An essential goal of Continuous Improvement is the reduction in rejects and as you can see, there are many costs associated with non-quality rejects that are not self-evident. You can learn about making the most of non-quality rejects here.
What is Reject Re-valorization?
Reject re-valorization, a key component of lean manufacturing, is done by reusing material that would have otherwise been wasted, whether this means recycling material back to its original quality for reuse, or finding another purpose if possible so that waste is reduced.
Manufacturing rejects are one of the most costly wastes in production. Between operators making mistakes, extra material being thrown away, and the various other types of potential errors that result in scrapping material, reject re-valorization is key in cutting cost and improving the manufacturing process. Below are just a few of the benefits that come from reusing rejects and other commonly wasted scrap.
3 Benefits to reject re-valorization:
- Time: By repurposing a part that would have otherwise been scrapped, the time and labor spent making that part are no longer wasted. While this may not seem like a big problem, with several parts over time, it all adds up.
- Sustainability: By recycling the material or repurposing it, the manufacturing process is more sustainable. Less material is consumed over time, saving labor, machine time, and overall energy spent in production.
- Cost: Time and sustainability are both pieces of the last major benefit to reject re-valorization; cost. Simply put, the more waste and scrap there is (labor time included), the more money the company is losing. Taking measures to reduce rejects is one of the best ways to reduce production expenses in manufacturing.
How to approach rejects for re-valorization?
There are several ways to implement reusing reject material, which will be largely impacted by the industry and specific process used in production. Some material may not be recycled fully, but may be able to be reworked. On the other hand, there may be industries with products that can be fully recycled back to raw material. In some industries, scrap may be used for testing and collecting data samples instead of being implemented in the actual product. As you can see, there are many ways to use wasted that all benefit the company much more than merely throwing it away.
Reject re-valorization; the act of reusing scrapped materials instead of disposing them is a principle of lean manufacturing that will cut down on time, material, and labor used in production, ultimately cutting costs. The benefits of this action are invaluable in manufacturing, especially over a long period of time.
Worximity is deeply committed to the philosophies of Continuous Improvement and Lean Manufacturing in food manufacturing. Using our IoT technology we provide company wide visibility into the statistics that matter to manufacturers and accelerate TTV (Time to Value) of investments in company culture and training to achieve outstanding productivity.
