Make Your Factory an Eco-Friendly Manufacturing Plant - Industry Today - Leader in Manufacturing & Industry News
 

November 10, 2020 Make Your Factory an Eco-Friendly Manufacturing Plant

Suggestions on how companies can adapt to achieve green manufacturing.

Global warming is becoming the topic of discussion in many forums and on social media platforms. As a result, there is a need to discuss some of the best ways to keep the world green. I wish to point out why green manufacturing is what all the manufacturing plants should use.

Green manufacturing is producing goods without hurting the environment. For that reason, manufacturing plants need not deposit waste substances and gasses in the compost bin.

They can achieve the goals to go green by using green manufacturing. That is by using methods and practices that encourage the use of renewable resources.

Here are suggestions that companies could adopt to achieve green manufacturing.

1. Recycling Waste

Some waste can cause health hazards and are not part of what you need to recycle. But there are plenty of other materials that any manufacturing plant should reuse. Even something as simple as sawdust can be reused as a useful material in a new manufacturing process.

It is an effective way to reduce waste. For instance, old cardboards and paper waste can produce packaging for new products. Simultaneously, if you have excess glass waste, you can recycle it and convert that to useful materials.

Here are several benefits of recycling waste materials:

  • Recycling means that less waste goes to the landfill
  • Recycling reduces the use of limited natural resources like minerals, water, and timber
  • Recycling means less collection of new raw materials
  • It helps reduce cost by increasing the use of a domestic source of materials
  • It helps the economy by creating new recycling jobs.

2. Leveraging Renewable Energy

The use of renewable energy is an effective way of creating a sustainable facility. There are many options when it comes to renewable energy. Sunlight, rain, wind, waves, geothermal, and tides are all sources of renewable energy.

As a way of creating sustainable businesses, manufacturers are moving to renewable energy. Renewable energy is cheaper because it uses natural resources. That is why most companies and manufacturers are considering using it.

Renewable energy is also essential for sustainability and going green should be the new policy for all manufacturers.

Renewable energy benefits the manufacturers in the following ways:

  • It is a resource that never runs out. All other sources of energy run out, and they need replenishing. With renewable energy, the source never runs off, thus, they are very cost-effective.
  • It makes it possible to operate without importing energy.
  • With renewable energy, there is no need for the expensive process of drilling into a rock to retrieve gas or oil.
  • It improves public health, among others.

3. Choose Eco-Friendly Partners

Manufacturing plants source raw materials from other companies. These companies may package your products or supply you with machinery and equipment. Whatever the case may be, you need to make use of green manufacturing companies instead.

The green manufacturing plant is an excellent idea for saving the surroundings. That is why you need partners who are also working on green manufacturing. Through that, you will promote environmental conservation.

4. Use Smart Manufacturing Software

Every manufacturing company needs to know the importance of using modern systems. That is what can help factories to begin green manufacturing. Although many people think such methods are far-fetched, there is a great need to transform manufacturers’ thinking.

They need to put in place new technology in their manufacturing processes. These days, manufacturers can use manufacturing software. It helps plants to go green and save the surroundings. The software uses the following programs to help factories carry out green production.

Smart Auto Booking Engine

Every green manufacturing plant must make use of the Smart Auto Booking Engine. The intelligent auto is also known as Katana. What happens is that the auto booking machine allocates the available stock.

That depends on the orders in the waiting line. If you want to create a specific product, the machine will show you what you need so you don’t end up with excess material that needs to be dumped.

Stock Management

Raw material management is the key to every manufacturing plant. The system will manage your potential deadstock to help you remove it from your inventory.

Simultaneously, the system will allow you to know the materials you are using most so that you can order on time.

For successful green manufacturing, companies need to invest in new technology. That is the only way they can be sure of achieving green manufacturing in plants.

In the future, manufacturing plants will have to do everything possible to sustain the environment. That is what will help them maintain their customers. Customers will support eco-friendly manufacturers more than those who are not ready to go green.

5. Update Your Machinery and Equipment

Whether the machines you are using are working or not, it is essential to use new technology instead. The reason is that the old machines consume more energy than modern tech ones. Modern machinery and equipment are built and designed to be more environmentally conscious.

Upgrading your machinery makes sure you reduce the use of energy consumption in your manufacturing plant.

  • New technology machines reduce the amount of energy you need for manufacturing.
  • Also, the new technology machines increase productivity.
  • For you to see what the new technology does, it is vital to implement the use of EPMS that is an electric power management system. As a result, you will use more eco-friendly purchases for your manufacturing company.

6. Analyze your Current Environmental Impact

One of the steps you need to take to reduce polluting in your surroundings is to gauge your plant’s impact on the surroundings. It would be best if you analyzed your impact on the surroundings before you think of going green.

Make sure you understand the current state. Make sure you check on the use of energy. That should lead you to determine how your manufacturing processes impact the environment and what you need to do to change for the better.

  • Consider the water usage in your manufacturing plant. If you work together with your water company, they can help you identify how you can use your water economically.
  • Also, look at the materials you are using. Thinking of the materials you are using helps to know what you can recycle. Separate the recyclable materials from what is hazardous. The analysis will help you know whether your plant is eco-friendly or needs one with new technology.

You may think eco-friendly manufacturing is a lot of work. But I recommend considering the above tips and you will discover it’s not only possible, but very rewarding to take care of the environment.

It is possible even in large scale manufacturing. It does not matter whether you are a small factory or a big manufacturing plant. Every manufacturer can choose to go green to preserve the surroundings.

That is why these tips and advice should help you in making the right decisions. Green manufacturing is the way forward towards a safer and sustainable environment.

 

Subscribe to Industry Today

Read Our Current Issue

ASME & Discovery Education: STEM Programs Prepare Future Workforce

Most Recent EpisodeASME: Driving STEM Education Initiatives

Listen Now

Patti Jo Rosenthal chats about her role as Manager of K-12 STEM Education Programs at ASME where she drives nationally scaled STEM education initiatives, building pathways that foster equitable access to engineering education assets and fosters curiosity vital to “thinking like an engineer.”