Clean Techn Environ Policy (2011) 13:469479
DOI 10.1007/s10098-010-0329-x
ORIGINAL PAPER
Tools and techniques for enabling sustainability through
lean initiatives
S. Vinodh K. R. Arvind M. Somanaathan
Received: 13 July 2010 / Accepted: 6 October 2010 / Published online: 23 October 2010
 Springer-Verlag 2010
Abstract There has been a paradigm shift in the manu-
facturing systems. Lean manufacturing is a manufacturing
system that is focused on the elimination of wastes thereby
facilitating process streamlining and waste reduction. In the
recent days, the need for environmental consciousness is
very much realized. The environmental waste is regarded
as the ninth waste. This article focuses on the exploration
of various issues of sustainability using lean initiatives.
Also, some of the strategies/techniques that would enable
the achievement of sustainability objectives using lean
initiatives are presented.
Keywords Environmental concerns  Sustainability
principles  Lean manufacturing  Waste elimination 
Value Stream Mapping  Environmental safety
Introduction
The manufacturing systems have been witnessing a para-
digm shift from craft manufacturing to mass manufacturing
than lean manufacturing (Chen et al. 2006; Goh 2006).
Lean operations are characterized by the elimination of
wastes occurring in manufacturing process thereby facili-
tating cost reduction. Seven types of wastes are prone to
occur in any manufacturing process (as accepted in the
Toyota Production System) (Hines and Rich 1997; Hines
et al. 1999). Lately, the under utilization of creativity of
employees is considered as eighth waste; environmental
waste is considered as ninth waste, which implies the
S. Vinodh (&)  K. R. Arvind  M. Somanaathan
Department of Production Engineering, National Institute of
Technology, Tiruchirappalli 620015, Tamil Nadu, India
e-mail: vinodh_sekar82@yahoo.com
unnecessary or excessive usage of resources as well as
substances released to air, water, or land that could harm
human health or environment (Gehin et al. 2008; Millet
et al. 2007; Robert 2000). Lean manufacturing is an inte-
grated manufacturing system intended to maximum
capacity, re-utilization, and minimization of buffer inven-
tories through minimization of system variability (Singh
et al. 2005; Lummus et al. 2006). Lean principles facilitate
waste reduction/elimination. Some of the examples of
waste reduction include the reduction of process defects,
low inventory, and less scrap (McDonald et al. 2002; Seth
and Gupta 2005). One of the contemporary issues is that
the seven lean principles which facilitate waste reduction
leads to enhancement in environmental performance. Even
the widely used 5S concept facilitates environmental clean-
liness. This situation leads to an inference that the lean
initiatives will promote substantial environmental benefits.
Organizations should consider environmental impact and
quantify sustainable gains associated with lean initiatives.
The purpose of this article is to propose techniques that
integrate sustainability principles with lean techniques.
This article presents the strategies and techniques to
improve lean results while achieving environmental per-
formance goals. Some of the associated benefits of syn-
chronizing lean and sustainability principles include
reduced costs and lead time, improved process flow,
compliance with customers expectations, improvement of
environmental quality, as well as, employee morale, and
commitment.
Literature review
The literature has been reviewed from the perspective of
extending lean approaches for ensuring sustainability.
123
470 S. Vinodh et al.

