A program of the U.S. Dept of Commerce Green Suppliers Network Office Furniture Industry participant GLRPPR Spring Meeting, March 13, 2007 Mary Ellen Mika.

A program of the U.S.

Dept of Commerce

Green Suppliers Network

Office Furniture Industry participant

GLRPPR Spring Meeting, March 13, 2007

Mary Ellen Mika

Supply Chain Management

Steelcase Inc.

[email protected]

616.246.9787

2A program of the U.S.Dept of

Commerce

GSN – Lean and Clean Opportunity

We contacted Dubois Johnson-Diversey

regarding: Green Suppliers Network

& Cost-savings ideas for our

paint pretreatment systems.

They offered a ‘green CUSTOMER’ solution to

address both.

3A program of the U.S.Dept of

Commerce

What is the benefit?

How does Steelcase benefit?

Labor Energy Water

Chemical

…cost savings and environmental impact reduction.

Great Lakes/Great Plains - P2ConferenceUS EPA Building, 77 Jackson St. Chicago, IL March 13-14, 2007

Total Cost of Ownership: a Business Case from the Supply Chain Perspective

Case study was conducted in a STEELCASE Systems Plant metal pretreatment washer in Grand Rapids, MI

Steelcase Representatives:– MaryEllen Mika– Mike Warners

DuBois Representatives:– Keith Lane– Jerry Harrington

• Global Leader – Office Furniture Industry

• $2.9 Billion in Global Sales

• Mfg. space consolidation (13MM to 5.5MM ft2)

• Environmental Leadership

• Sustainable growth via “industrial reinvention”

• Strong set of Core Values

Steelcase facts*:

* 2006 Annual Report @ steelcase.com

• 2006 Awards and Recognition*:– MBDC’s C2C (cradle to cradle) product certification– Only International C2C Certification– Gold achievement, WasteWise – 2nd year – prod stewardship– Honorable mention, WasteWise – 5th year – waste minimization– MVP2 (Most Valuable Pollution Prevention) from NPPR– International Innovation Award – Steelcase Canada– 2006 Neighborhood Envr. Partners Gold award – by MDEQ– Habitat for Humanity – Kent County Donor of the Year award– Riverkeeper Annual Benefit Honors – only company so honored– Steelcase joins EPA’s Climate Leaders Program – reduce GHG

– Just to name a few . . . . .

STEELCASE and the Environment:

* 2006 Environmental Reports @steelcase.com

• Parent company: S. C. Johnson Racine, WI (retail/distribution)

• Operating Divisions of JohnsonDiversey Inc. (Commercial/Ind’l)– H & H, Food & Beverage, BG&E, Industrial

• DuBois Chemical- Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio– 80 year history of helping customers– ISO 14001 Certified– Markets include: Surface Finishing, Food, Paper,

Transportation, other Specialty markets– Applications include: Food C&S, Water & Wastewater

treatment, Facilities Maintenance, Lubrication, MWF Fluids, Processing of Metals, Plastics prior to paint, PSB’s etc.

Facts about DuBois Chemical:

• What is the Green Suppliers Network?– Collaborative venture among industry, US EPA and US Dept of

Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP). GSN works with large manufacturers to engage their small to medium-sized suppliers in low-cost technical reviews that employ Lean and Clean methodologies to increase productivity, reduce waste, and boost profitability.

• What is Lean and Clean?– Lean and Clean expands the traditional definition of Lean (eliminating non-

value added time, labor and capitol) to one that includes environmental wastes (e.g., reducing energy, water, waste, and emissions). This targets the root causes of wasteful practices and provides a framework for achieving specific, measurable business and environmental goals.

Green Suppliers Network:

Focus of Lean and Clean

• Lean Eliminates:– Defects– Overproduction– Waste– Non-utilized people– Transportation– Inventory– Motion– Extra processing

• Clean Strives for:– Nature-friendly subs– Optimized material

and energy efficiency– Waste elimination– Air / water emission

reduction– Solid / Hazardous

waste reduction– Toxic material reduction

or substitution– Efficient packaging

GSN – Lean and Clean

Started our project down the path of . . .

• LCA or “Life Cycle Analysis”

• COO or “Cost of Ownership”

Mid-way into our project discovered the “TCO for Metalworking” reference @ the WMRC web site.

• TCO or “Total Cost of Ownership” has been defined as “the sum of all expenses and costs associated with the purchase and use of equipment, materials, and services.” (Monczka 1998)

• Steelcase signed on as an OEM Champion and has been an active member in the GSN process since ~2004.– Steelcase’s GSN Champion; Mary Ellen Mika

• An opportunity to bring “Lean & Green” concepts into Steelcase’s supply chain of small to medium suppliers

• Candidate companies are invited to attend a GSN session by their sponsoring OEM company.

• DuBois Reps were invited by Steelcase and did attend a GSN focused session sponsored by the Office Furniture Manufacture’s Association in Western Michigan (Oct 2005).

Steelcase and the GSN:

• DuBois Rep had an established relationship in the Wood Plant

• Interaction with MaryEllen Mika & the GSN Focus

• Steelcase Paint Engineering Team decided to look for vendors with potential solutions to ongoing QC issues and for general process improvements.

