Helping Improve Employee Engagement Through Sustainable Practices

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Employees want to work for a business that shares their ethics and values. They want to know that their employer has a moral compass and that they are authentically interested in solving the world’s major issues.

Employees also want to feel empowered by their employer. Empowered employees create a culture of community and are more invested in the success of the business.

You can improve employee engagement by tapping into a commonly held value: sustainability. Nearly 9 in 10 people want to live in a more sustainable, equitable world and will work hard to protect the environment.

Introducing Sustainability

Effective leaders are imaginative, driven, and care about their employees. This helps them create greater buy-in when rolling out new initiatives and practices. As a leader in the workplace, you can improve engagement in sustainability practices by educating employees and underlining the need for greater environmental activism.

Start by highlighting the key facts and figures. Draw from trusted sources like NASA and empower your people by giving them access to key environmental data. You may find that some folks are still reluctant to join in with sustainability practices, but others will come around to the idea.

Consider reaching out to employees before you start setting new policies. You may find that your employees are already enthusiastic about making a positive change and have ideas that you had not yet considered. A quick sustainability survey will improve buy-in and ensure you create a sustainable workplace that everyone cares about.

Sustainable Workplaces

Sustainability should start in the workplace. There are plenty of easy changes you can make to minimize your business’s impact on the environment and become a force for positive change.

If your employees wear a uniform or must meet a dress code, consider starting a sustainable clothing scheme that embraces slow fashion and recycled clothing. Keep stock of old uniforms, and offer to repair any damaged clothes. If your employees are due to attend an event with a dress code, consider renting suits and formal wear. This will save your employees money and help reduce their personal waste.

You should liaise with your local council or government to discover sustainability schemes in your area. You may be surprised to learn about new recycling and waste-reduction opportunities in your district. When speaking with local government, use the opportunity to connect with governmental organizations that help you form a deeper relationship with your community.

Outreach

Employees care about the impact their job has on the world. 74% of employees say that their job is more fulfilling when their businesses make a positive change in their community and 64% of millennials say that they would not work for an employer that does not have a strong corporate social responsibility program.

Sustainability-oriented employees will also want to see your business make a financial commitment to sustainability. If possible, set aside part of your budget for sustainability-oriented outreach opportunities.

You can amplify your business’s impact on the local environment by working with community organizations that protect your local ecosystem. Look for community outreach programs that host opportunities like:

●       Community Clean Up

●       Community Gardening or Allotment Schemes

●       Water Conservation Efforts

●       Waste-Free Events

These sustainability opportunities can improve your brand presence and help improve employee engagement. Sustainability-oriented employees will jump at the chance to make a difference in their city or town and will love that your business gives them financial backing.

Setting an Example

As a leader, employees look to you as an example and will model their workplace behavior on you. If you ignore recycling bins and wear fast fashion, they will too. Instead, take your role seriously and try to model sustainability and eco-conscious living whenever possible.

Make your commitment to sustainability public by starting a carpooling scheme. Carpooling is a great way to save money on fuel and reduce everyone’s personal carbon emissions. Create an informal network of contact information and start a rotation so everyone does their fair share of driving. Carpooling employees may even be eligible for financial kickbacks from the Clean Air act depending on the state you live in.

Consider hosting a voluntary sustainability-oriented town-hall meeting once per month. Town hall meetings encourage participation from all levels of the corporate ladder and give everyone an equal voice. Take the suggestions you gather in earnest and try to incorporate as many ideas as possible into your workplace planning.

Conclusion

Your employees want to work for a business that matches their values and commitment to sustainability. Give your employees access to all the information they need and survey them to discover which sustainability policies excite them the most. Set a strong personal example by following your own policies to the letter and offer opportunities to carpool and clean up your community. Even small changes, like offering rented business attire, can reduce your personal carbon emissions and improve employee engagement. 

About the Author: Luke Smith is a writer and researcher turned blogger. Since finishing college he is trying his hand at being a freelance writer. He enjoys writing on a variety of topics but technology and business topics are his favorite. When he isn't writing you can find him traveling, hiking, or gaming.

