands.
• 10
Both supplier representatives and contract ex- perts in numerous disciplines are also available
in both the foundry and environmental industries to assist in waste reductions and energy savings.
4. Prioritize Projects—not all projects can be launched at one time. Recognize that available time and financial resources means priorities need to be established. Priorities aren’t always based on the biggest savings. Project selection might be for initial “low hanging fruit,” corporate/community visibility, or to launch a project that will act as a focal point to changing the organization’s culture.
5. Implement the Plan—each project will have a dif- ferent path, be it one requiring capital expenditure approvals, equipment design or acquisition, pro- cess engineering, specific timing of equipment downtime, or a host of other requirements. It is im- portant to communicate the plan to all stakehold- ers and work to get them vested into the reduction effort. Doing so will only raise interest across the board and help ensure project success.
6. Measure the Change—as the old adage describes, it is hard to manage what you cannot measure. It is just as important to document conditions before the change as it is to measure those conditions follow- ing the change. As discussed, we are going to be held accountable for the improvements we make. It is critical to record that we are both making im- provements and realizing the resulting savings for interested stakeholders.
Metering/Recording Instrumentation— sub-metering–elec- trical, gas, and water systems can be of great assistance in improving a facility’s knowledge of both existing energy usage and the result of any following changes. Simple me- tering and recording instrumentation can be added to practi- cally any energy delivery system with no system modifica- tions and at a reasonable cost. Once baseline measurements are established, well-designed metering can be a tremendous advantage in identifying and monitoring facility improve- ments, which in turn helps steer the ongoing continuous im- provement effort.
Maintain an awareness that secondary benefits will result from many facility improvements. These benefits (some- times pre-recognized, sometimes not) will manifest in the form of improved safety, employee morale, increased pro- ductivity, reduced labor and other related savings. This lies at the very heart of being green. The proactive foundry will quickly learn to appreciate the multifaceted returns on their effort.
Starting At “Home”
Let’s look at some of the specific areas in our operations that are ripe for improvement.
International Journal of Metalcasting/Summer 10
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81