Kainuma and Tawara (2006) extended the range of the
supply chain to include re-use and recycling aspects
throughout the life cycle of products and services by pro-
posing the multiple attribute utility theory method. They
have performed an application case study for proving the
efficiency of this technique in both managerial and envi-
ronmental performance view point. Simpson and Power
(2005) have performed a major literature review which
reveals that efforts to improve or influence a suppliers
environmental management practice raises critical issues of
transaction costs and efficacy of approach for the buyer.
The review allowed development of a model for approach-
ing issues of supplier environmental performance through
lean supply. Mollenkopf et al. (2010) have performed an
extensive literature review which revealed drivers, barriers,
converging, and contradictory points across the three sup-
ply chain strategies namely green, lean, and global supply
chain strategies. They have carried out a research as a
result of which the future research opportunities will fall
into four major themes: the need for theoretically grounded
research, the need for a multi-functional approach, the need
for a systems approach that adds strategic insight, and the
need for integrated measurement application. Managerial
aspects are also highlighted in the discussion of the metrics
across the three strategic interfaces and integrated life cycle
management is suggested as a framework for measurement
application across the three supply chain strategies. The
literature review indicates that considerable amount of
research has been carried out on extending lean approaches
for ensuring sustainability. But, still there exists potential
for extending lean approaches for ensuring sustainability in
industrial systems. In this context, this study has been
conducted.
Lean principles emphasizing sustainability
This section shows that lean principles are capable of
improving sustainability of an industry. Lean principles
are aimed at waste reduction hence results in capital
gain. In addition to this, sustainable benefits are also
achieved the various tools and principles of lean. Some
of the sustainable benefits from lean principles are
reduction in material usage, energy consumption, haz-
ardous waste, water usage, etc. The various sustainable
benefits from the lean principles are shown in Table 1
(Fliedner 2008).
Proven case studies reporting environmental benefits
Several companies have successfully implemented lean
principles to achieve sustainable benefits. Lean principles
are viable to ensure sustainable benefits. After applica-
tion of lean principles the company is both lean and
green at nominal investment. Table 2 reveals some of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) case studies and
best practice examples of environmental benefits that
resulted from lean initiatives (EPA website: http://epa.
gov/lean).
Conceptual strategies/techniques of lean manufacturing
facilitating sustainability
The tools/techniques/strategies of lean manufacturing
facilitating the attainment of sustainability are presented as
follows.

Table 1 Environmental benefits of lean principles

Lean principles/tools Sustainable benefits

Pull approach Reduction of work-in-process, elimination of potential waste from damaged products, lesser floor
space utilization
Cellular manufacturing Reduction in set-up times and change over time hence low energy and resource usage, reduction in
defects
Value Stream Mapping Reduction in waste through fewer defects, less scraps, low energy usage, etc.
5S Reduction in lighting requirements due to clean windows, leaks attended to immediately, reduced
consumption of materials and chemicals
Total preventive maintenance Less hazardous waste due to decreased spills and leaks, increased longevity of equipment
Six sigma Fewer defects hence less waste, improvement in product durability and reliability hence increase
in product lifespan
Pre-Production planning Reduction of waste at design stage, usage of right sized equipments, reducing the complexities of
production processes and product design
Kaizen Elimination of hidden wastes and unwanted activities
Visual controls Identification and elimination of unwanted entities hence less material usage and wastes
Lean supplier networks Introduction of lean to existing suppliers would lead to better realization of environmental benefits
PoKa YoKe Reduction in defects hence less waste, low energy usage, less scrap

123
Tools and techniques for enabling sustainability 471

Table 2 Case studies of environmental benefits of lean principle

Case company Sustainable benefits

Apollo Hardwoods Uses fewer trees and less energy to produce the same amount of product
Company Designed equipment that can use smaller pieces of wood, which reduces wood scrap and alleviates
the need to harvest large-diameter, mature black cherry tree
Columbia Paint Reduction of 15,000 lbs of paint solids from wash water
and Coatings Saved 18,000 lbs of shrink wrap
Removed 2,820 lbs of hazardous materials from the waste stream
General Motors Saturn Kanban implementation
Saved 17 tons per year in air emissions
Eliminated 258 tons per year of solid waste
Reduced hazardous waste generation from 9.0 lb per car in 1992 to 3.2 lb per car in 1996
Fairfax Assembly paint booth cleaning
Reduced purge solvent used by 369 tons in the first year
Lean supply chain development
Eliminated 7 tons per year of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, hazardous wastes,
and transportation-related impacts by working with suppliers to eliminate a painting process step
Plymouth Tube At a facility in West Monroe, LA, EHS, and production personnel were able to identify environmental
wastes that presented opportunities for working with lean techniques to improve their processes
Their lean efforts reduced lubrication used at this facility by 1400 gallons, saving almost $4000 annually
in lube costs and $1800 is recycling fees
The team was able to completely eliminate a costly hazardous waste stream of ink by changing their printing process
Rejuvenation Lean practices made quality control everyones job, allowing quicker identification of problems and reducing rework
Use of lean has cut work-in-progress (WIP) on the floor from 7 to 8 days to about one and a half days

