Section 2 i) Initial Research Work - Gewerbliche Schule Ravensburg

Section 2i) Initial Research Work – German StudentsSummary of various presentations on the topic“Local businesses take an active part in shaping the future of our energyforms”,given at the Industrie- und Handelskammer, The Chamber of Industry andCommerce, in Weingarten, Germany, on February 22, 2011.First presentation by Dr. Ing. Karl-Friedrich Ziegahn, Program Director forEnergy and Environmental Research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology:“Energy: Challenge for Scientific Research and Industrial Development”Mr Ziegahn pointed out that traditional primary energy sources are still oil, coal,natural gas and nuclear energy. Alternative sources are wind, solar, geothermal,biomass, sea current and other energy sources. But whatever sources we mayswitch to they will have to fulfill the criteria that they supply sufficient amount ofelectricity, heat and mobility. Furthermore the energy sources we will rely on in thefuture will have to have sufficient availability to balance fluctuations in time andlocation, which means that they can be transported and stored easily. As recentprotests have shown, these energy sources also need consensus by the public.The motivating forces for research in energy are scarcity of resources, security ofenergy supply, economic efficiency and environmental impacts. By means of variousdiagrams Mr Ziegahn showed that renewable energy still plays a marginal role inglobal energy consumption. To reverse this trend Germany is aiming at reducinggreenhouse gas emissions, primary energy consumption and consumption ofelectricity. To achieve this aim Germany wants to increase the share of renewableenergy sources and improve energy efficiency. By 2020 29.2% of Germany’s totalelectricity will come from renewable energy sources. Wind energy is making up for40% of electricity production from renewable energies. Baden Württemberg andBavaria are lagging far behind although they have got huge capacities. Half of theEU’s and a third of the world’s electricity produced by wind is generated in Germany.Even in the generation of electricity by sun Germany takes a leading position. In2008 40% of the world’s photovoltaic power plants/installations were placed inGermany. Mr Ziegahn is convinced that solar energy gas got a huge capacity but hedoubts whether it can ever play a major role in a country like Germany with fewsunshine hours per year compared to Mediterranean countries for instance. Hewould rather have solar parks built in the Sahara where the world’s demand forelectrical energy could be easily satisfied but the problem is how to get the electric3

power from there to where it is needed. It is not only a challenge to the engineeringskills but even more a political risk. So, whereas photovoltaic energy is inefficient inGermany in Mr Ziegahn’s eyes and only contributed 1.1% to the production ofelectricity in Germany in 2008, wind energy is often faced with opposition by theresidents in the vicinity of wind parks and by nature activists.A more recent alternative is the harnessing of low-temperature heat of the ground.This energy is virtually unlimited, capable of base load i.e. permanently available andnearly free of emissions. But this energy source isn’t perfect either as it has only littlePoynting factor and a low-temperature level close to the surface. It will be science’sjob to find suitable places for cost-efficient exploitation of geothermal energy and toanalyze seismic and other risks that may result from harnessing geothermal energy.Energy from biomass which is favoured by many people is in a stiff competition withfood production and leads to monocultures, which leads to ethical implications.Another job of his institute is to assess the risks that go with so-called “Clean CoalPower” stations, which the German government is investing a lot of money in. Thestorage of CO2 gases underground, sequestration, may pose some risks as toleakage, duration, etc.To increase the acceptance of renewable energies the renewables will have tobecome more efficient and reliable. They may have to be transformed in energyforms that can be transported more easily and with fewer losses. When relying moreon renewables we also need more efficient storage facilities and capacities to bridgepossible periods of low-energy production. Transformation of energy with lowPoynting factor into secondary or tertiary energy forms for example chemical energyforms ( hydrocarbon could be a solution) with high Poynting factor may be one pathto go. In any case, whatever the solution will be, the energy management in terms ofdistribution and availability will have to become more efficient as well.Summing up Mr Ziegahn said that there is no doubt about increasing the share ofrenewable energies and improving energy efficiency but there still is no politicalconsensus on how fast that will have to take place (authors’ note: since Fukushimathe current German government has completely changed its energy policy and hasdecided to have switched off all nuclear power plants by 2022!), on how manysacrifices consumers and citizens are willing to make. But we all should be not tooenthusiastic but rather realistic as physics determines politics and not the other wayround, as there is no “magic” solution to the energy problem in sight in the nearfuture and as there seems to be an arduous path of slow and step-by-stepdevelopments. The best way to cope with the future problems is investment ineducation as it produces creativity, intelligence, and the capacity for inventions.By Marion Dobler and David Brinz(transl.: Meinrad Mager)4

