Abstract

Lean practitioners have for many years called attention to the conventional seven deadly wastes in actions taken to transform raw material into a finished product. However, if they would use a broader perspective to include material and energy sources used to create the product, more waste and cost savings could be realized. The Environmental Protection Agency has recently developed toolkits that enable lean practitioners to identify environmental and energy wastes in addition to other improvement opportunities uncovered by value stream mapping analysis. Tecmotiv Inc., a remanufacturer of vehicle components for the U.S. Army, used this approach to reduce energy use and its environmental footprint while increasing profitability and productivity.