Identification and elimination of environmental wastes
Environmental wastes refer to unnecessary usage of
resources or substance released to air, water, or land that
could harm the health or the environment. Lean initiatives
are focused on the elimination of non-value-added activi-
ties. Some of the environmental impacts of deadly waste
are presented as follows.
Over-production It leads to excessive consumption of
raw materials and energy resources in making
unwanted parts; excessive hazardous materials resulting
in extra emissions and waste disposal.
Over-processing It leads to additional consumption of
parts and raw materials per unit of production,
increased waste, energy usage and emissions.
Waiting It leads to damage of potential materials
components; energy waste from heating, cooling, and
lighting during production time.
Transportation It leads to extra energy usage for
transport, emission from transport, extra packaging
during movement, damage during transport.
Defects It leads to consumption of raw materials and
energy in making defective parts, recycling for defec-
tive components, space for rework.
Inventory Additional packing to force WIP inventory,
waste from deterioration of WIP, replacement of
damaged WIP by alternate materials.
Storage Storage of WIP, storage of defective parts.
Scheme for implementation of the proposed approach
A schematic representation of the implementation of the
proposed approach is shown in Fig. 1.
First, a cross functional team (CFT) is to be formed for
the implementation of this approach. Management com-
mitment has to be ensured in process of investment in

Fig. 1 Scheme for implementation of proposed approach

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training; providing resources and tools; setting performance
goals, tracking lean, and sustainable progress; recognition
and reward. Some of the environmental metrics that need to
be considered are scrap, material usage, hazardous materi-
als, usage, energy consumption, water consumption, air
emissions, solid and wastes, hazardous material usage, and
water pollutants. A vision for including environmental
waste in lean training has to be ensured. Check lists need to
be developed during this event. Visual methods need to be
developed for including environmental waste into activity
and production control methods. 7S and mistake proofing
method, color science, visual controls to reinforce chemi-
cals handling, waste management need to be applied.
Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
VSM is a process mapping method for better understanding
of the sequence of activities and information flows used to
produce a product and deliver a service. Some of the
wastes that could be identified in VSM include; raw
materials usage by process, materials needed for product;
pollution and other environmental wastes generated and
information flows about environmental compliance man-
agement activities.
Designate processes with environmental, health,
and safety (EHS) opportunities
Certain processes necessitate a focus on EHS issues as they
can cause hazards to workers; regulatory requests and
opportunities for reducing pollution and materials cost.
Some of the manufacturing processes identified with
environmental opportunities are metal casting, materials
treatment, metal fabrication and machining, cleaning and
surface preparation, bonding and sealing, welding, metal
finishing and plating, painting and coating, chemical and
hazardous materials management and waste management.
It is customary to designate these processes with an EHS
icon (EPA website). A sample representation of EHS
designation is shown in Fig. 2.
Figure 2 depicts a sample process with cycle time 128 min,
change over time 10 s, available time 1350 s and uptime
99.2%. EHS icon has been placed which indicate the envi-
ronmental data need to be measured for that particular process.
Include environmental data for process in value stream
Environmental wastes in VSM include the proper selection of
environmental performance metrics to measure each process
(EPA website). The environmental performance metrics are
categorized into input measures, non-product output mea-
sures, and downstream output measures. Some of the envi-
ronmental performance metrics are presented in Table 3.
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S. Vinodh et al.
Fig. 2 Sample EHS
designation of a process
Additional time and resources need to be spent to collect
environment data. In addition to usual data such as cycle
time, change over and uptime, amount of hazardous waste
generated by the process per shift need to be calculated. A
sample current state map with environment data is shown
in Fig. 3. The first four processes are provided with EHS
icon which indicates that the environmental data need to be
measured for these processes along with time data. The
amount of hazardous waste generated currently by each
process for the shift has been determined.
Analyze material usage versus need in materials line
Conventional VSM does not focus on resources consumed
and wasted in product development. Materials line need to
be added in addition to time line with data such as amount
of raw materials used by each process and amount of
materials that end up in product and add value from cost
perspective (EPA website). An example is shown in Fig. 4.
Figure 4 depicts the inclusion of material line along with
time line. The amount of material needed and used are the
requirement and value addition at that stage, respectively.
The difference between the amounts of material needed
and used is the scrap generated at that stage.
Expand the application to natural resource flows
VSM could be extended to map inputs, outputs, and
information flows associated with the use of energy, water,
and/or materials. In addition to materials comparison,
environmental wastes stream need to be examined which
includes non-productive output such as air emissions,
waste water, and hazardous waste (Fliedner 2008). An
example is shown in Fig. 5.
Figure 5 depicts the monitoring of water usage across
each process. It details us on the amount of water used,
wasted, and needed at each stage. Need for an effluent
Tools and techniques for enabling sustainability 473