Second presentation“Energy programs in Baden Württemberg, Germany and within the EuropeanUnion”by Dr Heiko Lünser, Secretary at the State Ministry of Economy in Stuttgart.Mr Lünser pointed out right from the beginning that the scope for actions of a federalstate like Baden-Württemberg is very limited as the framework of legislation in thisfield is set by the EU’s legislative organs and by the federal government in Berlin.In 2007 the EU issued its energy and climate aims for 2020:To reduce its greenhouse gases by -20%To reduce its energy consumption by -20%To increase the use of renewables by + 20%The government in Berlin set an even more ambitious plan for an even further future.Aims for 2050 (2020):To reduce greenhouse gases by -80-95% (-40%) on the basis of 1990To reduce primary energy consumption by -50% (-20%) on the basis of 2008To reduce consumption of electricity by -25% (-10%) on the basis of 2008To increase the use of renewables for energy consumption by +60% (+18%)To increase the use of renewables for electricity consumption by +80% (+35%)The State government in Stuttgart is within the guidelines given by Brussels andBerlin but can specify the directives according to its political conviction and itsgeographic situation. So it promises to double power-heat-cogeneration from today’s10% to a 20% share in generating electricity. Water power, biomass and photovoltaicenergy will mainly replace traditional energy sources for the generation of electricity.The State Government also supports measures and actions that help to save energyand to increase its more efficient use. Both factors will strengthen BadenWürttemberg’s position as a major exporting State.Mr Lünser also pointed out that some of the obstacles for pushing through alternativeenergies arise from the citizens themselves as soon as they are affected by actionsthat are aimed to implement the new energy policy: one example is the plan toexpand and improve the network of electric cables to transport electricity fromNorway and Finland to Germany. These plans are heavily being opposed. A similarresistance can be seen when corporations, local governments or private initiativeswant to build wind parks or biogas works. The early participation of citizens inapproval procedures is gaining more and more importance in a democracy.By Max Brehm and Lukas Keckeisen(translated by Meinrad Mager)5

Third presentation by Armin Schreijäg, representative of EnBW Ltd,Ravensburg (EnBW is the largest regional supplier of electric energy):“EnBW network and energy efficiency: How to reduce energy costs jointly andto protect our climate?”Mr Schreijäg said that as a supplier of electric energy they do not only have aninterest to sell their product but they also have an interest in a more efficient use ofelectric energy. But how could they help local industries to improve their efficiency?General recommendations are the one side of a coin, practical pieces of advice acompletely different one – they need the knowledge of and insight into the individualcompany. That’s why they had the idea to bring together various kinds ofmanufacturing businesses of the area in order to declare their willingness tocooperate and exchange their experiences in saving energy costs and to show wayshow to explore the potentials of saving energy. The idea is to help each othermutually with advice and industrial visits. EnBW simply acts as an organizer. There’sno force ny any means for companies ot continue taking part in the network. In themeantime there are 11 corporations in the network.The process of improving efficiency is cyclical and follows the process cycle EnergyManagement DIN EN 16001 more or less. First there is an analysis of the energystatus, followed by a report to the other members of the network. As a team they tryto give recommendations from their own experience and expertise. Some of theserecommendations are then implemented and new data are collected, which finallyends in a new analysis. This way the initial target of 2006 of an improvement inefficiency of 7.6% per year was surpassed by 0.7%. The 9 companies that havebeen evaluated have saved around 16.7 million kwh/a on average and reduced theirCO2 emissions by 4.450.000 kg/a. In 2010 the 9 companies saved 2 million € inenergy costs.The network shows that cooperation is a useful means of individual companies tofeel more committed to staying in a process of curbing energy costs and also helpsget a new view on old processes. Saving energy does not only help our climate interms of fewer greenhouse gases and conserving energy resources but it alsoincreases profits and raises competitiveness.By Lars Geisinger und Johannes Lorinser(Translated by Meinrad Mager)6

Section 2ii) Initial Research Work – Welsh StudentsBefore the visit to Germany, research into environmental sustainability was carriedout.Several group meetings were held and ideas collated.As well as the group’s general research, a visit to GE was organised to gain aninsight into the way in which they approach sustainability.The findings from our activities are included below:Environmental Comparative Study of Welsh and German IndustryIt is well known that every customer product has an impact on the environment.However an average consumer does not know which product has less or moreimpact than the other one. Any product, which is made, used or disposed of in a waythat significantly reduces the harm it would otherwise cause to the environment,could be considered as eco-friendly product. Slowly, consumers in India are takinglead in prompting manufacturers to adopt clean technologies to produce eco-friendlyproducts.Engineering Council Guidance on SustainabilityThe Engineering Council's guidance describes the role of engineers in relation tosustainability. Six principles have been developed, to guide and motivate you toachieve sustainable development in your work, and help you to meet yourprofessional obligations to seek to achieve sustainability.Fully compatible with UK-SPEC and the UK Government Sustainable Strategy:Securing the Future, the principles are:1. Contribute to building a sustainable society, present and future2. Apply professional and responsible judgement and take a leadership role3. Do more than just comply with legislation and codes4. Use resources efficiently and effectively5. Seek multiple views to solve sustainability challenges6. Manage risk to minimise adverse impact to people or the environment7

Fort Vale Engineering is a world leader inthe precision manufacture of the valves and fittings for transportation in theroad tanker and tank container industries. The headquarters andmanufacturing plant are based in Lancashire where it employs 240 people.With an annual energy bill of more than £240,000 and an energy contract upfor renewal which predicted price increases of 20%, the company wasprompted to consider a change in direction in how energy was managed.Initial advice from the Carbon Trust highlighted potential savings of nearly£45,000 and 392 tonnes of carbon dioxide across their three Lancashire sites.Impact• Through the implementation of a range of energy savingimprovements suggested by both employees and the Carbon TrustFort Vale reduced electrical energy use by 18%• Fort Vale has saved 308 tonnes of carbon dioxide across its Lancashiresites• Efforts to save energy have been catalyst in raising everyone’senvironmental awareness in the company and have demonstratedthat each and every small effort can make a difference to the businessand to a sustainable environment for the future.An example of an engineering environmental improvement scheme.8

PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITYContinuous improvement cycle for SustainabilityEU Environmental DirectivesThis legislation covers a vast range of areas, some of which are listed below.• Chemicals• Industry• International issues• Land use• Nature and biodiversity• Noise• Soil• Sustainable development• Waste• Water9

What is relevant to this project?Considering the types of industry we are going to be looking at, all of the above areaffected in some way by the engineering industry and are therefore relevant to thisproject.WASTE- this is a big topic area and a large part of what this project is about. Thedisposal of waste in depth should be investigated.CHEMICALS- dangerous to us and to the environment, needs to be looked at withregards to the use, safe storage and disposal.LAND USE- industry, particularly manufacturing, often occupies a large area of land.Look at how this affects the environment and the community.NOISE- look at what is creating the noise pollution and how it is affecting theworkforce, community and natural surrounding area.WATER- huge amounts are used every day in engineering, how can this bereduced? What is already being done to reduce the use of large amounts of water?List of relevant topics/question to investigate• Disposal of waste• Financial benefits• Environmental benefits – time to biodegrade, harmful to wildlife• Safety for surrounding communities• Long term effects of dumping waste – human diseases,compensation cost• Use of solvents and chemicals• Control their use• Replace with solvent or oil free solutions• Safe storage• End of life products• How these components are dealt with, does the manufacturingcompany take responsibility for their disposal?• Use of equipment• Paper-free offices – payroll, instruction manuals, memo’s, news• Disposable equipment – gloves, tools, washing facilities• Packaging – reusable, charge to the customer, is packagingnecessary?• Delivery• What methods are used and could this be changed to make itmore environmentally friendly?10

ENVIRONMENTAL VISIT10.02.11Energy• Uses Remote Utilities Management (RUM)o Meters checked remotely several times a dayo Collate datao Present data in the form of spreadsheets ready for analysiso Look at and compare trends in energy usage• Cleaning bayo Extraction system in placeo Lids fitted to make savingso Have made a 145 tonne saving by using these processes• Maintenanceo Constant monitoring for air leaks and fluid leakso Repairs carried out straight away to prevent energy wastage• Site is Carbon Trust Standardo This proves ongoing energy costs are being monitoredo Can see that measures are taken to save energy• Use of jet fuelo Due to engine testing, the site uses more jet fuel than Cardiff airporto Monitor this very closely to ensure correct usage• Intelligent lightingo Reacts to occupation of an areao Monitors the amount of sunlight and reacts to ito A saving of £17,000 was made in one section in one year by using this• Heating efficiency system11

o Looking at what areas are coldest and which areas need more heatthan others• Doorso New doors being installed to conserve heat and therefore reduceheating required• Energy management teamo Weekly meetings to discuss progress and ideaso Meet with RUM to collate datao Look at trends, improvements and changes in working practices• Shop floor energy teamo Monthly meetings to produce new ideas from the people actuallyworking in the areas consuming large amounts of energyo Welcome ideas from the whole staff• Working with local breweryo Helping each other come up with new ideas for energy saving, eg.Growing fruit and vegetables in the grounds to use in the canteenEnvironmental• Cleaning of surfaceso Company uses lots of solvents for the cleaning of metalso This must be reported to the council to report consumption and its safedisposalo Responsibility to dispose of safely, could cause pollution, acid rain, etcif not done so properly• Watero Company treats all their own water, therefore reducing costso All water that has come into contact with metal is treated ascontaminatedo Welsh Water test the water each month to ensure it is cleano The company treat 75 cubic meters of water per day• Air conditioningo Old system in place, making it inefficiento Leaks gas, produces condensationo New system will save energy and money• Fuel12

o Inspectors visit annually to check bands on fuel tanks to ensure thereare no leakso Drip trays are used when the fuel lorry is unloading to preventspillages, waste and accidentso Keys are taken from fuel lorry driver to reduce risk of lorry movingwhilst the hose is attachedo Spill kits are available at spill stations around the siteo Drains and floats are used in case of spillages and to monitor levelso Dedicated spill response team and 24 hour emergency team available• Solid wasteo Three different bins on site to segregate rubbisho Bubble wrap, metal and hazardous waste separatedo Cardboard is baled and sold to a recycling companyo SOS metals pay for clean metal, 1 tonne at a timeo Hazardous material disposal cost £47,000 last montho Hazardous material includes gloves, rags and anything that has beenin contact with metal and cannot be sorted• Healtho Encourage healthy lifestyleo Health Ahead provides reduced gym membershipo Cycle to work scheme offering discounts on bikeso Many sporting groups, football, rugby, squash, golfo All of the above are encouraging people to be healthier and alsoencouraging them to use their cars less, therefore reducing energyconsumptiono The company are recognised for their proactive approach to promotinghealthy options for the workforce13

