Articles – Page 17 – Lean Six Sigma and the Environment

EC 002: Introduction to W.A.S.T.E. Walks

By -admin
Posted on December 25, 2015December 22, 2021
Posted in Lean Six Sigma Tools, Podcast

Summary For the 2nd episode, I am posting a video course I created recently, called W.A.S.T.E. Walks, to teach people how to use the “gemba walk” lean approach to identify opportunities to reduce environmental impacts of water, air emissions, solid waste, toxins, and energy. These event formats also do a good job of engaging employees

EC 001: Introduction to the Earth Consultants Podcast

By -admin
Posted on December 24, 2015January 8, 2016
Posted in Podcast

Summary In this initial episode, I explain the purpose of the podcast, and what to expect with future episodes. The quick summary is that this podcast will be used to educate people interested in using Lean and Six Sigma to reduce environmental impacts. Relevant Links Access our past podcast episodes >>> Transcript The Earth Consultants

If you blame the employee, you are usually wrong!

By -admin
Posted on June 28, 2015June 28, 2015
Posted in Pollutants, Transportation

One of the key tenets of Lean is the focus on the process, not the people. Six Sigma calls this “common cause” variation, but doesn’t talk much about respecting people as a general rule. If something goes wrong at your work, the first step should be to scrutinize the process, and naturally assume that the

Boeing Solid Waste to Landfill Sorting Event (Dumpster Dive) at Everett from April 2015

By -admin
Posted on May 16, 2015May 16, 2024
Posted in Employee Engagement, External Article, Lean Six Sigma Tools, Management, Solid Waste

This video was posted on the Boeing website in 2015 to share a trash (waste) sort event at their Everett facility with their 747, 767, 777 and 787 production lines. The goal was to collect data and determine which team is diverting the most trash from the landfill. The winning team was the 777 program,

Lean and Six Sigma Are Not Just for Manufacturing Companies

By -admin
Posted on January 18, 2015September 4, 2020
Posted in Lean Six Sigma Tools

If you’ve ever wondered whether your work group could be more efficient, provide better customer service, produce a higher quality product, cut costs or generate more revenue, perhaps the place to start is an honest evaluation of the core processes that make your organization tick. Process improvement initiatives began years ago with private corporations in

Interview with Keivan Zokaei

By -admin
Posted on December 8, 2014January 30, 2015
Posted in Keivan Zokaei, Lean Six Sigma Tools

As part of our expert series, I asked Keivan Zokaei to answer some questions I had about his involvement with Lean and Green activities. How did you get started in Lean methodology? I first began in 2002, when I was doing a Master degree at Warwick University in the UK. I had seen lean tools &

Connecting “green” events with employee engagement

By -admin
Posted on November 12, 2014January 30, 2015
Posted in Transportation

Employee engagement is one of the most difficult problems facing companies. Engaged employees are productive, efficient and looking to help resolve problems. Disengaged employees can bring down morale, will often do the minimum amount of work, and are actively looking for something better. Recent studies have shown that around 70% of employees are not fully

Book Review: “Lean Waste Stream” by Marc Jensen

By -admin
Posted on October 19, 2014May 6, 2019
Posted in Book Review, Solid Waste, Transportation

The newly published book, “Lean Waste Stream:Reducing Material Use and Garbage Using Lean Principles” is full of resources and information that will make you look at garbage from a new perspective. Normally, we cringe at the thought of digging through the garbage due to uncertainty or embarrassment at what might be found, along with the

Every environmentalist must calculate their personal carbon footprint

By -admin
Posted on July 5, 2014April 5, 2020
Posted in Carbon Footprint

If the biggest issue we have is climate change, then we must start by understanding how we individually contribute to that issue, before we can ask others to make changes and reduce their impact. Most of you might be aware of carbon footprint reports that many corporations and municipalities generate. However, to the general public,

Use Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP) to drive sustainability

By -admin
Posted on May 16, 2014January 1, 2023
Posted in Carbon Footprint, Energy, Land and Building Use, Lean Six Sigma Tools, Pollutants, Raw Materials, Solid Waste, Transportation, Water

If you have a small or mid-sized company in the United States (or Puerto Rico), and are in the manufacturing industry, there is a Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) available to help you. MEP Centers are a diverse network of state, university-based, and non-profit organizations, offering products and services that help manufacturers increase profits, create jobs