Table 3 Environmental performance metrics

Waste category Metric Measurement unit

Input measures
Energy use Energy used Specific to energy source such as Board of Trade
unit (BTU) or kilowatt hours, % reduction, energy
use/unit of product
Materials use Materials used, percent utilization of materials, Tons/year, pounds/unit of product, % materials
post-consumer recycled content utilization
Toxic/hazardous chemicals use Toxic/hazardous chemicals used Pounds/year, pounds/unit of product, % reduction
Water use Volume of water used, P2 to reduce priority Gallons/year, % reduction, % recycled Pounds
chemicals/quality standards/pretreat standards priority chemicals/year,
% reduced, % recycled
Non-product output measures
Air emissions Air emissions generated Pounds/year, tons/year, % reduction
Water pollution Mass or concentration of regulated pollutants Pounds/year, mg/l or % reduction
discharged
Solid waste Solid (non-hazardous) waste generated Gallons or pounds/year, % reduction, % recycled
Downstream product measures
Product Impacts EnergyBTU, kwh, MWh, water use-gallons
wastes-pounds, tons
Other measures
Money saved Savings in Indian National Rupees (INR) Savings in INR
Qualitative measures Savings and environmental benefits from leaning out
of permits/design for environment/clean
production/ems implementation/extended product
responsibility

treatment plant is emphasized in almost every company
and is a must in company that discharges toxic substance
and water that are hazardous to surrounding ecosystem.
Identify lean and sustainable improvement opportunities
The environmental wastes in the current state need to be
observed and the targets for future lean implementations
need to be identified. Some of the key issues include
envisaging wastes to eliminate environmental waste in
value stream and recognize the lean improvements that
would enable EHS compliance issues. The future state map
includes 5S improvement, pull production to control
inventory levels, and Kaizen events. A sample future state
map is shown in Fig. 6. The emphasis on EHS initiative,
5S, and reduction in resource consumption are depicted.
The 5S implementation at the respective processes is of
greater importance. Material usage can be reduced con-
siderably at the mentioned stages.
Eco-Function matrix-integrated VSM
The proposed architecture of eco-function matrix integrated
with VSM is shown in Fig. 7. The architecture has two
integral components: eco-function matrix which is tradi-
tional QFD integrated with fuzzy framework and VSM. The
process begins with the development of current state map,
prioritization of wastes and strategies for waste elimination
using fuzzy QFD, and the development of future state map.
As shown in Fig. 7, after the construction of current state
map, the activities categorization and waste categorization
will be performed. Activities will be categorized as value
adding, non-value adding and necessary non-value adding
(Monden 1993). Wastes will be categorized as over-pro-
duction, over-processing, waiting, transportation, defects,
inventory, and storage. After this categorization, the weak
areas/wastes will be configured as the requirements in eco-
function matrix. Then the proposals/improvements identi-
fied during brainstorming sessions will be designated as
design attributes. Then, the conventional QFD procedure
will be used taking into account the environmental per-
spective for the construction of correlation matrix and inter-
relationship matrix. The various steps involved in eco
function matrix include the identification of wastes and
strategies to eliminate wastes, development of inter-rela-
tionship matrix, development of correlation matrix, and
prioritization of wastes and strategies. To cope well with the
vagueness of linguistics judgements involved in construc-
tion of HOQs, fuzzy numbers are recommended for
expressing correlations and relationships. The relationship
matrix Rij i 1; . . .; n; j 1; . . .; m of the HOQ is a
matrix whose generic entry (i, j) assesses how the jth

