It’s good that manufacturing companies these days are also concerned about their own waste disposal. I see two reasons for this move. First, they are constantly reminded by the environmental agency, and second, it’s a lot wasteful to pay a fine for every environmental violation.
One company that has been benefitted by reducing waste fluid disposal is Perkins Engines. The company has cut waste fluid disposal at an internal combustion engine plant’s two-transfer-cylinder head and block-line systems by more than 80%. It is able to do this by deploying Six Sigma methodology.
Manufacturing Talk reports:
Perkins Engines, part of the engines division of Caterpillar, USA, is a major supplier of diesel engines for the industrial, agricultural and power generation markets, with UK manufacturing plants in Peterborough and Stafford and a manufacturing location in Curitiba, Brazil. The two transfer systems at the Peterborough plant have an annual output of 20,000 cylinder heads and cylinder blocks.
A cylinder head machining line supplied by Renault produces 80,000 units.
And a bearing cap machining facility produces 150,000 sets for a variety of different engines.
Perkins has been a Castrol customer for more than ten years and currently uses Alusol XTH soluble cutting fluid to machine cylinder heads and cylinder blocks at the Peterborough site; and Castrol supplies metalworking fluids and services to other Caterpillar sites in the UK.
Four years ago the company adopted Six Sigma methodology and applied the system to evaluate the potential for outsourcing fluid management. Continue reading…
