Seeing room for improvement is where it all starts

• Plant identifies how to reduce hazardous waste, save money and improve efficiency
• Measures cut hazardous waste by around 33 %, save staff time, and reduce production costs 

BRUSS Juntas Técnicas designs and manufactures high-end sealing systems for vehicle powertrains (motor, gearbox, transmission) for major automobile manufacturers.

The company used different chemical products for the phosphate line, stored in different containers: 25 litre gas bottles, 200 litre drums and 1 000 litre IBCs all dosed by a pump. These containers were stored around the phosphate line, but had to be moved to the supplying point of the line and/or transferred from the bigger containers to the 25 litre supply gas bottles. This was a manual job for staff and posed unnecessary handling risks: spills, material loss, waste generation, etc. It also led to a variety of contaminated waste containers.

Seeing room for improvement, BRUSS Juntas Técnicas centralised all chemical products along the phosphate line, replacing the different containers with standardised IBCs. Before being approved by management, this measure was tested and different configurations for storage (structures, shelves, and buckets) were reviewed to be sure they were compatible with the new proposal. Some changes to the electrics were needed near the IBC installation, and a pipe system was arranged to supply the product automatically from the IBCs to the phosphate line.

Key results

• Around 33 % reduction in hazardous waste related to contaminated plastic containers (from 2 080 kg/year to 1 400 kg/year)
• Material consumption reduced
• Fewer risks related to chemical leaks and spills (minimising the risk of soil contamination)
• Rationalised use of chemical products, materials, and waste storage
• Cost savings of around € 12 000 annually (IBCs are cheaper)
• Staff time saved (less manual transfer of products)
• Less hazardous waste collection, storage and processing saves on disposal and management costs