In the production process, the generation of waste should be kept to a minimum. This not only saves resources and thus costs, but also waste transport and disposal costs. The reduction of waste in the process increases the efficiency of this process.
Overview about the 3 types of waste
Basically, three types of waste are generated during production. The first is the products that do not meet the specifications. The second is waste materials that are directly related to the process. Examples are cutting waste or spent catalysts. The third type of waste is waste that is indirectly related to the process. Examples are packaging waste from raw materials or semi-finished products or waste from personnel, such as canteen waste.
1st type of waste
The first type of waste results from an inadequately performed process. This can be caused by overproduction of products or parts that cannot be used or sold, or by products that do not meet specifications, also called off-spec products or defects. The cause of overproduction can be unreliable machines, too long changeover times or too high error rates, which cause the operator to produce additional parts. The cause of failure can be poor quality control or test specifications, inappropriate manufacturing methods, inferior materials and workmanship, or poor error correction. By improving the production process, overproduction and errors can be reduced.
2nd type of waste
The second type of waste is the waste material directly related to the process. If the waste cannot be avoided completely, at least by adjusting the design or production process, the waste can be minimized. Examples of different types of waste are cutting residues or spent catalysts. Often waste can be sold as a secondary raw material such as scrap metal or wood waste for the plywood industry. It is relatively easy to find scrap dealers and other dealers for the components you are looking for on the Internet. Even for more complex industrial materials, a solution can be found by exchanging information with the relevant industries.
3rd type of waste
The last type of waste is the materials that used to end up in the residual waste bin. Examples include packaging materials, canteen and office waste, course waste, which occasionally ends up as old office furniture or obsolete ICT equipment. However, regular waste can be separated. Metal, wood and organic materials are known, but plastics are also collected. Some plastics can even be resold if they are kept clean and dry in a separate container. The key to waste separation in companies is to keep the container as close to the employee as possible; convenience is the magic word. In Holland, a hospital sent its old office chairs to the renovator, saving 90% on the purchase of new chairs. Try to find out for yourself how you can make money with what your colleagues consider waste. Do not waste your waste!
Bath Tub Curve explaining failure rates in a product life cycle
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The failure rate of a product is an important factor that determines the life expectancy of a product. Reducing the failure rate means improving average life span. A visual model for the failure rate of a product in its product life is the Bath Tub Curve (especially electronics).
The Bath Tub Curve divides the product life in three periods:
1. Start-up comissioning: product is new, failure due to errors during production and transport
2. Useful life period: Product fails in “normal” use by consumer
3. Normal wear out: Product fails on end of expected life
Situation in Europe
The rapidly increasing quantities of waste generated in European countries are a major problem for Europe's environment. It is estimated that over 250 million tonnes of municipal waste and more than 850 million tonnes of industrial waste are generated in Europe each year. The average annual growth rate of this waste in the European OECD area since 1985 is estimated to be around 3 percent (according to:www.eea.europa.eu) . In our opinion this number is extremely high and the companies have to make sure that they can reduce the waste caused by the production!
Vocabulary of technical terms
unreliable machines = unzuverlässige Maschinen
substandard materials = minderwertige Materialien
poor debugging = schlechte Fehlersuche
cutting residues = Schneidrückstände
plywood industry = Sperrholz-Industrie
residual waste bin = Restmülltonne
Quiz
https://forms.office.com
Further information
www.ocw.tudelft.nl
www.sciencedirect.com
www.eea.europa.eu
Team
Lucas and Sandro