Blog Posts Business Management Lean / Six Sigma / Quality

Crafting Waste Management Solutions With BPM

Blog: BPM Leader

No matter your industry, it’s a virtual certainty that your organization generates waste. This waste takes the form of left-over materials, by-products, rejects and garbage. Much of this ends up in a landfill, which isn’t a particularly environmentally friendly prospect. Even worse, waste costs your organization money. You have to pay to store it, move it and dispose of it. Employees spend hours managing it, which means that their time and the organization’s money are also being wasted. The principles of Business Process Management may be able to guide your company out of this endless morass.

Looking for a Waste Management Solution

It may be a time-consuming project, but finding a better waste management solution is worth the effort. Your company will save time, money and improve its environmental record. Some organizations have even found ways to turn a profit with their waste. That may sound difficult to believe, but process management professionals could be pleasantly surprised by how valuable their waste can be.

Measuring Waste

As a business process manager, one of your key functions is improving the organization’s functionality and profitability. That frequently means measuring processes and tasks. Looking for a better waste management solution is no different. Tour the facility, making note of where waste receptacles are loaded and what size they are. Make a habit of doing this every day for a week or two until you begin to note how much and what kinds of waste your facility is generating.

Find Alternative Ways to Dispose of Waste

It’s best to stop putting items in landfills that could be useful elsewhere. To that end, it’s necessary to figure out what can be recycled instead of tossed. This may involve looking for a local business or government entity that collects recyclable materials. Other items may be reused. This is an opportunity to get creative. Other departments or separate companies in your local area may be able to use items that you regard as waste and would otherwise end up in a landfill. Now is your opportunity to turn a bit of a profit by selling your waste to another organization. Your other option is to change some of the ways that your company does business. If you alter the way your organization acquires goods and services, how much waste could be eliminated?

Contracts

Contracts are legal agreements. Accordingly, it may be necessary to have a lawyer review any potential contract with a recycling provider or an outside firm that is willing to pay you for some of your waste materials. Among the items that may have to be negotiated in the contract are how often the recyclable materials will be collected and the size of the bins that will be left at your facility. Are the bins appropriately sized to hold all of the material that is likely to be collected in the time between scheduled pick ups? Overflowing bins reduce the organization’s efficiency, while having the recycling company come out to collect nearly empty bins is a waste of money. Make certain that the contract allows some flexibility with this aspect.

Implement the System

Getting the word out about your waste reduction efforts is the key to making the program a success. Make certain that personnel understand the new system and where waste items should be collected. Post easily readable signage at collection sites that specify appropriate and prohibited materials.

As a BPM professional, it’s your job to ensure that your organization runs with optimum efficiency. One of the best ways you can do this is by applying BPM practices to your company’s waste management procedures.

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