Boost Productivity with Smarter Workplace Safety Workshop

At the beginning of this year I attended a Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) Workshop on Boost Productivity with Smarter Workplace Safety.  The workshop was conducted by CONNSTEP that is a Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP) partner that I have worked with many times over the past twenty years.  The training session was led by Matin Karbassioon, CONNSTEP Lean Consultant, and Nick Wallick, Lean Analyst for CT Training and Consulting Institute.

The approach proposed during this workshop is to utilize lean principles and practices currently in use in many manufacturing companies and then incorporate health and safety and sustainability aspects into these standard lean tools.  An example is the Value Stream Mapping tool which is used to define both information and material flow, to identify value-add and non-value-add steps (waste), and opportunities for improvement.  The workshop proposed addition of safety and environmental considerations as part of this process which could be an effective approach if implemented properly and supported by leadership.  An example of a standard product manufacturing view is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Standard VSM Map

The VSM is used to identify opportunities to move from a current state to some improved future state.  The workshop proposes to add safety improvements to this analysis as illustrated below in Figure 2.

Figure 2- VSM with Safety Opportunities

Following this progression in thinking, we can also use the lean tools to analyze current natural resource usages and identify opportunities for improvement.  Figures 3 - 5 illustrate how this approach could be incorporated into the “standard” lean process.

Figure 3 - VSM with EHS Info Added

Figure 4 - VSM with Material Usage Example

Figure 5- VSM Overview with EHS Info

The process mapping approach was discussed in more detail and additional information can be obtained by review of the workshop presentation that is provided as a separate document.

Discussion of this approach included identifying links to safety related to the “8 wastes” of the lean process: Defects, Overproductions, Waiting, Non-utilized people, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, and Excess Processing.  I’ve summarized some of these relationships in the table below to illustrate the idea.

Waste Type	Links to Safety
Defects	1.     Defect prevention requires less work and involves fewer injury exposures than defect discovery and repair 2.     High levels of defects may also signal poor housekeeping and/or lighting which may create other safety issues such as distraction and eye strain
Overproduction	1.     Overproduction indicates that workers may be working faster than needed by the next process, which can increase the risk of a repetitive strain injury. 2.     Making more than is needed may also result in clutter and poor housekeeping and increased number of accidents. (balanced workload based on customer demand rate reduces these risks and decreases the likelihood of increased work in process inventory)
Waiting	1.     Delays and time wasted due to poor material and information flow can impact employee motivation and increase the risk of falls and overexertion as workers rush to catch up.
Non-utilized People	1.     Risk of complacency and loss of focus when performing monotonous tasks.
Transportation	1.     Excessive product movement increases exposure to material handling and industrial truck injuries.
Excess Inventory	1.     Excess work in process between operations (due to large lot production or processes with long cycle times) impedes movement, increases the risk of trip hazards, distractions, blind spots for pedestrians and fork lifts, as well as manual handling injuries. 2.     Excess raw material inventory will result in temporary (often unsafe) storage locations creating obstacles to safe movement of employees
Motion	1.     Unnecessary motions such as reaching over the head for a tool or searching for one, instead of having it within normal reaching distance, at the point of use, are both wasteful and hazardous.
Excess Processing	1.     Inefficient work flow and extra processing steps such as avoidable reaching, twisting and material handling tasks increase overexertion risks. 2.     Process steps that absolutely add no value to the product of service being provided may help increase EHS risks

Finally, the 5S process was discussed as one of the best means of creating and maintaining conditions favorable to a safe and healthy workplace.  This process has five steps or levels although there is a school of thought that suggests adding a 6^th S for “Safety” but careful adherence to the 5S process will result in safety improvements.  The 5S steps are:

Sort – identify and remove clutter

Set (in order) – identify locations for frequently used items and ensure they are kept in their place

Shine – clean and inspect everything inside and out (inspection provides opportunities for improvement)

Standardize – Create rules to maintain the first 3s’s

Sustain – Adherence to the rules and proper training of all workers

National studies show a strong correlation between high incident rates and lean implementations where strong safety programs were not present.

