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Waste Reduction

PROBLEM:  

The department of a major packaging company was having problems with changeover between orders and generation of leftover ink at the end of each job. The company felt it must develop methods to reduce the amount of waste ink generated at the two primary sources, ink preparation area and the pressroom, in order to improve competitiveness and reduce impact on the environment.

APPROACH:

An Ink Management team was established with several project objectives:  

• Reduce solid waste by 20%  
• Reduce ink inventory by 50%  
• Reduce number of activities in ink department  
• Improve quality of ink returned from presses  
• Improve press efficiency by reducing color match downtime
• Track ink inventory to provide information
• Improve work-off efficiency and better utilize existing materials
• Provide a well-documented system
• Train users before implementation of the new system

Three sub-teams were created to oversee specific activities: Metrics, Transition/QS Plan, and Process Mapping.  They developed a schedule for designing the database, customizing software/network, training users, evaluating current inventory, defining the ink management process, implementing changes and monitoring performance.

RESULTS:      

• Reduced waste by 38%
• Reworked 58,000 lbs. of obsolete ink into usable material  
• Achieved a cost savings of over $500,000 in year one  
• Implemented new ink management software  
• Implemented process to control inventory levels  
• Implemented new practices that greatly improved the organization, utilization and tracking of all inks

 

Process Improvement Home

Material Flow 

Setup Reduction

Lean Manufacturing

Cost Reduction

Waste Reduction

President 

Vice President

120 Assembly Drive, PO Box 339 ~ Mendon, New York 14506-0339 phone: 585-624-7660 ~ fax: 585-624-7668