Lean Manufacturing and Environment
The Lean and Chemicals Toolkit
Chapter 7: Conclusion
On This Page
Lean product and process design methods are powerful tools for eliminating harmful uses of chemicals in products and processes.
We hope this toolkit has given you some practical ideas for leveraging Lean methods to identify and eliminate chemical waste in your organization. Once you learn to see chemical waste in the context of Lean, the magnitude of the system-wide costs of using, managing, and disposing of chemicals can be surprising. There are many ways to get started using Lean to reduce chemical wastes and improve operational results. As described in further detail in Chapter 1, here are three ways to get started with Lean and chemicals.
- Begin the Conversation. Arrange a meeting between Lean leaders and environmental health and safety managers at your organization to discuss opportunities to reduce chemical wastes with Lean.
- Make Chemicals and Their Costs Visible. Start measuring chemical use and hazardous waste generation along with Lean metrics. Consider adding environmental wastes to the “deadly wastes” targeted by Lean.
- Piggyback on Lean Visual Management Efforts. Use Lean visual management strategies and tools such as 6S (5S + Safety), visual controls, and standard work to make it easy for workers to properly manage and dispose of chemicals and hazardous wastes.
While these steps can yield results fast, thinking about how chemicals fit in your organization’s longer term Lean journey can uncover even bigger opportunities. In particular, Lean product and process design methods and organizational improvement strategies such as Chemical Management Services, can yield substantial improvements for your organization.
Government and industry can work together to foster innovation and share ideas for reducing chemical wastes using Lean. In many areas, innovation and collaboration will be essential to achieving the “cradle to cradle” Lean and chemicals vision discussed in the Preface—that is, the vision that products do not contain hazardous chemicals that customers did not ask for and that products, at the end of their useful life, can decompose naturally or become high-quality raw materials for new products. Fortunately, numerous efforts involving individual companies, trade associations, and government are already underway to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in products and processes.
EPA supports several programs that help companies reduce chemical wastes, find safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals, and develop greener chemical products. These programs include:
- Design for Environment Program (http://www.epa.gov/dfe)
- Green Chemistry and the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (http://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry)
- Green Engineering Program (http://www.epa.gov/oppt/greenengineering)
- Green Suppliers Network Program (http://www.greensuppliers.gov)
- High Production Volume Challenge Program (http://www.epa.gov/chemrtk/pubs/general/basicinfo)
- Lean and Environment Initiative (http://www.epa.gov/lean)
- National Partnership for Environmental Priorities (http://www.epa.gov/npep)
- Resource Conservation Challenge (http://www.epa.gov/rcc)
- Sector Strategies Program (http://www.epa.gov/sectors)
- Sustainable Futures Program (http://www.epa.gov/oppt/sf)
Appendix D provides additional information about each of these programs. Consider getting involved in one or more of these efforts. EPA is committed to supporting your efforts to achieve success with your Lean and chemicals efforts.
We hope this toolkit spurs creative thinking and energy within your organization and encourages you to explore these opportunities. We also hope to learn from your experiences using this toolkit. Working with partner companies and organizations, we aim to periodically release new versions of resources in EPA’s Lean and Environment Toolkit series. Our hope is to refine the techniques presented, provide examples and case studies of their application, and address new techniques. We wish you success on your Lean and chemicals journey.
Your Thoughts on the Toolkit
Now that you have finished this toolkit, reflect on what you read by answering these questions:
- What strategies and tools in the toolkit seemed particularly interesting and useful?
- What steps will you take next to advance Lean and efforts at your organization?
- What other information and tools would assist your organization to realize your Lean and chemicals vision?