How do you incorporate safety into your lean efforts?

Guest Post: Encouraging Your Employees To Recycle More

I am pleased to introduce this guest post Lee Newell, who has experience in recycling programs. He has some advise for engaging employees in a recycling program that you can use in your workplace. This advice is applicable for most new initiatives as you will see.
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Recycling isn’t just a way of saving money, or even satisfying regulations. More and more, businesses are being judged on a wide range of credentials, including their environmental policy. Asking your employees to recycle as much as possible makes good sense from any number of angles. But how do you encourage busy people to make the change and swap landfill for the recycle bin?

Lean is all about maximum effectiveness for minimum effort and learning as you go. Take it as read that you’re not going to get everything right the first time, but as you find out what works then you can use those insights to expand your program. Here are some ideas for getting started.

1. Appoint a champion

First, you need someone to champion your cause. It doesn’t matter if you call them a Product Owner or Eco-warrior, but you need someone to organize your company’s recycling program – one point of contact for questions (and complaints), and one person with overall responsibility and oversight of what’s going on. Ideally this will be someone full of ideas and an infectious enthusiasm, who is able to communicate clearly why it’s so important to get it right.

2. Involve people

The most successful initiatives aren’t decreed from on-high. Whilst you need strong leadership, the more you can involve your people in the decisions that affect them, the more they are going to buy into them. You may need to set some time aside for training new and existing staff, but try to make it a collaborative process. The more they have input into the recycling program, and the more they understand why it matters to them, the easier it will be to implement.

3. Minimum effort, maximum impact

Don’t try to change the world all at once. People don’t like that – especially if they can’t see why it’s important. Start with one small, easy area. Paper is the obvious one. Estimates suggest that every office worker gets through around 10,000 sheets of paper a year – and two-thirds of that is wasted. Swapping the wastepaper basket for a recycle bin is a small step, especially if it’s right next to the photocopier or printer. It takes literally no effort to make the change, but there’s a big impact right off the bat. Similarly there will be obvious places for toner cartridges, drinks cans and bottles, and other common items. Reduce the number of general waste bins, and put them in places that mean they are a less easy option for recycling that should end up elsewhere.

4. Make it fun

Depending on the nature of your workforce, you can incentivise them to take part by various means. Run competitions to see who can come up with the best re-purposed or ‘upcycled’ office gadget/toy. Get them to nominate a charity to support by recycling old computers, toner cartridges and other hardware. Invite new ideas for reducing your carbon footprint or other environmental impacts.

5. Iterate

Small refinements can make a big difference. As you experiment and learn you’ll find ways to improve your recycling scheme. The famous book Nudge explores the idea of ‘choice architecture’ – changing behavior by the options you give people. For example, most employees generate a huge amount of waste paper every day (around two pounds on average), so it can make sense to have a personal recycle bin under every desk. Similarly, putting general waste bins in central places means that everyone else can see what you’re throwing away. Perhaps simplifying things so that a smaller range of items is recycled will result in a greater proportion of those things ending up in the right place. The idea is to create cultural norms in your organisation and encourage your staff to recycle without having to think hard about it at all.

About the Author:

Lee Newell is a marketing assistant at the experts in products for business - ESE Direct (http://www.esedirect.co.uk). ESE have a wide range of products to assist recycling in the workplace and always strive to make positive contributions to communities and the environment.When he's not busy blogging, Lee is a keen cyclist and often participates in charity bike rides.

Lean Eliminates DOWNTIME, Green adds FEWER

Today is Earth Day 2013 whose theme is the Face of Climate Change.  I am not an expert in this topic and nor I am going to talk about it here.  However, in celebration of the environment today I thought I would share some thoughts on the use of Lean and Green together for the better.

I have talked about how Lean eliminates downtime before.  DOWNTIME is a acronym I use to remember and explain the eight wastes of processes.

Defects

Over-production

Waiting

Non-utilized Resources/Talent

Transportation

Inventory

Motion

Excess Processing

By focusing on reducing or eliminating the Eight Wastes associated with DOWNTIME we can shorten the lead time to the customer. This will result in lower costs, higher capacity for more demand, and increased customer satisfaction which are all desirable to grow your business profitably.