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474
Fig. 3 Current state map with environmental data
proposed methodology (PM) performs in minimizing the ith
identified waste (IW). Once relationships between PMs and
IWs have been assessed and the relative importance RIj of
the jth PM can be computed as a fuzzy weighted average.
X n
RIj Wi  Rij j 1; . . .; m
i1
where Wi is the weighted importance of the ith IW and Rij
the fuzzy number expressing the relationship between the
jth PM and the ith IW.
Specifically, the generic entry Tjj of the correlation
matrix is assumed as the incremental change of the degree
of attainment of the jth attribute when the attainment of the
jth one is unitary increased. So, the final scorej of the jth
PM and can be computed.
X helps to reduce material wastes and pollution, which may
Scorej RIj  Tjj0  RIj0 j 1; . . .; m
j0 6j
The resulting scorej is also a fuzzy number. In order to rank
the PMs, the crisp values are used. The crisp value of a
fuzzy triangular numbers (l, m, u), will be computed.
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S. Vinodh et al.
l 2m u
Crisp value
4
Based on the crisp values, the PM with the highest
crisp value is given more importance. The above steps
are repeated to rank the IWs also. Then the wastes
as well as the improvement proposals will be priori-
tized. This prioritization will help in the derivation of
improvement proposals in constructing the future state
map.
Kaizen events
Kaizen is a Japanese term meaning continuous improve-
ment facilitating rapid process improvement events. It
result in safety health hazards for the workers if they are
not properly managed. The ultimate objective is to adopt a
change management system to maximize waste reduction
benefits and find opportunities to enhance lean results and
environmental outcomes.
Tools and techniques for enabling sustainability
Fig. 4 Current state map showing the material usage
Training lean team leader to recognize EHS impact
Both team leader and team members must be trained to
identify the issues and operational challenges that may
require additional EHS expertise.
Providing clarifications on EHS
It is worthwhile to assign EHS contact to address the
unexpected issues and concerns. Some of the issues include
a simple procedure, provision of information about the
responsible person.
Employee checklist
It enables the identification of operational changes planned
during Kaizen events that may cause an EHS impact. It
also enables training.
475
Proactive involvement of EHS staff in Kaizen events
Identification of environmental opportunities in VSM and
lean events checklist needs EHS involvement. The team
members of Kaizen events must develop interaction with
EHS members.
Transition from 5S to 7S concept
7S means 5S ? 2S (safety ? sustainability). It focuses on
making improvements to work areas. It is a method that is
used to create, maintain, and sustain a clean, orderly, and
safe work environment.
Sort Elimination of unnecessary entities from work-
place. Visual methods enable identification and elim-
ination of unwanted entities.
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476
Fig. 5 VSM indicating water usage
Systematize It focuses on creating efficient and effec-
tive storage methods to arrange items so that they are
easy to be used.
Shine Removal of cluttered entities enables the orga-
nization of workplace.
Standardize Assignment of responsibilities and
integration into the regular work that will enable
standardization.
Simplify Simplification of the processes will enable the
attainment of sustainability.
Safety Elimination of hazards and creation of a safe
environment and removal of potential dangers.
Sustain Proper maintenance of correct procedures
and focus on sustaining standards of workplace
organization.
A schematic representation of proposed 7S concept is
shown in Fig. 8.
7S can help the organizations to reduce wastes and
improve environmental performance leading to increased
productivity. Some of the key issues of 7S concept include:
Determining the ways that the organization would use