Section 3EMAS PresentationThis is an evaluation of the presentation given on EMAS by Mrs.Schlafs.It will start by explaining what EMAS is and the benefits it can offercompanies.EMAS stands for Eco Management Audit Scheme, and byemploying this environmental programme, a company can save between 10% -20% on bills.As a company the two things you need to do is satisfy the customer and make aprofit, so adapting such a programme is ideal, as your saving more money onbills therefore making more profit. EMAS offer to save companies 1% wasteminimisation, which over a period of time can be a large amount of money, aswaste plays a big part in company’s bills as they have to pay to remove thewaste.Companies signed up on the EMAS scheme may also gain more customers as aquarter of consumers tend to avoid companies that are considered notenvironmentally friendly. As an incentive to get companies to sign up to schemessuch as EMAS in order to reduce their energy usage, the government are aimingto increases tax on energy use for businesses. There are laws that lead toprosecution if companies pollute or contaminate and EMAS are trying to helpcompanies use more efficient methods of energy use that means there is no wayto contaminate and pollute. Over a long period of time if companies do not use anenvironmental scheme such as EMAS, then pollution and global warming canlead to heat waves that will put people at risk of death. EMAS is a scheme thattries to avoid companies producing large amounts of factors that can interact withthe environment such as;• Emissions• Waste• Energy use• Drainage• TransportEMAS also try to save money for the companies signed up to their scheme byreducing their overall costs; these costs can be very expensive and below are afew examples;14

• Machines• Materials• Waste• Energy (Electric, Gas etc.)• Water• Taxes• Rent• RatesHopefully if a company signs up on the EMAS scheme, all these costs can belowered and the company can save money, but more importantly theenvironment will be saved too, as EMAS’s moral is to protect the society,environment and employers.BS EN ISO 1400The ISO 1400 family address many different aspects ofenvironmental systems. It serves as a frame work for othercompanies to create their more detailed environmental plan. Themain aim of ISO 1400 is to continually monitor and improve itsenvironmental output. ISO 1400 is put in place to help companiessave money while cutting down on environmental impact. It helps companies toreduce waste, recycle etc. it is not mandatory for any company to comply with theISO 1400 scheme but it is in their interest to do so. ISO 1400 can only work if thecompany is 100 percent committed to the scheme. if a company complies withthe ISO 1400 regulations then it can be used as a selling point for their productsas it shows that they are actively trying to reduce their environmental impact,therefore trying to be as green as possible. When a company complies with thelegislation that is given to them they will then be audited every year, this is toensure that they are still trying to achieve the lowest environmental impactpossible. Also by using ISO 1400 it reduces the risk of regulatory andenvironmental fines and is also increases the companies efficiency.Some of the legislation for ISO 1400 is;• ISO 14001 Environmental management systems—Requirements withguidance for use• ISO 14004 Environmental management systems—General guidelines onprinciples, systems and support techniques• ISO 14015 Environmental assessment of sites and organizations• ISO 14050 terms and definitions.• ISO 14062 discusses making improvements to environmental impact goals.• ISO 14063 Environmental communication—Guidelines and examples• ISO 14064 Measuring, quantifying, and reducing Greenhouse Gasemissions15

Section 4Overview of the Three German CompaniesThe three companies visited were:• MTU - Wednesday 18 th May 2011• RAFI - Thursday 19 th May 2011• TOX - Friday 20 th May 2011MTUMTU has been in business for over 100 years, although they were being taken overon Thursday 19 th May 2011 by Daimler. They have a turnover of around €2.6bn andaround 6000 staff at the plant. They are a supplier of drive systems (mainly largediesel engines) for tanks, marine, rail, and plant such as electric power generationand nuclear backup. MTU import castings from China and machine into finishedengine blocks and parts. In total they machine and assemble around 28,000 enginesper year, ranging from a 4 cylinder 129kw motor, up to a massive 20 cylinder9100kw unit (as shown below).RAFIRAFI manufacture electrical components such as push buttons and signal lamps,and operating control systems such as wireless LAN routers and control panels forforklifts. Their control systems are widely used in the automotive, white goods,medical and telecommunications industries. They have an annual turnover of €300mand around 2000 employees working at the plant. RAFI has many plants worldwide,and do both the design and manufacture of their products according to thecustomers requirements.16

TOXTOX is a company that started over 30 years ago in 1978. They are a manufacturerof hydraulic and pneumatic press drives and presses, used in the sheet metal joiningindustry. They manufacture and supply machines, tools and components to theircustomers worldwide, with plants in Europe, China, India, USA, Australia and NewZealand, and employ over 700 staff with a turnover of over €70m worldwide. Thecompany has recently developed a new kind of metal joining method, which requiresno welding, rivets or bolts, and is very popular with their customers.17

Section 5Environmental German Company Reports1) MTUVisit 18.05.2011The MTU engine plant produces a range of high output engines, for example Gasengine systems, Diesel engine systems, Gas turbine systems and Gen-drive enginesfor ships, military vehicles or emergency generator for nuclear power plants.Agenda:9:00: Arriving at MTU, short introduction into the company, how the company wasformed and background information.9:30- 10:30: Showing raw material of the engines and the treatment.10:30-11.30: Assembly process of the engines.11.30-12:30: Fitting of the ancillaries.12:30-13:30: Installing of the electricity into the engines.13:30-13.45: Engine testing.13.45- 14:00: Painting, finishing, wrapping of the engine and dispatch of the product.14:00: Asking questions about the company.18