Green is a synergistic concept to Lean where the focus is on eliminating environmental waste.  WASTE is another acronym I shared to explain and remember the 5 key environmental wastes.   It could also be said that Green adds FEWER:

Full use of raw material
Energy efficiency
Water conservation
Elimination of toxic/hazard material
Reduction
       -Packaging
       -Emissions
       -Waste

The most obvious benefits of Green and Lean are cost savings which are synergistically coupled with value creation opportunities. Cost savings may include energy savings, productivity savings, and savings from improved utilization of materials. Value creation opportunities may include innovations that involve creation of new products out of waste materials and finding ways, in service delivery processes, to enhance customer’s experience.

Lean eliminates DOWNTIME by reducing those wastes.  Green adds FEWER by reducing WASTE.  The key to being successful  at Lean and Green is to focus on FEWER WASTE causing DOWNTIME.

Lean and Green from the Connecticut DEEP

Lean and Green has been a topic here a number of times because of its importance and synergy.

Lean manufacturing practices and sustainability are conceptually similar in that both seek to maximize organizational efficiency. Where they differ is in where the boundaries are drawn, and in how waste is defined. Sustainability expands the definition of waste to include the wider range of consequences of business actions including environmental and social consequences. Lean processes are inherently less wasteful and in this sense promoting lean processes can help organizations become more sustainable.

While doing some surfing on the web recently I came across a video that shows how the Connecticut DEEP is using Lean and Green to become more efficient.  This video caught my eye because of the application of Lean in government and the fact that it's in the state I work in. Also, the sensei in the video, Fred Shamburg, was one of my sensei's along my journey. In fact, Fred was my first introduction to combining Lean and Green for mutual benefit so it was great to see him in action.



How are you using Kaizen in your company to impact Lean and Green aspects of your business?  Share your experiences on the synergy of Lean and Green.


Note: Stay tuned to the end of the video for a "Lean Quote".

Guest Post: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...

Today's post is by Rich Hoover, the Director of Sustainability for Libbey Glass, global manufacturers of drinking glasses and other glass tableware. Libbey has been working at integrating Lean into their global operations since 2004 and have recognized sustainability as a business imperative since early 2010. In this post Rich explains the important hierarchy of the three R's and the most effective way to eliminate waste.


We typically see or hear these words in this order for a reason. This hierarchy encourages us to reduce consumption first, which is the most effective way to eliminate waste. The least costly resource or material is that which is never used. Reuse is next in line, which is simply using an item over again for the same or different purpose than originally intended. Finally, recycle, which means to make new products from used or old materials. Let’s look at each of these landfill alternatives in more detail…

Reduce
The place to begin is to use less. Consumption reduction decreases the amount of natural resources used throughout the life cycle of a product, from extraction of raw materials, to several layers of transportation, to manufacturing or processing, to use by consumers. Reduction isn’t easy. Most consumers think “bigger is better”, “new beats used” and “convenience is key”. When you shop, look for things that will last…things that are not just durable and well-made, but useful and attractive. The extra money you spend will be offset by the money you don’t spend replacing them. Maintain and repair items to keep them working and looking good. Other ways to reduce include: buy products made from post-consumer recycled materials, especially paper products; choose energy-efficient electronics, appliances and vehicles; buy local when possible (less transportation = less energy used); look for items with minimal packaging; cut back on water use; and turn off electronics and lights when not needed.

Reuse
Before you recycle or dispose of an item, consider whether it has some life left in it. Reusing items keeps new resources from being used for a while longer and old resources from entering the waste stream. Reuse can take many forms. Find alternate uses for items such as plastic shopping bags or packaging from new item purchases. Have a garage sale or list items on internet commerce sights to turn used items into cash. Donate reusable items to charity. Books, magazines and dvd’s can be shared or traded. Use your creativity to find endless reuse opportunities!

