Green Packaging Machinery: What's your definition?
Nikki from FoxJet
There is debate whether packaging machinery can or should be positioned as "green". If a machine makes a sustainable package, I would think it is considered "green" or environmentally friendly. But what about equipment and machinery that operates with less energy - significantly less energy? Does the characteristic of low energy consumption constitute "green" nomenclature? Tell me what you think.
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green machine
Kate Putnam
You can define 'green' machinery by the material it runs, the energy it uses or the raw material involved in the making of the machine. You could also define ist green-ness by its longevity in operation, since that minimizes resource consumption in the construction of the machine.
I suspect that this is in the eye of the beholder, or buyer in this case. A machine that uses less energy sounds great but it it consumes a lot more material in the process, it may not add up to being more green than one that uses more energy and less material.
Pushing Efficiencies
Dean Bellefleur
It’s a great idea Nikki!
Already today we award LEED certification of various levels for building projects that meet the highest green building and performance measures. So why not promote something similar for machines & equipment? I buy in.
Having had the pleasure to experience a LEED platinum level office complex I can tell you the wow factor is extremely high as is the comfort level. In fact many of the performance measures could be cut & pasted for machines & equipment, efficiency as you indicated for example.
Rather than limit the machine green certification to packaging equipment keep it at a macro level to be all inclusive. Dave Haft of Frito-Lay Inc recently provided the keynote address on environmental sustainability at the “ Innovation Takes Root 2010” conference hosted by NatureWorks LLC. His message was close to your point and already in practice. Frito-Lay production plants are upgrading to the highest energy recovery and water conservation targets achievable, in fact some plants have been taken off the grid. Talk about pushing the envelope on sustainability.
So for those that are interested Frito-Lay Inc just wrote the case study.
Greener machines
psmart
There may be several ways of identifying green packaging machinery. Packaging machines that utilize eco friendly components, raw materials and/or technologies may be called “green” or greener .
Manufactures and end-users are starting to pay attention to energy consumption when shopping for new equipment. Often the goal is carbon footprint reduction, as well as, overall reduction of energy costs.
Our company employs several servo technologies in the machines we build, therefore I would like to bring up one important development in “greener servos”. There has been big leap in industrial automation when it comes advancement of “regenerative power supplies”.
Modern “regenerative power bus systems” are capable of storing unused energy produced by motors during deceleration and utilizing it only when required . This new technique may be extremely useful especially in high speed indexing applications, where up to 40 % of energy can be recovered and reused .
Conventional servo motors and braking systems typically turn unused energy into heat, purely by sending unused current to devices called “heat sinks”, commonly installed in variable speed drives and servo drives. Modern systems take advantage of kinetic energy generated during braking routines and convert that same energy to electricity by sending it to” regenerative power bus systems”. These contemporary power regeneration solutions provide more efficient energy management, reduce amount of heat in electrical cabinets and most more importantly consume less electricity.
At Pack-Smart we also utilize low weight alloys in order to reduce inertia in the machines we build, this approach often leads to increased longevity of equipment, reduced energy consumption more notably increased performance. We also encourage our customers to look at using solvent free adhesives and more eco-friendly plastics such us PETs instead of PVCs.
Replacing thermo coupled controls and utilization of analog control methods , in cases where temperature is a factor can provide more harmonized power management, improved performance and some incremental improvement in carbon footprint reduction.
Another critical element of packaging equipment and packaging plants is a good design practice, management and maintenance of pneumatic circuits and components. Paying attention to air management at both plant and machine levels always leads to incremental savings in energy costs and reduced downtime. In today’s fast pace manufacturing world leaky air systems contribute to significant amounts of energy wasted, often significant improvements can be archived with relatively small investments.