• DuBois was one of six suppliers to be invited to engage the project by being subjected to Steelcase’s “Toll Gate” selection process

Steelcase/DuBois – background info:

“We saw the opportunity to implement a GSN focused solution and deliver much more; via “TCO” improvements.” Keith Lane

• Must pass an initial process qualification

• Energy reduction by lowering operating temps.

• Lower operating costs for process chemicals– Tank-life extensions / Innovative chemistry

• Document trial via on-site presence/data collection

• Water use/reuse & Labor reductions were added on by DuBois Team as achievable goals

Steelcase – Project goals:

Next - a few “basic concept” slides

A few basic concepts – 1 of 3

• Hardness salts:– Inverse solubility of calcium and magnesium– Base component of scale and sludge– Aids in grease formation – with oils and/or soils– Negative impact on quality . . . Over time– Negative impact on cleanliness (nozzles & screens)– Negative impact on tank life . . . Over time

– 1MM lbs water @ 150 ppm Hardness carries 150 lbs salts– 1MM lbs water @ 8.33#/gal = 120,000 gallons of water– 30 GPM flow into a process will introduce about 150 / 180

lbs of salt every 72 hours of operation.– This is generally the basis for 2 to 10 week dump cycles

ppm

SOFT

Grains

ppm

HARD

Grains

< 80

< 4.5

80-125

4.5-7.5

125-200

7.5-12

> 200

> 12

TYPICAL WATER HARDNESS

WA

OR

CA

CO

ND

SD

TX

NMOK

WI

MI

OHINIL

FL

LA

MS

TN

KY

NC

SC

GA

WV

PA

NY

VA

MD

DE

VT

CT

MA

NH

RI

ID

MT

WY

UTNV

AZ

KS

NE

MN

IA

MO

AK

AL

ME

NJ

MS

Basic concepts – 2 of 3

• Purified water like RO or DI:– Advantages:

Removes > 95% of all impuritiesExtends the life of chemical bathsProvides for high quality rinsingWill not “artificially” consume chemicalsWill not load a bath with by products (re: calcium phosphate)Will not promote the formation of “sticky” residuesWill keep the internal wetted surfaces much cleaner

– Disadvantages:Cost more than city waterCan promote bacteria if not pro-actively managed

A few basic concepts – 3 of 3

• “Skimming” counter-flows:– Advantages:

Constantly removes surface scumSimple . . . Yet effectivePromotes the “reuse” of waterMinimizes “total” water volume usedReduces discharge flows and points of dischargeKeeps rinses cleanLowers conductivities in the final rinsesPromotes “hydraulic balancing” and water minimizationPromotes high quality / high volume rinsing on parts

DuBois – process audits:• Performed “process audits” on pretreatment

processing lines to . . .– Document “current state” of process variables

• “S W A T C H E D” principles– Produce “flow diagrams”

• Water flow rates . . . inputs and discharge points– Produce “process timing charts”– Identify heated stage(s) and operating temperatures– Evaluate overall washer cleanliness

• As a result of our efforts . . . We were offered an opportunity for a 6 week trial in a production washer at the Systems Plant in Grand Rapids, MI

DuBois – process audits:“S W A T C H E D” is an acronym for:

S – soils and substrates

W – water source(s)

A - action

T - time

C - chemical

H - heat

E – environmental impact

D - dollars

“Current State” - flow diagram

the DuBois’ approach included:

• Use of innovation chemistry – Secure TEC ES– Low temperature formulation – Energy reduction potential– Low sludging – side benefits when coupled with RO water

• Focus on 100% use / reuse of RO water– Reduce environmental footprint (GSN focused activity)– TDS reduction / hardness salt elimination / scale reduction– Main driver of “cleanliness” and “water reduction”

• Stabilization of chemical processing bath – Match product addition to consumption/depletion rate– Control board methodology – “plug-n-play”

• On-site Reps to track “Life Cycle Analysis”– And implement “skimming counter-flows”

“Future State” - flow diagram

“TCO” Results (after 5 months)

Energy reduction – 60% reduction in BTU’s required

Water usage reduction – 80% less water required

Innovative chemistry – 20% to 30% less volume

Waste stream reduction– 85% to 95% less discharge

Labor to maintain washer – >50% reduction

“AAR” – Lesson’s Learned!

• Purified water offers value and consistency

• Skimming counter-flows reduce water volume

• Washer stays cleaner (screens, nozzles, tanks)

• Processing results are very consistent

• Water, energy, labor, and chemical reductions offer “TCO” improvements.

Thoughts going forward . . .

• Lean & Green in the industrial marketplace has value!

• “TCO” concepts offer economic growth opportunities and environmental enhancements.

• Shrinking of the industrial specialty chemical market is going to happen . . . . with us . . . .or . . . . without us.

• “Leaning & Greening” of our industrial markets could be a solid sales growth strategy . . . “Let’s be the first to pro-actively go there and take the additional “market share” that comes with it.” J. Harrington

Thank You

Are there any questions?