MTU view on Sustainability:Climate-neutral, regenerative energy sources will continue to play an increasinglyimportant role in our future. MTU Onsite Energy is taking on the responsibility fortomorrow‘s needs with innovative solutions for a better and more sustainable energysupply.MTU EnergyThe MTU factory is on the edge of Lake Constance, they take full advantage of thelake by using the water from there in the factory. They use the water in the factory forcoolant; wash down components and for urinals. They have requirements to followwhen using the lake water and this is for them to recycle the water and return it tothe lake. They treat the water, check the degrees and have to monitor the PH scaleof it before returning it to the lake.Another energy resource that is saved is heat energy. Heat energy is saved by themburning their waste packaging, which is then converted into heat and used all aroundthe factory for drying paint sprayed on the engines and heating etc.They also save energy by keeping the heat in around the factory by using fire wooddoors and well insulated ceilings, floors and walls. They have automatic doors soonce a vehicle leaves the doors automatically close, this is to ensure heating doesnot get wasted and is kept constant.A new company called Daimler will take over on Wednesday 18 th of May 2011 andwill look more into environmental issues. As right now MTU Company did not haveany prospects set up to look and save energy to lower their outgoing costs. WhenDaimler steps in they will be looking to save costs, outgoings, lower Co2 emissions,energy used and look into projects being set up.19

Picture of Componentproduced Waste by – MTU with theirlogo.Questions asked:1. What waste is produced?answer: The only waste we produce is oil and materials contaminated with oil.There is no water waste as we use water from the lake as a coolant and clean itbefore returning it to the lake at the correct temperature (within 5 degrees). Someof the wood used for packaging is reused. Most of the plastics and otherpackaging is not recycled or reused.2. Is there anything that cannot be recycled?answer: Just oil.3. Are you aware of how much waste is produced?answer: 20-30 tonnes per month of metal waste.4. Are you actively trying to reduce the amount of waste you produce?answer: No.5. Have you replaced any hazardous materials or chemicals with lessdangerous ones?answer: There are few hazardous materials or chemicals on site so it is notsomething we have considered.This company appeared to have little focus on the impact their processes haveon the environment. There were no recycling or sorting areas for packaging,paper, etc. However, the company do recycle their metal waste by selling it on toa recycling company. They are aware of how much scrap they produce (1-1.5%of components) and this is recycled. There seemed to be no system in place tolook at improving their processes. However, they do have a focus on theefficiency of their products and how their use will effect the environment withregards to emissions, so from a product point of view, they made environmentalconsiderations, but not during the production process itself.20

Other questions asked:Do you monitor travelling expenses?•answer: Transportation of the product is billed to the customers. But most parts aremade in-house but parts bought in are from local companies to keep costs to aminimum.How many countries do you get your materials or parts from?•answer: Most parts are sourced locally to keep the costs down but some rawmaterials have to come from countries that got a big steel industry such as Chile,China or Argentina.Have you noticed a raise in energy costs in the last 5 years?•answer: Energy costs are kept to a minimum by being as self sufficient by producingas possible with a coal power plant or nuclear power plants a small amount is takenfrom renewable resources.Have you looked into more reusable energy rather than raw material?•answer: “No as a company we haven’t because the plant it self sufficient and theuse of a company made generator that supplies the factory grid is enough”.Conclusion:As a group it was concluded that MTU is a sustainable company due to themeasures they go to.Firstly they apply control measures such as swarf separation so they can re forge thematerial in house, which cuts costs and saves on labour time and Co2 emissions.Secondly they recycle all of their paper waste and most of their general waste.21

ii) RAFIVisit 19.05.2011Picture above of RAFI factoryRAFI was founded in 1900 as a small shop to begin with by 2010 the company hasexpanded and now has over 2000 employees and their turnover is 300million euros.RAFI produces signal lamps, control components, key switches and Joy sticks. Theyalso provide training for their employees if it is needed.The company RAFI produces electromechanical components for data entry anddisplay. Pushbuttons, control units, signal lamps, short-travel and full-travel keyswitches, key switches for PCB mounting, complete control systems with electronicsand interfaces: with our systems we place great emphasis on safe data input andconvenient operation.A wide range of technologies and designs allows fast implementation of individualsolutions, EMS - Customer designed electronic assemblies and components With 15SMT lines, the RAFI EMS Group is one of Germany's ten leading electronicsmanufacturers. RAFI offers a complete EMS portfolio: from electronic assemblies tocomplete devices, from assembly to housing production right up to packaging,development and logistics services.22

