P2 through Teamwork at Freudenberg-NOK
From the Source, Fall 1996
Freudenberg-NOK is a manufacturer of parts for the automotive industry. Their facility in Cleveland, Georgia produces a variety of parts such as oil seals, O-rings, valve stems, and dust covers. Total Quality Management (TQM) plays an important role in the operation. The "Growtth" program, which stands for "Get Rid Of Waste Through Team Harmony", is representative of the TQM philosophy. As part of Growtth, the company uses Kaizen teams for problem solving and process improvement. Kaizen is the Japanese word for improvement.
Kaizen teams are formed monthly at Freudenberg facilities to focus on opportunities for improvement. The teams consist of seven to eight employees representing different areas from within the organization, and usually meet for four days. Team members begin with training on problem solving dynamics and methodologies. A facilitator and team leader are responsible for directing the team's activities. On the last day, the team makes a presentation of its findings and recommendations to plant management. A waste reduction Kaizen team was recently completed. Two P2AD engineers participated on the team which evaluated scrap rubber and VOC emissions. Investigation is continuing in several areas uncovered by the team which may result in further waste reductions. The Cleveland plant has been very successful in waste minimization. The plant has an active environmental committee, and in 1994, P2AD conducted an assessment at the facility. During 1995, the recycling of scrap metal, aluminum cans, cardboard, and computer paper earned $192,500.
Below are some of the past accomplishments in the area of pollution prevention at Freudenberg-NOK.
Procedure Modification / Process Optimization
The molding process for making rubber parts results in excess material, referred to as flash, around the edges of the molded part. The flash is cured rubber which is removed from the part and becomes waste. A significant amount of scrap rubber waste is generated each year. A Kaizen team was formed to determine which oil seal products were creating the most flash. The weights of the rubber prep, the molded product, and the flash were measured for each oil seal product. The specifications were examined for the products which appeared to be generating an excessive amount of flash.
Each molded product has a target prep weight to insure that unfill defects do not occur. An unfill condition occurs when a portion of the mold is not completely filled with rubber. Tests were run for several products at slightly lower prep weights. It was determined that the prep weight could be lowered for seven products by about one gram each. Based on the number of these parts produced annually, flash generation was reduced by about 3.4 tons per year, saving about $76,000 in raw material costs.
Raw Material Substitution
Reducing VOCs has been a concern for Freudenberg-NOK since most of its technologies have been based on the use of solvents. A methanol-based adhesive used to bond rubber and metal part components was generating about 40 tons of VOCs annually. To reduce VOCs, a project was initiated to develop a water-based adhesive to replace the methanol-based adhesive. The new adhesive was formulated by the materials development group. After extensive product testing, the new water-based adhesive was approved for use.
The old adhesive required methanol as a carrier. Methanol was being consumed at a rate of 240 drums annually in this process. After implementation of the new adhesive, the plant methanol consumption dropped to a rate of two drums per month. The reduced usage of methanol by 216 drums per year translates into an annual reduction in VOCs of 38 tons. The change resulted in an annual operating savings of $21,000 per year. The investment in the new technology which was mostly in the form of research, materials development, and product testing, was not quantified.
Equipment Modification
Another process that generates VOCs is a dip coating operation. Baskets of metal parts are dipped into a coating bath containing methyl ethyl ketone. VOCs come from the evaporation of methyl ethyl ketone from the bath and from drying the coated parts after they have been removed from the bath.
While investigations into lower solvent coatings and solvent recovery have not yet proven feasible, a modification to the dip coating bath was successful. Chilled water was circulated through coils around the coating bath. This helped lower the bath temperature which reduced the evaporation rate of the methyl ethyl ketone. As a result, additions of methyl ethyl ketone to the bath were reduced by six drums per month. On an annual basis, VOCs were reduced by 13.2 tons per year.
The implementation of this source reduction activity also saved $13,500 per year in methyl ethyl ketone purchases. Since the plant already had a chilled water system, all that was required was piping installation at a cost of about $500. The operating cost of the chillers is minimal because they utilize the existing plant cooling water.
While these examples have helped solve several environmental issues, there is no intent to stop now. By incorporating pollution prevention into the Growtth program, Freudenberg-NOK has made continuous improvement with regard to the environment a way of doing business. New ideas for improvement are currently being investigated at the Cleveland plant, and plans are being made to conduct pollution prevention Kaizens at other locations. The team approach at Freudenberg-NOK has proven to be an excellent way to involve employees, improve processes, and reduce waste.
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