Franklin, Indiana ‚– In 2004, NSK Precision America began taking a proactive role in environmental protection by integrating methods of green procurement, environmental education and recycling.
NSK Group, NSK Precision America’s parent company, challenged all of its plants to earn ISO 14001 certification, realize a waste-recycling rate of 98% or greater and reduce CO2 emissions by 2010. To meet this challenge, the Indiana-based subsidiary established a 9-person cross-functional team to guide the plant in achieving these corporate directives.
After team members received extensive training on environmental protection and lean manufacturing, they began educating the plant’s 110-person staff on intuitive procedures like 5-S audits and the 3Rs of waste minimization.
“5-S is a cleaning and organizational system, which ensures that the right tools are always available for use at each machine on the shop floor,” remarked Mr. Smith.
Since its implementation, plant operators have increased efficiency and decreased equipment changeover times. Additionally, an emphasis on the 3Rs ‚– reduce, reuse and recycle ‚– has enabled NSK Precision America to improve its waste-recycling rate from 92% in 2004 to nearly 96% in 2008.
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Filed Under: Green engineering • renewable energy • sustainability, LINEAR MOTION