Recycle
Due to the continued proliferation of curbside recycling programs, it is fairly easy to recycle a number of common household materials…plastic containers, metal cans, newspapers and magazines, and corrugated containers. While recycling is a much-preferred alternative to landfill, recycling has its shortcomings. Recycling rules vary by municipality and the rules are not always straightforward. Also, recycling is beneficial as long as there is demand for the different recycled materials. Finally, resources are needed to sort, transport and reprocess recycled materials into new products. Even with these blemishes, recycling still reduces waste. Recycling ties in to all 3 pillars of sustainability…conserving resources for future generations (people); keeping waste and toxins out of landfills and reduced manufacturing intensity from recycled input materials (planet) and; generating cost savings, job creation and revenue (profit).




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Lean and Green - Together Maximizing Efficiency through Waste Elimination

Last week a modified version of my article "Lean is the means to be Green" was published on The Green Economy Post.

Lean manufacturing practices and sustainability are conceptually similar in that both seek to maximize organizational efficiency. Where they differ is in where the boundaries are drawn, and in how waste is defined. Sustainability expands the definition of waste to include the wider range of consequences of business actions including environmental and social consequences. Lean processes are inherently less wasteful and in this sense promoting lean processes can help organizations become more sustainable.

Below is the article in full.

Many manufacturers know the benefits of lean manufacturing: higher productivity, better quality, reduced cycle time, plus enhanced employee engagement. Lean is excellent at marshaling different groups and individuals into a high performing team focused on rooting out waste.

A Lean organization is commonly characterized by the elimination of the following seven wastes (Ohno’s wastes):

• Waste of overproduction (waste from faster than necessary pace);
• Waste of waiting;
• Waste of transport (conveyance);
• Waste from inappropriate processing;
• Waste due to unnecessary inventory (excess inventory);
• Waste due to unnecessary motion; and
• Waste due to defects.

By adopting Lean Principles, businesses can eliminate or reduce wasteful processes that can slow down the manufacturing procedure and add to costs.

In recent years many companies have established a fundamental goal to minimize the environmental impact while maintaining high quality and service for all business processes and products. This is commonly referred to as sustainability or green manufacturing. According to the Department of Commerce, “Sustainable manufacturing is the creation of manufactured products that use processes that minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources, are safe for employees, communities, and consumers and are economically sound.”

When implementing lean within our organizations, equipment reliability is a predominant foundational element that enables lean operational performance. Embracing green manufacturing requires giving more focus to environmental and energy concerns during the implementation of reliability improvement projects. Improvements geared toward improving equipment reliability have distinct linkages to environmental performance.

As most manufacturers are starting to realize, the quest to become green takes them right back to Lean. Applying ‘Lean Principles’ – a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement - is one of the key ways to enhance environmental performance. By applying the tools, systems thinking, and lessons learned from the process improvement methodology they can effectively operationalize sustainability.

Lean and sustainability are conceptually similar. Both seek to maximize the efficiency of a system. This is accomplished through waste and time minimization. The difference lies in where this system (or process) boundary is drawn and how, and in how waste is defined. Lean sees waste as non-value added to the customer; green sees waste as extraction and consequential disposal of resources at rates or in forms beyond that which nature can absorb.

When companies expand the definition of waste to include not only product and process waste, but also the business consequences of unsustainable practices, Ohno’s list of wastes takes a different form:

• Waste of natural resources
• Waste of human potential
• Waste due to emissions
• Waste from byproducts (reuse potential)
• Terminal waste, waste from by-products that have not further usefulness
• Energy waste
• Waste of the unneeded (e.g., packaging)

When the definition of waste is expanded and when it’s understood that the consequences of corporate decisions extend past the company parking lot, Lean can indeed be green. Less waste is good for the environment — and the company’s bottom line — and reducing waste in both products and processes is what Lean is all about. So it makes perfect sense that in order to achieve higher levels of environmental performance, your organization must first adopt the principles and practices of lean manufacturing.

There are also multiple Lean benefits from a green perspective including limitation of over-production. Other benefits include the reduction of obsolete equipment and the ability to provide efficient systems, thereby reducing both energy and materials usage.