Derek Dlugosh-Ostap
Pack-Smart Inc.
derekd@packsmaritnc.com
"Green Packaging Machinery"
Paul Zepf P.Eng. M.Eng....In my 38 years in the packaging industry I have still not seen it all, but the idea of a "Green Machine" sounds good and that is the only good thing about it. Unfortunately we are obsessed with slogans and market prositioning and not actual long term results and fulfilling true needs. LEEDS in Canada is now under fire for problems of definition and effectiveness. I bought a certified EnerStar home, which as an engineer I accepted since it was certified by a government process and developed by assummed engineers. After close inspection it is a marketing scam. I forgot that when certifications or regulations are involved people only do the minimum to get under the wire. In other words, what can I get away with or what can I get out of it. We are inundated with lean, six-sigma, MES, MOM, ERP, TPM and on and on. All these things have a value and a place but most are not understood or even implemented with any real commitment, patience, perseverance and effectiveness. They fall away like toys that we do not like to play with anymore. We are a people obsessed with the quick fix or we believe the words will transform us to a new level of conscienceness. My father taught me, think first then roll up your sleeves and work until you sweat. Words are nice and can get us started but actions define us. The vast majority of losses in any machinery are related to reliability and availability. If you do not understand this statement then the pacakging industry is truly lost. A machine is basically designed for the material or applications required. I follows the need, it usually does not define the need. If our needs are faulty which today most are, then we waste time (that is forever lost) and resources that can be priceless to recover or replace. Since we define our needs, then we need to fix ourselves and not let technology and marketing fix us.
I hear you
Dean Bellefleur
Paul I hear you. Our media is inundated with reports of fraudulent scams, ponzi schemes, FMCG engineered obsolesce, green washed products and it’s in our face every day.
As an engineer you will appreciate the challenge to build a better mouse trap and that’s how I perceive our task today. Spend more time up front building in the checks & balances that will stone wall the schemers that are driven by greed at the expense of the consumer.
I believe society has entered a period of restoration, where we have an obligation to right the basic principles of a consumer driven society for the coming generations. Lets sweat this one out together.
It's all about efficiency and adaptability
John Kowal...I happen to know Kate and Paul and have a lot of respect for both, they are experts in their fields of packaging machinery.
I agree with Kate's original response. "Green" in machinery should be less about energy consumption and more about the ability to run down-gauged packs and closures, bio-based or recycled materials that can affect runnability, and be adaptable to yet unknown future sustainable package designs.
I agree with Paul's rant ;^ ) inasmuch as Paul is one of the industry's great practitioners of OEE, and isn't that the real measure of sustainable machinery?
My two cents is that packaging materials suppliers, package designers, packaging engineers, machinery suppliers and us automation suppliers need to be working together earlier in the process to be effective. They've done it in Europe for a long time.
The LEEDS controversy is interesting because recently some people at US Department of Commerce asked about a "MachineryStar" rating patterned after the successful "EnergyStar" rating for consumer appliances, motors, etc. So I innocently asked the question of a panel of packagers at the PMMI Packaging Operations conference earlier this year.
The answer was a resounding "we don't want the government dictating energy efficiency ratings for the machinery we buy, or else we'll have to buy machinery that doesn't meet our core needs in order to be politically correct." Interesting response, huh?
Green
Keith Campbell...Paul hit it: "It sounds good". If we taught a course entitled "Engineering for the Marketing Professional", it would be all about Green. We need to maximize output and minimize total cost of ownership. That is what engineering departments have always tried to do in the design of packaging lines. We've tried to run with less energy, fewer people and less material for decades. This is simply a matter of looking at the mass / eneergy balance across the entire supply chain and minimizing it. Cost is usually a rather accurate proxy for mass, energy and labor. There is nothing new here.
Focusing on Green as an end in itself will lead us to do the wrong things. Focus on the basic physics, economics and ethics taught in engineering school and the results will be as green as they can be. I just wrote about this on my blog at
http://www.ontheedgeblog.com/blog-mt1/2010/04/lean_and_green_are_not_sus... .
