CASE STUDY No. 9714
KEY WORDS ELECTRONICS / AVIONICS--SMALL PARTS CONTAINERS, REUSE
Rockwell-Collins Avionics & Communications
400 Collins Road N.E.
Cedar Rapids, IA 52498
Contact: Darrell A. Brothersen, Resource Recycling & Waste Reduction Leader.
Tel: 319-295-3768. Fax: 319-295-3437.
Summary
A comprehensive program of waste prevention has enabled the company to reduce solid waste disposal from 700 tons per year in 1992 to less than 300 tons in 1996, even as sales volume increased 25%.
Action
Rockwell-Collins manufactures advanced avionics and airborne/mobile communications systems for commercial and military applications worldwide. It receives a wide variety of electronics and other assembly parts in specialized plastic, metal, and cardboard containers. Before 1993, much of this packaging material was considered trash at the receiving end. Then a major new emphasis was placed on waste prevention, including an item-by-item review of packaging to determine its potential for reuse. This cooperative venture included the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), the Purchasing Department, and suppliers. Implementation of the resulting program was entrusted to employee teams identified as "Solid Waste Environmental Leadership and Learning," SWELL, for short. In addition, a partnership was formed with Goodwill Industries of Southeast Iowa for the employment of handicapped persons to sort and refurbish parts containers.
Typical of results is the system to reuse small cardboard boxes and plastic bags (on the order of 3x4x8" and 6x8x12"). Empty containers are collected commingled and placed in gaylord boxes near the loading dock. The Goodwill truck comes by weekly and collects a dozen or more gaylords for sorting, inspection, and preparation for return to suppliers. Inspection includes, for example, testing of anti-static bags to make sure they remain reliable barriers to static electricity. The project to reuse small boxes alone has reduced disposal by 6.5 tons per year.
Other materials now returned to parts suppliers for reuse on a no-cost basis include several sizes of electronic parts trays, anti-static foam, and plastic "bubble-pack" packaging. Items that cannot be returned to suppliers, including various containers, bottles, boxes, reels, and tubes, are made available free to non-profit groups and schools.
Another basic change involved the Purchasing Department. Previous policy emphasized the unit discounts available for purchase of large quantities. But the SWELL team observed that this practice also led to considerable amounts of unused and waste material, ultimately requiring disposal. The new approach permits buyers to purchase only the amount required, at slightly higher unit prices, for specialized uses when warranted. Also, suppliers have been encouraged to stop using glue to bond polyfoam to shipping boxes, enhancing the possibilities for reuse of materials.
Payback
Putting all waste prevention programs in place cost about $60,000 in capital
equipment. Rockwell-Collins pays Goodwill about $50,000 a year for its services. But
measured against an annual reduction in disposal of nearly 450 tons, Rockwell-Collins
considers the cost minimal. The company has prepared a document titled "World Class
Resource Recovery & Recycling Program Guide." It is available through the U.S.
Navy's Best Manufacturing Practices site on the World Wide Web: http://www.bmpcoe.org.