7S to improvement environmental performance and
reduce waste.
Find the metrics that could be used to track EHS
improvements.
Determining the ways for improving the work area.
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S. Vinodh et al.
An excerpt of the 7S audit checklist used for this pur-
pose is shown in Appendix 1.
7S audit checklist contributes practical techniques and
strategies that can help lean, environmental, and other
experts to deliver environmentally protective lean decisions
as a routine task of lean-driven business operations. This
checklist has developed environmental and lean practitio-
ners who work toward organizational efforts to identify and
eliminate environmental wastes. This checklist helps to
align the environmental management systems goals and
objectives as a routine task of the lean initiatives and busi-
ness decisions. The checklist focuses on the identification
and how to pursue environmental end points in the processes
through 7S (5S ? safety ? sustainability). 7S audit check-
list addresses the subject areas namely aisles, chemicals,
electrical, exits, first aid, flammable/combustible containers,
forklift operations, hazardous waste management, hearing
conservation, housekeeping, lockout, machine guarding
aspects, personal protective equipment, extinguishers,
walkways, compressed gases, work environment, waste
categorization, activity categorization, carbon footprint, and
defects. 7S audit checklist enables to evaluate the sustain-
ability aspects of the organization based on the previously
mentioned subject areas. 7S audit checklist is a useful tool
for the contemporary manufacturing organizations. Various
performance measures to be used include energy usage,
environmental impact in the assembly line, and extent to the
Tools and techniques for enabling sustainability
Fig. 6 Future state map
Fig. 7 Eco-Function matrix and VSM integration
adoption of 7S. It is an effective housekeeping technique
encompassed with safety and sustainability issues.
Discussions
A CFT is to be formed for the effective identification
and elimination of environmental wastes and to track
477
and sustain the progress of making an industry more
lean and green.
The traditional VSM could be made more informative
by designating EHS activities, materials and energy
line, and emissions line. This would enable the CFT to
concentrate on minimizing the environmental wastes.
Developing an eco-function matrix-integrated VSM to
correlate the environmental and functional profiles of
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478
Sustain
Safety
Sort
Simplify Systematize
Standard-
Shine
ize
Fig. 8 7S concept
the product line and also to prioritize the improvement
proposals and wastes. And further Kaizen events could
be conducted to reduce wastes on the future state map.
Adoption of the 7S concept with an emphasis on safety
and sustainability aspects of the industryusing 7S
checklist and emphasize on EHS impact by the lean
team leader and staff.
Summary and conclusions
Increasing global competition and product complexity has
been forcing the transition of manufacturing systems. The
need for waste elimination necessitates the emergence of
waste elimination techniques. The elimination of environ-
mental wastes using lean initiatives enables the acquisition
of business values (Kaebernick et al. 2003). Effective
interaction between lean and sustainable efforts enables the
manufacturing organizations to avoid risks from non-
compliance with regulatory requirements and explore new
ways of improving operational and environmental perfor-
mances (Herron and Braiden 2006). In this context, this
article explores the ways of integrating sustainable prac-
tices with lean initiatives. This article also contributes
strategies/techniques that enable an organization to acquire
environmental performance using lean initiatives. Some of
the issues that needs contemporary focus include: com-
mitment to eliminating environmental waste through lean
implementation; identify environmental improvement
opportunities; active involvement of EHS staff in planning
and implementing lean events with environmental oppor-