Leverage the hype to do good
johnkowal
Way back in the runup to Y2K, a corporate engineer told management he would need about $5 million to upgrade systems and prepare for the fear that all computers would stop at midnight, Jan 1, 2000.
His management said "you'll spend $120 million. That's what Wall Street expects. If we don't do it, the stock will tank." He ended up buying a bunch of productivity-enhancing technology with the windfall.
The lesson here is to take advantage of the hype to get the best, most innovative manufacturing technology in place while you can. Lead with your tried and true measures of efficiency and call them green -- consider that perhaps the time has finally come for your best counsel to rise to the top.
A big obstacle to adopting game-changing technology on the plant floor tends to be the learning curve. It's hard to give up the status quo. So be sure to include some budget for 'sustainable systems training' in your green manufacturing strategy.
Green Marketing for the Industrial Mrktplace - Good & Bad
Nikki from FoxJet
I intended on posting a summary of what I took away from the responses, but John has taken care of that for me! I agree that times are changing, and highly engineered, innovative "green" machines are available in the industrial marketplace. And buyers would be remiss to slight a piece of equipment just because it is promoted as “green”. It’s my guess that the best packaging equipment engineers are designing in energy efficient and “green” features to their projects. Those products/machines will first meet operational and application needs, but will also offer green benefits. That’s exactly where our organization, FoxJet, is today - our engineers are doing exactly this. We’ve developed and now offer a line of all-electric labelers that are “green”, at least in my mind. If any of you are familiar with automated labeling systems, you know they are traditionally pneumatic requiring shop air. Our systems eliminate the need for shop air, thus making them significantly more energy efficient. But as the marketing arm of FoxJet, I’ve struggled with the “green” message for just the reasons identified in the posts. Thank you all for your input, I will keep plugging away….
"green machinery"
pzepf
Keith said it. I think that TCO or Total cost of ownership is a key determinate. Within TCO is the required analysis of OEE (Time, Speed and Quality). There is no standard way at present of doing it or how to measure certain aspects. I have put together some rough guidelines and methods but everyone looks at it slightly differently. The losses in time or quality by themselves far outspend the losses due to normal consumption of all energy sources. Until companies actually develop and embrace TCO as good business practice, the labeling of "green machines" will have little value or may ever confuse and misdirect efforts away from good business practice. The philosophical concepts of good business practice (GBP) are the greenest way any company can demonstrate "green". Unfortunately, schools no longer teach it. Aristotle knew more about green and business than the best CEOs and government people today.
"green machinery"
pzepf
Keith said it. I think that TCO or Total cost of ownership is a key determinate. Within TCO is the required analysis of OEE (Time, Speed and Quality). There is no standard way at present of doing it or how to measure certain aspects. I have put together some rough guidelines and methods but everyone looks at it slightly differently. The losses in time or quality by themselves far outspend and waste compared to the losses due to normal consumption of all energy sources. Until companies actually develop and embrace TCO as good business practice, the labeling of "green machines" will have little value or may ever confuse and misdirect efforts away from good business practice. The philosophical concepts of good business practice (GBP) are the greenest way any company can demonstrate "green". Unfortunately, schools no longer teach it. Aristotle knew more about green and business than the best CEOs and government people today.
"green machinery"
pzepf
Keith said it. I think that TCO or Total cost of ownership is a key determinate. Within TCO is the required analysis of OEE (Time, Speed and Quality). There is no standard way at present of doing it or how to measure certain aspects. I have put together some rough guidelines and methods but everyone looks at it slightly differently. The losses in time or quality by themselves far outspend and waste compared to the losses due to normal consumption of all energy sources. Until companies actually develop and embrace TCO as good business practice, the labeling of "green machines" will have little value or may ever confuse and misdirect efforts away from good business practice. The philosophical concepts of good business practice (GBP) are the greenest way any company can demonstrate "green". Unfortunately, schools no longer teach it. Aristotle knew more about green and business than the best CEOs and government people today.
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