Lean is Green or to be more precise Green is Lean and Sustainable. In developing a successful Lean/Green culture, understanding the different business processes and their whole of life impact is very important. How do these processes impact the business? How do business processes affect each other? What can we improve? What will the benefits...

Under the Water Services (No 2) Act 2013, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) approves Irish Water’s Water Charges Plan, which sets out water services charges with regard to new connections, special meter reads, meter testing, and charges for provision of water and wastewater services to domestic and non-domestic customers. In approving the Water Charges...

Lean was originally created by Toyota to eliminate waste and inefficiency in its manufacturing operations.  The process became so successful that it has been embraced in manufacturing sectors around the world. The goal of lean is to eliminate waste – the non-value-added components in any process or service. By its very nature Lean utilises the...

Ireland, Europe, US, Australia and others have for a long time been dependent on China to take the poor quality plastic that they collect and do not have the infrastructure or capacity to use themselves. As of January 2018 China has decided it does not want the low value plastics Until more recycling plants are...

Lean project delivery has entered the mainstream of construction, yet Lean adoption lags among design professionals.  Architects and engineers who transformed the industry by first pioneering sustainable design and later the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), remain spectators while trade partners, construction managers, and some owners embrace Lean.  As more owners expect and demand Lean, the...

The circular economy eliminates the concept of waste and recognises that everything has a value.  This includes looking at waste as the underutilisation of resources. Circular supply chain:  Introduces fully renewable, recyclable, or biodegradable materials that can be used in consecutive life cycles. Recovery and recycling:  Creates production and consumption systems in which everything that used to be considered...

Forthcoming proposals designed to overhaul European Union waste legislation is scheduled for publication later in 2014 and will review several EU directives, and could introduce new waste targets, with the aim of driving greater resource efficiency in line with the 2011 Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe and the Eco-innovation Action Plan. Among the directives...