Agenda8:30 – 9.00 Arriving at Rafi, short introduction into the company.9:00 -10:00 Overview of Environmental procedures – student interaction.10.00 – 10:15 Questions and answers.10:00-11:20 Tour around the factory – highlighting environmental aspects.11:20 – 12:00 Lunch prepared by company.MonitoringRAFI EnergyRAFI is a company that produces electronic circuit boards. They monitor the usageof their energy by a controlled real-time monitor. This real-time monitor means thatit’s constantly monitoring the usage of electric. They also monitor their usage ofwater, and waste. They try to lower the usage of energy per year by having futureprojects. They have energy efficient lighting situated all around the factory.RAFI has a SMT Reflow oven, it’s an oven which heats up solder paste which thensolders all the components to a circuit board. It is very expensive to run. Although itis expensive to run it has got a pneumatic pump that reduces the energy being usedaround the factory, this is down to its own pneumatic source. The pneumatic sourceis done by turning 500 litres to 20 litres of compressed air per minute. So eventhough it uses a lot of electricity to run and produce components it saves energy bythe compressed air which gets used around the factory. This means that less pipesare put in place around the factory, less pipes used meaning not as much loss inheat and air.SMT Reflow oven23

Future projectsRAFI looks into new solder pastes often to save energy. They save energy byreducing its temperature which is needed to heat up and solder componentstogether.Solar panels are also put in place around the factory to reduce the amount ofelectricity. When sunlight of the right energy level hits the n-type layer, which is ontop of the solar cell, it excites some of the free electrons, which break loose fromtheir natural state, pairs and flow across the boundary between the layers to createa current. This only works if the two layers of the solar cell are pressed directly intoeach other. This is usually accomplished by fabricating bothsides as part of the same process.Production process set.RAFI has a triangle shape production process that they follow inplan to reduce their energy. This is set by them picking the most favoured optionsfirst and then work their way down to their least favoured option.These options are –• Prevent• Minimize• Re-use• Recycle• Energy recovery• DisposalQuestions asked:Waste – RAFI1. What waste is produced?Answer: Both solid and liquid waste, production waste and waste from packaging.Hazardous waste includes used oil and waste water. We produce 250 tonnes ofmetal waste each year, which is sorted on site ready for recycling.2. Is there anything that cannot be recycled?Answer: Yes, oil and anything contaminated by oil. This waste is separated fromall other waste and disposed of safely.3. Are you aware of how much waste you produce?24

Answer: Yes, the amount of waste we produce is monitored to enable us to findways to improve. Approximately 215 tonnes per annum.4. Are you actively trying to reduce the amount of waste you produce?Answer: Yes, we have a dedicated environmental policy in place and a continualimprovement plan in which we look closely at the noise, heat, soil, air, emissions,radiation and vibration that we produce and look at ways in which we can reducethem all, as well as monitoring our solid and liquid waste production. We analyseour processes, looking at the input, the process and the output, besides theproduct.5. Have you replaced any hazardous materials or chemicals with lessdangerous ones?Answer: There are no alternatives to the hazardous materials we use, so we tryto keep their use to a minimum.The waste management programme at RAFI is as follows:• Prevent waste during the production process• Minimize waste• Reuse ( ie, water)• Recycle ( ie, packaging)• Energy recovery• DisposalRAFI have a very structured waste management system in place, looking a continualimprovement all the time. They have training for staff to learn about the use ofmaterials, energy efficiency and waste production. Their hazardous waste productionis kept to a minimum. They are aware of waste produced during each stage of theirmanufacturing process and have systems in place to deal with each type.Other questions asked:• How do you transport your Products?Answer: Straight transport, different logistics, sub contract.• How far do you get your raw materials?Answer: Local suppliers, Global network suppliers, sometimes India & China.• Do you support the local environment?Answer: Yes, prevent→minimise→reuse→recycle.• Do you try to reduce pollution in your area?Answer: Yes they try to reduce the impact on the environment by trying to reduceenergy usage and re-cycling waste.25

• Do you monitor travelling expenses?Answer: yes we monitor all travel expenses, such as freight transport andhaulage, these are handled by external companies and a detailed report is providedwith every shipment so that our company can monitor the co2 output and expenses.• How many countries do you get materials from?Answer: we ship our circuit boards from India or China, but the rest of our materialscome from local providers. And the printing of the circuit boards are all done in houseto minimise the transportation weight thus saving on fuel and reducing co2emissions.• Have you noticed a raise in energy cost in the last 5 years?Answer: yes, RAFI continue to monitor costs and negotiate the best rate for thecompany as well as use renewable energy suppliers.• Have you looked into using fewer raw materials or to bring in readymadecomponents?Answer: yes, but if the company decide to bring in readymade components it wouldminimise the jobs in the company. This will affect the transport prices and in the longrun the company will be worse off and so will the environment, because the addedweight to the transport will lead to more emissions and an increase in shippingcharges.When we were able to go to RAFI we asked the same set of questions that we hadasks MTU. We found that they use straight transport to transport their products toothe customers. We found out that they do not know how far their products traveloverall as it depends on where their customers are located. RAFI gets their rawmaterials form local suppliers and times global network suppliers such as India andchina. We also found out that they support their local environment and they try to dotheir best to reduce the amount of pollution in their area. They do this by trying topresent making it in the first place but however if this is not possible they minimise,reuse and recycle waste that they have produced.26