Lean manufacturing practices, which are at the very core of sustainability, save time and money — an absolutely necessity in today’s competitive global marketplace. While the pursuit of Green and Lean is not a destination but a journey it is clear that organizations that stretch themselves to build a culture around the values of Sustainability, Excellence, and Equity will ultimately have a big advantage those who do not. Isn’t the ultimate definition of “sustainable manufacturing” to be able to compete and not only survive, but thrive?


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Lean is the Means to be Green

Last week I had the pleasure of writing an article for Enna's newsletter. Enna is a developer and manufacturer of innovative, action-oriented training / workshop training packages developed for internally led process improvement initiatives. If you don't subscribe to their newsletter you can read it below.

Many manufacturers know the benefits of lean manufacturing: higher productivity, better quality, reduced cycle time, plus enhanced employee engagement. Lean is excellent at marshaling different groups and individuals into a high performing team focused on rooting out waste.

A Lean organization is commonly characterized by the elimination of the following seven wastes (Ohno’s wastes):

• Waste of overproduction (waste from faster than necessary pace);
• Waste of waiting;
• Waste of transport (conveyance);
• Waste from inappropriate processing;
• Waste due to unnecessary inventory (excess inventory);
• Waste due to unnecessary motion; and
• Waste due to defects.

In recent years many companies have established a fundamental goal to minimize the environmental impact while maintaining high quality and service for all business processes and products. This is commonly referred to as sustainability or green manufacturing. According to the Department of Commerce, “Sustainable manufacturing is the creation of manufactured products that use processes that minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources, are safe for employees, communities, and consumers and are economically sound.”

As most manufacturers are starting to realize, the quest to become green takes them right back to Lean. Applying ‘Lean Principles’ – a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement - is one of the key ways to enhance environmental performance.

Lean and sustainability are conceptually similar. Both seek to maximize the efficiency of a system. This is accomplished through waste and time minimization. The difference lies in where this system (or process) boundary is drawn and how, and in how waste is defined. Lean sees waste as non-value added to the customer; green sees waste as extraction and consequential disposal of resources at rates or in forms beyond that which nature can absorb.

When companies expand the definition of waste to include not only product and process waste, but also the business consequences of unsustainable practices, Ohno’s list of wastes takes a different form:

• Waste of natural resources
• Waste of human potential
• Waste due to emissions
• Waste from byproducts (reuse potential)
• Terminal waste, waste from by-products that have not further usefulness
• Energy waste
• Waste of the unneeded (e.g., packaging)

When the definition of waste is expanded and when it’s understood that the consequences of corporate decisions extend past the company parking lot, Lean can indeed be green. Less waste is good for the environment — and the company’s bottom line — and reducing waste in both products and processes is what Lean is all about. So it makes perfect sense that in order to achieve higher levels of environmental performance, your organization must first adopt the principles and practices of lean manufacturing.

Lean manufacturing practices, which are at the very core of sustainability, save time and money — an absolutely necessity in today’s competitive global marketplace. While the pursuit of Green and Lean is not a destination but a journey it is clear that organizations that stretch themselves to build a culture around the values of Sustainability, Excellence, and Equity will ultimately have a big advantage those who do not. Isn’t the ultimate definition of “sustainable manufacturing” to be able to compete and not only survive, but thrive?

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The Lean Sink

Washing our hands is an all too common process.  One we do so often we forget about the process.  Have you ever stopped to think about the waste within this process.  Maybe you start the water and wet your hand then reach for the soap.  Because the soap may be centrally located for a couple of sinks to share you let the water run.  While you get soap you are wasting water.  Then when your hand are clean you probably have to walk across the bathroom to dry your hands.  If you are lucky there is an energy efficient hand dryer instead of paper towels.  This process causes you to waste materials, has excess processing, and more transportation that necessary.

So what do you get when you combine this

with this 

and with this

Well, you get a Lean sink that combines all these steps into one unit.

Here is a video demonstrating this great invention.


and if you like this you will like Paul Akers find from Japan.



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