Carbon reduction and waste savings bring environmental systems accoladefor BEP Surface Technologies

The development of bespoke processes that have significantly reduced carbon footprint, water consumption and waste at surface treatment specialist BEP Surface Technologies has been recognised by winning the Environmental Management Systems Implementation award category in the Groundwork Business Community Awards 2009.

Operating in the highly regulated metal finishing sector the company decided to develop and operate an EMS (Environmental Management System) certified to ISO 14001.  During evaluation it realised that the tools and techniques used for ISO 14001 would bring significant benefits to other areas of the business.

A quality management system externally accredited to ISO 9001 is already in place at the company’s Radcliffe, Manchester, manufacturing plant and while this controls product and customer issues it is too inflexible to provide satisfactory management of energy, waste and pollution control. The new tailored EMS is now a cornerstone of a lean manufacturing strategy.  

Employees contributed to the success of the project which introduced EMS techniques throughout the company. The net results are a 16% reduction of CO2, an 18% drop in water use, hazardous waste cut by 12.8% and controlled waste down 12.7%.  Cost savings have also been achieved. 

Leaders in the electro-deposition of copper, nickel and chrome, BEP Surface Technologies has pioneered the development of techniques that are unique in the application of pure, very high quality, surface finishes which are specified by aerospace, defence, packaging, oil and gas industries. Copper and steel chill roll design and manufacture, chrome degassing and the acid cleaning of waterways are also offered alongside large scale machine shop grinding and turning services. 

Teamwork
A team consisting of managers and employees from all areas of the plant was formed to undertake the project. Initially its task was to identify areas of duplicated effort or missed opportunities.  Audits and inspections were combined to address all processes that impact the company.  Problems and opportunities were allocated to individuals who were given the resources and a time frame in which to make the necessary improvements. 

Several Health and Safety issues were addressed using the integrated EMS approach.  For example employees identified a problem with conventional soluble cutting oil that was causing skin problems and was difficult to dispose of.  Employees carried out a joint HS&E risk assessment and introduced a replacement that has significantly reduced the health risk and is less likely to pollute on disposal.

To ensure improvements continue to be identified and introduced the company has trained employees in Kaizen principles and introduced an incentive scheme that rewards suggestions which result in successful enhancements. 

An IT based energy monitoring system that provides data for analysis of non-conforming products and waste has also been implemented.