In this article, we’ll take a look at what manufacturing waste is and how you can reduce it.
Producing some manufacturing waste is part and parcel of the manufacturing process.
But if left unchecked, it can quickly accumulate to unsustainable levels, leading to environmental damage, costing your company money and potentially damaging its reputation.
Need help getting it under control? Here’s what you need to know.
What is manufacturing waste?
Manufacturing waste refers to any materials discarded during the manufacturing process that doesn’t form part of the final product, as well as unnecessary production steps that don’t add any value to the end item. Examples include scrap material, excess inventory, defective products, redundant inspections, unnecessary transportation, waiting times, and overproduction.
With the introduction of lean manufacturing, organizations have become more aware of wasteful practices and their implications—leading to the development of a company culture that values waste-reduction initiatives.
So, how can you reduce manufacturing waste?
Waste reduction strategies will typically differ between industries, because different manufacturers will generate different types of waste at different stages of the production process.
That’s why, before even considering what strategies to use, it’s wise to map out your waste streams by conducting a complete waste audit.
From there, you can dive into specific strategies to keep waste under control. Here are eight of the most effective ways to do so.
1. Manage inventory more efficiently
Better inventory management helps maintain optimal inventory levels to meet production demand without carrying excess stock that can tie up resources, use unnecessary warehouse space, and increase the risk of spoilage.
A few ways to improve inventory management and minimize wastage include:
- Adopting a just-in-time approach to managing inventory, where you order materials and components just in time for production.
- Investing in inventory management software to help track inventory in real-time, automate manual processes, like stock counts, and gain visibility into stock across locations, so you always know exactly how much stock you have.
2. Reduce packaging materials
Redesign the product packaging so that it uses less materials. You could eliminate unnecessary components, reduce their size, switch to more sustainable and efficient materials, or incorporate reusable or recyclable packaging content, like air packs or corn-based packing peanuts that are non-toxic and decompose in water.
3. Recover, reuse, resort
Recover as much waste as you can from on and offsite locations using techniques like electrolysis, filtration, reverse osmosis, centrifugation, and a popular one—recycling.
Recycle materials, like paper, plastic, and metal, regularly and avoid recycling hazardous materials, as it rarely has any environmental benefits.
Industrial shredders are crucial in this process, as you can use them to reduce waste by condensing asphalt, wood, rubber, and plastics to a fraction of their original size. Sorting the waste into bins ensures recyclable items are getting to the right place.
Just make sure that you assign someone the responsibility of monitoring the bins, that there’s a standard documented recycling procedure, and that everyone is trained on and understands the recycling protocols.
This ensures your recycling process remains efficient and environmentally compliant at all times and that you’re maximizing your cost savings.
4. Follow waste volume reduction techniques
Waste-volume reduction refers to waste techniques that reduce the overall quantity and cost of waste generated. Volume reduction can be broadly divided into 2 categories—waste concentration and source segregation.
Waste concentration involves techniques that reduce the concentration of waste, like dehydration and evaporation. This helps minimize transportation and disposal costs while increasing the chances of reusing or recycling materials.
Source segregation, however, involves separating different types of materials for easy treatment and handling. This helps recover any valuable resources from waste, like valuable metals.
5. Establish a preventative maintenance schedule
General wear and tear may be normal in any manufacturing process. But if you don’t perform regular maintenance, you’ll waste time and money on expensive, last-minute repairs. Preventative maintenance (PM) helps reduce waste by:
- Minimizing downtime, which leads to production interruptions, unnecessary overtime, and increased shipping costs.
- Improving equipment efficiency to avoid energy wastage.
- Optimizing material usage for accurate handling and processing.
- Minimizing defective product output caused by malfunctioning equipment.
To set a PM schedule, create an inventory of all your assets, set the maintenance cadence (weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.), and work with the right vendors.
6. Label and organize the warehouse properly
Clearly mark the locations for all tools, supplies, and assets necessary to manufacturing processes in your warehouses. This makes it easy to find items and identify hazardous materials.
Over time, the markings may get faded, non-existent, or outdated. While this may not hinder longtime employees, new hires may have difficulty navigating a warehouse that isn’t properly marked and organized.
This can lead to incorrect products being shipped, or more time spent searching for the right tool for an urgent repair. So, replace the faded tags and repaint the floor lines regularly.
7. Adopt a closed-loop manufacturing process
Green chemistry is an excellent technique to reduce waste generated by various processes. But if it isn’t viable for you, consider a closed-loop manufacturing system: a process where used products are recovered and fed back into the system to be reused, recycled, or remanufactured. Closed-loop systems help improve resource efficiency to create more sustainable production processes.
8. Minimize water usage
Industrial sludge and wastewater make up a significant portion of manufacturing waste. You can reduce these elements by minimizing water usage through chemical drying agents, reverse osmosis, dry machining, or membrane biological reactors.
The bottom line
An amount of manufacturing waste will always be unavoidable, but you can keep it under control with proper waste management strategies.
We explored several, from managing inventory more efficiently and reducing packaging materials to establishing a preventative maintenance schedule and minimizing water usage.
The only thing left to do—if you haven’t already—is to start implementing these strategies as part of your efforts to control manufacturing waste.