Optimising the process

The business and environmental benefits of optimising your process include:

• increased yield of saleable product
• improved product quality and thus less need for rework
• improved efficiency and reduced process time

Processes that produce large and variable amounts of waste can often benefit from improved process control. The first step is to identify the parameters affecting the amount of waste.

Issues to consider are:

• Cutting — Identify the inputs and wastes from each process step
• Heat treatment — Is each step necessary and can any process step be combined?
• Grinding — Could waste be prevented or reduced by altering the sequence of steps?
• Inspection — Could wastes from different process steps be reused elsewhere in the process?

The second step is to measure and monitor the process.