Going Green and Lean: Process Manufacturing sector upgrades its Arsenal
Today’s intense competition, forces organizations to constantly look for more efficient, cost-effective ways to keep their products affordable and finances solvent.
Lean processes work towards eliminating waste from the system in a systematic and continuous approach.
Here, waste can be policies, procedures, production process, anything that consumes resources but doesn’t add value to the product.
Green processes need to be eco-friendly, generate minimum pollution and waste, and be sustainable while keeping the productivity at a mark which yields profit.
How has Process Manufacturing Sector benefited from these innovations?
Process manufacturing based plants deal with products like drugs, foods etc. These are recipe dependent and require precision.
The two most crucial components in most pharma and food production organizations are Water and energy. Not only are these scarce but also getting scarcer. Process manufacturing Industry has, however found ways of adjust with it:
- Using lesser water
A Swiss Jeans manufacturing facility recently reduced its water consumption by 92% and energy consumption by almost 40%, simply by implementing efficient techniques.
This is not an exception, most organizations are rapidly adopting these techniques.
- Energy Efficient Infrastructure
Many organizations are coming up with eco-friendly energy solutions. For example, FuelCell Energy has recently launched its plan to install a combined heat-and-power fuel-cell power generation system for low carbon electricity and steam.
- Harnessing Renewable Energy
Utilizing the non-conventional methods like nuclear energy, wind energy etc for powering the facilities is leading to significant cuts in power bills and the carbon footprints of the manufacturing facilities.
Most organizations which employ the process manufacturing techniques have adapted pretty well to the changing equations. It should be interesting to see how well the other sectors will catch up.