tunities; eliminate environmental waste using process
improvement tools; enable the elimination of environ-
mental waste using 7S workplace evaluation checklist.
Appendix 1: 7S safety audit checklist
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S. Vinodh et al.
Document Title: Document No.
Revision No.
7S AUDIT RECORD
Required by:
Audit Type: Initial Certification
Sustaining
Auditors: Date: _____________________
Name: _____________________ Name: _____________________
Workplace Representatives:
Name: _____________________ Name: _____________________
Subject Questions Yes No
A. Are aisles marked? 29 CFR 1910.22(b)(2)
B. Are aisle widths maintained? 29 CFR 1910.22(b)(1)
C. Are aisles in good condition? 29 CFR 1910.22(b)(1)
1. Aisles D. Are aisles and passageways properly illuminated?
E. Are aisles kept clean and free of obstruction? 29 CFR
1910.22(b)(1)
F. Are fire aisles, access stairways, and fire equipment kept
clear? 29 CFR 1910.178(m)(14)
G. Is there a safe clearance for equipment through aisles and
doorways? 29 CFR 1910.176(a)
A. Are all hazardous chemicals appropriately labeled? 29
CFR 1910.1200(f)(5); 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(6)
B. Are workers nearby aware of the content of chemical
piping systems? 29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(1)(ii); 29 CFR
2. Chemicals
1910.1200(f)(5); 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(6)
C. Is there a list of hazardous substances used in your work
area? 29 CFR 1910.1200(e)(1)(I)
D. Is there a material safety data sheet readily available for
each hazardous substance used? 29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(9); 29
CFR 1910.1200(g)(10)
A. Do extension cords being used have a grounding
conductor? 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(5); 29 CFR
1910.304(f)(5)(v); 29 CFR 1910.334(a)(3)
B. Is sufficient assess and working space provided and
maintained about all electrical equipment to permit ready and
safe operations and maintenance? 29 CFR 1910.303(g)(1); 29
CFR 1910.303(h)(3)
3. Electrical
C. Are all cord and cable connections intact and secure? 29
CFR 1910.305(g)(2)(iii)
D. Are all disconnecting means legibly marked to indicate
their purpose, unless located so that their purpose is evident?
29 CFR 1910.303(f)
E. Are flexible (extension) cords and cables free of splices or
taps? 29 CFR 1910.305(g)(2)(ii)
A. Are exits properly marked? 29 CFR 1910.37(q); 29 CRF
1910.37(H)
4. Exits B. Are exits kept free of obstruction? 29 CFR 1910.36(d)(1)
C. Are the directions to exits, when not immediately apparent,
marked with visible signs? 29 CFR 1910.37(q)(5)(6)
A. Do you have emergency eye wash and shower facilities
within the immediate work area where employees are
exposed to injurious corrosive materials? 29 CFR
1910.151(c)
5. First Aid B. Do you have first-aid kits easily accessible to each work
area, with necessary supplies available, periodically inspected
and replenished as needed? 29 CFR 1910.151(b)
C. Are emergency phone number posted where they can be
readily found in case of an emergency? 29 CFR
1910.38(a)(2)(v)(vi)
A. Are all work areas adequately illuminated?
B. Are combustible scrap, debris, and wastes stored safely
6. Work Environment
and removed from the work site promptly? 29 CFR
1910.141(a)(4)(ii)
A. Are the nine wastes appropriately identified and
7. Waste Categorization categorized?
B. Are efforts being taken to continuously remove wastes?
A. Are the activities being appropriately categorized?
8. Activity Categorization B. Are efforts being continuously taken to convert Non-Value
adding to Value adding activities?
A. Is the carbon footprint contributed by the end product
estimated?
9. Carbon Footprint
B. Is the carbon footprint contribution of individual processes
known?
C. Are these levels of carbon footprint acceptable?
D. If not, Can it be minimized?
A. Is there an estimate of defects produced in each process
10. Defects estimated?
B. Are the defects being reduced over a period of time?
Tools and techniques for enabling sustainability
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