Lean Manufacturing and the Environment Ignoring the 8 th Deadly Waste 1 leaves money on the table

T aking a break from a kaizen event, I had the rare opportunity to pick the brain of the sensei, a Japanese consultant who had been involved with lean manufacturing since before its arrival to the United States. Since I work for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), I asked him about the status of lean manufacturing in Japan, and in particular whether the focus of lean and efficient production had begun addressing environmental concerns. Through a few more questions and responses, his answer became clear. Environmental concerns are a part of the lean concept. Emissions to air and water, as well as the generation of solid/hazardous waste, represent a waste of production (that is, no value to the customer), just as surely as the need for protective equipment (such as gloves and ear plugs) is, and that eventually lean would address them. Lean usually helps the environment without really intending to. A Shingo Prizewinning study that EPA commissioned found that through Lean, many companies were saving money by taking steps that also benefited the environment, even when they were not consciously trying to do so. “Environmental” wastes, such as excess energy or water use, hazardous waste, or solid waste, present largely untapped opportunities to the lean practitioner. This is obvious if one steps back to consider the overall goals of lean manufacturing continually improving production efficiency. More efficient production means less energy used per unit produced. It means less material resources are used per unit produced, and materials (and energy, for that matter) are used or reused more efficiently. Aside from the obvious savings on production costs, this more efficient use means not only less energy and raw materials consumed, but also less material emitted to air and water, and less solid/hazardous waste generated. See the box for examples. Therefore, EPA has begun to look very closely at lean as an area in which environmental and business practitioners can work together. On the one hand, lean practitioners save money finding undiscovered opportunities to eliminate the same wastes that concern environmental agencies. On the other hand, much expertise in environmental waste-minimizing opportunities already exists. It is readily available by tap-