ConclusionAs a group the students think RAFI sets an example of what every company shouldaim to achieve. As they meet all Iso 1400 and EMAS as criteria’s and continue tobetter them self’s on an annual basis. They do this by recycling and re using energyby burning the waste to heat water to re provide they’re own power to the factory.And they also they provide a scheme to encourage the staff to use alternativetransport rather than drive I.e. catch a bus or cycle to work.In conclusion the students think RAFI is going the right way about minimising theircarbon footprint and waste. Also they set an excellent example for other companiesto follow in the future.27

iii) TOX PressotechnikVisit 20.05.2011TOX is a company that was founded in 1978 and has approximately 700 employeesworldwide. This company produces products such as all purpose fixings, expansionfixings, extra long fixings, plumbing and special fixings and metal fixings.Tox continues to develop products at their own request and at customer demand. In1989 Tox lands a contract to manufacture presses to fit sunroofs and gear shifthousings, this was the start of the success story.In 1993 they set up production in China knowing that the economy was rapidlyexpanding and there would be a place for Tox in the new China, Tox believes thatbeing close to its customers is vital to the business success. In 1999 they expandedto Germany and the USA.In 2000 they achieved the ISO1400 criteria, and have continued to improve on theirenvironmental impact by minimising the output in waste and recycling.To the present day Tox continues to work on their environmental impact bynegotiating with energy suppliers for better rates and sustainable energy. They alsocontinue to work on giving better customer satisfaction because without capital theywouldn’t be able to trade and continue to better their environmental impact.Agenda:9.00amArrival.9.00-9.35amInduction and presentation to the company.9.35-11.00 Tour of the facilities and production processes11.00-12.00 A chance to ask questions on the environmental impact Tox has.12.00 Finish.28

TOX EnergyEnergy efficiency is very important and because of that TOX encourages theiremployees to save energy.They capture the waste heat of machines and use it to heat up other rooms of thecompany and if the waste heat is not enough, they’ will use heat pumps.In summer they save energy for cooling the rooms by shutting the blinds. They alsouse heat generated by the compressed air process to heat up the water which isused around the company through pipes which have been re-insulated to minimizeheat loss. They are member of „EnBW Netzwerk Energieeffizienz Ravensburg“.TOX works closely with their energy supplier to establish times of the day whereenergy usage in the area is low, and reduce the peak load on the grid by using theirlarger machines at these times. They regularly check their compressed air lines forleaks and dropped the pressure from 10 to 6 bars to achieve the same effect withless energy. They use energy saving lighting such as Fluorescent tubes, they haveremoved 33% of their lighting on the shop floor, and also use light sensors to turndown the light if there is enough light from outside.Example of heat captureJoining techniquesThe TOX Joining Technique combines two closely related technologies, already wellestablished and proven since many years in mass production, and finding new andinnovative clinching applications every day in the sheet metal joining industry.29

Tox clinching techniques are not used in the aviation industry yet, because there isa lot of legislation to prove the product is competent for the job in hand.The technology developed saves energy by not joining metals by fusion, thereforereducing the overall impact levels of the process.TOX ClinchingAlso known as riveting without rivets usually using the solid die cavity, a punchpresses the two metals into the die forcing the metal to take the shape and clinchtogether, Due to its cost effectiveness and reliability it is fast and effective way ofsealing two metals together.Solid punch rivet:Insertion of a fastener for solid punch rivets, tools, devices for rivet setting and rivetfeeding – all at one stop. This machine is basically a riveting gun but with Toxmodules.Questions asked:TOX Waste1. What waste is produced?Answer: Paper, glass, foil, different metal types. There are colour marked bins ineach unit for easy separation. Waste from packaging and production, both solidand liquid. We also use cold forming processes which saves a lot of energy andproduces less heat. We produce no fumes or toxic steam, which means ouremissions are very low and safer for the operators.2. Is there anything that cannot be recycled?Answer: Any oil contaminated materials, including oil itself.30

3. Are you aware of the amount of waste you produce?Answer: We only monitor the amount of swarf we produce. Each machine usesonly one type of metal and therefore no sorting of the metal waste is required.The waste from the machines is then sold on to a recycling company.4. Are you actively trying to reduce the amount of waste you produce?Answer: Yes, we have regular meetings and constantly monitor the amount ofwaste produced during the production process. We are always trying to improveour processes to reduce the waste and loss of energy involved.5. Have you replaced any hazardous materials or chemicals with lessdangerous ones?Answer: Yes. We have a filtration system in place for the machine coolant weuse, which means our consumption of this hazardous liquid is greatly reduced.The heat produced by our machines is used to heat some of the buildings too.There is a real focus on the environment with this company, as well as theworking environment for the operators. Clean air and low noise levels make for ahealthier work place for the staff. All materials that can be recycled are, and toxicliquids are dealt with safely. There are continual improvement systems in placeand regular meetings to monitor waste production.Other Questions asked:• How do you transport your products?Answer: with lorry sometimes ship depending on customer.• How far does your product travel?Answer: anywhere, where ever the customer is located.• Do you carry toxic/poisonous materials/products?Answer: hydraulic fluids and cleaning materials.• Do you support your local environment?Answer: to try to stop/reduce pollution and save energy,also try to buy things needed from local companies.31

