Every segment of our world today is paying more attention to our environment. Individuals are recycling, governments are regulating, and business is looking for opportunities to improve the bottom line with greener techniques and procedures.
When the green movement really began to explode in the 1990s, much of the low-hanging fruit was still available. It was easy to rein in simple things like thermostat management and reduced water consumption in both industries and in our personal lives. These simple but effective steps continue to bring about some positive movement.
Over time, the challenge has become greater, and companies are having to dig deeper to find ways to reduce their impact on the environment. An area where many have had success is in equipment operation.
As one of the most expensive and energy-hungry parts of any business, equipment is an obvious choice for upgrades. After firms have identified and addressed the easy steps, it becomes much more difficult to achieve green goals, and equipment is one way to move forward.
The transition here is best seen as a change from finding a greener way to do old things to find a new way to be green with things. Getting that mindset established is key to making real progress, and there are real opportunities to do it with equipment upgrades.
Because the equipment is so expensive, it isn’t necessarily cost-effective to replace it just for environmental purposes. When that time does come, specifications should always be geared toward achieving maximum efficiency in each piece that is purchased or leased.
Part of the specification process should be a visit to http://ajweller.com to check their specialized steel products. These modern alloys are far tougher than traditional steel, and that durability is beneficial to the environment in several ways.
Decreased Frequency of Replacement
Heavy steel components are difficult to deal with. While many can be recycled or refurbished after their useful life ends, others cannot be handled in this manner. As a result, they end up as rusting piles of waste that represent thousands of BTU’s of energy used to refine them into the final product.
With more durable steel, these transitions are less frequent, and the part retains more value after replacement, making it more likely to be recycled.
Better Energy Usage
Worn parts are inefficient parts. Any moving component that has begun to deviate from original specifications will cause the machine to use more energy. A simple parallel is car tires; we know that a half-deflated set will force the engine to work harder to maintain speed.
With durable steel alloys, the wear on equipment components is much slower, allowing the machine to use less energy during production.
Reduced Downtime
Idled machinery is the enemy of industry. It represents workers with nothing to do and accounts receivable with nothing to receive. It also means energy wasted on lighting and climate control in a facility that is not producing, and the startup power required to resume production is costly as well.
Old steel alloys were notorious for generating downtime because the heavy-use components of machinery would often break down. An upgrade to better steel will keep those hard-working machines in operation a higher percentage of the time.
Cutting costs in industry is challenging, and doing so while being more environmentally conscious is an even taller order. Yet the process is becoming easier all the time thanks to new products like those produced by A.J. Weller. They are allowing industry to maintain high quality and low environmental impact.
2018 · 