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INDUSTRY 4.0 / SMART FACTORIES T
o appreciate the extent of the waste management problem within manufacturing, consider an example from the automotive manufacturing industry. In this sector, production lines are often
very long, and can extend to over a kilometre in length. Now imagine at each stage of production there are individual disposal or refuse bins for each type of waste that is produced during production – standard waste, specialised waste, or waste for recycling. In order to make the best use of time, these bins should preferably be completely full before they are emptied – but it is often the case that they are not. Additionally, in many refuse collection situations, a subcontractor is used to collect waste from bins. When they are not completely full – a wasted trip is made to collect refuse. Moreover, the process for checking the fill level of a bin is often wasteful in itself. This is because employees are generally given the task of checking how full bins are, depending on the manufacturer’s process and type of waste, which eats into potential productivity and output for these workers. Additionally, without specific monitoring data or insights, the cadence for collection is often wrong and misaligned. Should staff really spend time checking how full a rubbish bin is when they could be productive elsewhere? Therefore, the entire waste collection process
can be wasteful for many manufacturers – both in terms of how the bins are filled and how resource and productivity is wasted in managing or collecting bins. Should manufacturers really spend financial resource with waste collection sub-contractors to collect bins when they aren’t truly full? These problems indicate that the tracking of waste within bins needs improving, as does the situation around communicating
EMPTYING THE BINS WITH IOT:
REDUCING WASTE AND IMPROVING MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY
Manufacturers face rising energy and labour costs, regulatory pressures, and growing environmental responsibilities. Among their common challenges is waste management inefficiency. Traditionally, industrial waste bins, especially in expansive setups like automotive production lines, are emptied on fixed schedules, often before they are full, leading to resource wastage. Internet of Things (IoT) technology offers a solution that equips bins with sensors to monitor fill levels. This enables real-time data collection to optimise waste collection processes, reduces unnecessary trips, and reallocates human resources to more critical tasks. Gareth Mitchell, UK partner manager, Heliot Europe explains how sensors, IoT and LPWAN technology helps reduce waste within manufacturing, and helps streamline the refuse collection process.
10 OCTOBER 2024 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
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