To do more with less. Sustainable processes can save resources and help appliance manufacturers reduce their environmental footprint whilst increasing profitability. With customers and governments requiring that appliance manufacturers adhere to more sustainable processes, this is a key area that is quickly becoming a question of competitive survival.
According to the The World Economic Forum, the industrial sector, which includes the appliance manufacturing industry, accounts for one fifth of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Adding to that, the sector consumes approximately 50% of the world’s energy resources.
There is therefore an immediate need for appliance manufacturing companies to use limited resources more efficiently in a more sustainable manner. In a BCG survey, 80% of industrial manufacturers reported that their company have plans to do just that, to transition to carbon-neutral operations.
And it makes good business sense. Sustainability matters to your current and future customers, your employees, partners, and stakeholders and is quickly becoming a question of survival. Companies not acknowledging the need to adapt to more sustainable operations will ultimately become obsolete.
The promise of sustainable processes in appliance manufacturing
Appliance manufacturers can minimize their environmental footprint by implementing smarter and more resource efficient manufacturing processes by incorporating new technologies and rethinking processes. Simply put, to do more with less. But this needs to be accomplished while also improving one key corporate KPI, profitability.
Moving from pneumatic to electric tools can make a significant environmental difference. In fact, changing one single tool can reduce an operator stations carbon impact by over 89%. And with assembly lines including multiple operator stations, the total environmental advantage in terms of reduced carbon emissions can be massive.
Automation provides a viable solution to achieving more sustainable appliance manufacturing by offering means for a repeatable, reliable, and stable production that minimizes the risk for human errors. Something that in turn can reduce the number of reworks and recalls that cost valuable material and energy resources. And not to be dismissed, automating tiresome, hazardous, and heavy manufacturing processes improves ergonomics in the workplace making for a better and safer working environment for operators.
Automated processes can operate at a higher level of tolerance, or more precisely, thereby reducing the amount of needed material in production. Automation also enables a more accurate traceability throughout the manufacturing process. This improves the ability to quickly react to and address production deviations which decreases for example the amount of scrap. In addition, traceability also enables more predictive maintenance which further reduces resource waste.
Finally, an end-to-end, fully integrated, assembly line on a factory level scale enables appliance production lines to proactively, in real-time, be rebalanced and adapted to product mix changes. This gained production flexibility reduces the risk of resource consuming production stops and alternations whilst fulfilling changes in customer demand.
To learn more about our products and solutions for appliance manufacturers and how we can help you develop more sustainable processes, get in touch with us today!