Green Manufacturing in the Metal Fabrication Industry

With the growing environmental concerns around the world, it has become a collective responsibility of governments, businesses, and individuals to encourage and execute green initiatives when it comes to manufacturing industries such as metal fabrication. There is much to be learned from the dangerous effects of incidents such as the Benton, Tennessee, fireworks disaster and the Henderson, Nevada, PEPCON disaster. Sheet metal manufacturing is not considered an environmentally friendly industry and therefore it is important that this industry continue to address environmental concerns and support the green initiative. This will help them achieve environmental sustainability, which is the need of the hour. The US Department of Commerce defines sustainable manufacturing as: “manufacturing processes that minimize negative environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources, are safe for employees, communities, and consumers, and are economically sound” .

The good news is that awareness of creating a green environment has permeated the industry and sustainable production is now more in focus than ever. So much so that welding is now recognized as a green collar job. Metal fabrication companies are continually looking for greener alternatives that can help with sustainable manufacturing.

Key factors affecting the environmental sustainability of the industry.

1. Use of raw materials that mostly consist of non-renewable resources such as minerals and minerals.

2. Machines that fabricate sheet metal require hydraulic fluids, solvents, cutting agents, and surface treatments that pose a risk to both the environment and human health.

3. The metal manufacturing process also consumes a lot of energy.

4. Manufacturers produce a large amount of non-degradable waste during the production process.

While the above is not an exhaustive list, it is imperative that metal fabrication companies refine the production process to take care of environmental and safety risks. Researchers are currently working to develop better metal recycling systems, ways to minimize the damage caused by toxic chemicals and fluids, technologies that consume less energy, etc. In addition, more and more environmentally friendly welding techniques such as diffusion welding, vacuum welding and friction welding are being adopted. In addition to these, here are some useful tips for professionals in metal fabrication companies:

1. Be truthful during training and thoroughly familiarize yourself with the SOPs. Also, impart the training with the same sincerity to new recruits.

2. Keep office spaces, production area, and equipment clean and organized.

3. Gain a proper understanding of the technologies and materials to be used and ensure requirements to reduce errors and waste.

4. Select the relevant lubricants keeping in mind the correct amount that would reduce friction and therefore the amount of scrap.

5. Have a sound quality control with all relevant quality control instruments. Please note the mill test report (MTR) to ensure it meets the specific standards of an international standards organization (such as ANSI, ASME, etc.).

6. Monitor and document the manufacturing process and technologies to prevent equipment failure, increase employee efficiency, and facilitate learning and development.

Above, we look at some of the processes that can help the industry become more sustainable. We can clearly see that the above measures also increase the profitability and efficiency of operations and therefore the benefits are multiple. It is also encouraging to see that many government agencies are willing to help metal fabrication companies so that they can move towards creating an environmentally friendly ecosystem. For example, the US Department of Commerce together with the US Environmental Protection Agency have established the Green Supplier Network to assist small and medium manufacturers in their green initiative.

Another aspect of the metal fabrication industry that supports green manufacturing is that metal fabrication is a necessity in the production of wind turbines, solar panels, and natural gas lines. These are basically green power generation systems that contribute greatly to the world’s green initiatives.

It is clear that the solutions to provide a safe working and livable environment are also what make the metal fabrication business profitable and efficient. Therefore, the advantages of achieving environmental sustainability or green manufacturing are multifaceted and there is no room for organizations to become complacent.