• Do you monitor travelling expenses and Co2 emissions?Answer: No, all of our products areas delivered by a external logistics company andbecause of this, that company is responsible for the Co2 output. But this company isa leading company in haulage and logistics and is ISO1400 certified.• How many countries do you import your materials from?Answer: The majority of our materials are from local rescores, but some materialscannot be obtained locally so are imported from the best provider.• Have you noticed a raise in energy costs in the lat 5 years?Answer: Yes, our company is currently negotiating with a renewable energy supplierthat uses water power to produce their energy instead of the current nuclear powerprovider. Tox as a company feels this is the right direction to go on an energy basisas the future of the company and the planted could be compromised if changes arenot made early on.• Have you looked into using reusable energy rather than burningfossil fuels?Answer: Yes, our energy provider supplies energy to the plant, and where energy islost we try to recover is, i.e. the heat that the milling machines produce is filteredthrough an extraction system and is used to heat the main halls of the building.ConclusionWhen we had our industrial visit to TOX we asked the same set of questions that weasked MTU and RAFI and we found out that their finished products travel worldwideto where the customers are located. This is done by lorry but sometimes dependingon the customer the products may travel by ship. It was also established that theycarry toxic/poisonous products/materials, fluids and also cleaning chemicals arecarried and transported.TOX supports the local environment as they try to reduce the amount of pollutionproduced. They try this by producing hardly any emissions and selling this waste toother companies which will reuse it.32

Tox is concerned about sustainability and the environmental output they have. Theirconcern is not great compared to Mtu and Rafi but it’s a step in the right direction.Firstly they recycle most of the waste they generate and re use energy where theycan .i.e. recovering heat from the milling machines and using to heat the hallways.Secondly they collect all the swarf and excess metal and sell it back to the supplierrather than re forging and re using internally in their company.They are not particularly worried about the Co2 emissions and raw materialssupplied because this is all handled by an external contractor. This could be a worrybecause Tox needs to make sure as their duty they use a contractor that isenvironmentally aware and is either ISO1400 or EMAS certified. As a result thecompany could be meeting the criteria for these certifications but the externalcontractors they use don’t.In conclusion we think Tox on the overall are stepping in the right direction but havea long way to go before they can achieve the standards set by Rafi on this project.33

Section 6Overview of Welsh CompaniesThe two companies visited were:• RPC ( Rigid Plastic Company) – Monday 10 th October 2011• GE ( General Electric) – Tuesday 11 th October 2011i) RPCRPC in the UK was bought as a plastics packaging company from SCA (SvenskaCellulosa Aktiebolaget) in 1991. They have a turnover of around one billion pounds,employ around 7500 people and have 49 sites all over the world. They mainlyproduce containers for interiors, clothing, personal care, education, leisures,transports, food & drinks. At the plant we visited, they especially produce containersfor food and household. Over 60% of all packaging (from homes, commerce andindustry) is recycled, supported by £50 million a year from manufacturers andretailers.34

ii) GE Aviation WalesTuesday 11 th October 2011GE is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world'stoughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financialservices, medical imaging, and television programming, GE operates in more than100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide.GE has a strong set of global businesses in infrastructure, finance and media alignedto meet today's needs, including the demand for global infrastructure; growing andchanging demographics that need access to healthcare, finance, and informationand entertainment; and environmental technologies.Facts and figures£13M of funding is provided to SMEs by GE Capital5,000 patients are diagnosed in hospitals on GE CT & MRscanners#GE supplies 20% of the UK’s energy requirementsGE was ranked FIRST in the Financial Times "World's Most Respected CompaniesSurvey“ for seven consecutive years.In 2010, GE delivered solid results despite the tough economic climate with earningsof $12.6 billion. Industrial cash flow from operating activities for the year remainedstrong at over $14.7 billion.GE traces its beginnings to Thomas A. Edison, who established Edison Electric LightCompany in 1878. In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company andThomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. GE is theonly company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also includedin the original index in 1896.GE traces their roots back to 1924, when we were established by Imperial Airways,located in London. In 1940, the business was moved to Nantgarw, under theownership of British Airways.GE Aircraft Engine Services is an aircraft-engineering site that oversees the overhauland maintenance of many major aircraft engines.35

GE overhauls four main aircraft engines, GE90, CFM 56, RB211, GP7000The site in Nantgarw was formally owned by British Airways and was bought by GEin 1991 and has been known as GEAES but now goes under the name GE AviationWales. Last year GE Aviation Wales generated revenues of £1.2bn, with profits ofmore than £40m.They have over 120 customers worldwide who send their engines to the site inNantgarw for engine overhaul.Some of the customers that GE aviation Wales deals with include,Air France, BritishAirways, Qantas, Thomas Cook and Span Air.GE is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world'stoughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financialservices, medical imaging, and television programming, GE operates in more than100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide.GE has a strong set of global businesses in infrastructure, finance and media alignedto meet today's needs, including the demand for global infrastructure; growing andchanging demographics that need access to healthcare, finance, and informationand entertainment; and environmental technologies.In 2010, GE delivered solid results despite the tough economic climate with earningsof $12.6 billion. Industrial cash flow from operating activities for the year remainedstrong at over $14.7 billion.GE traces its beginnings to Thomas A. Edison, who established Edison Electric LightCompany in 1878. In 1892, a merger of Edison General Electric Company andThomson-Houston Electric Company created General Electric Company. GE is theonly company listed in the Dow Jones Industrial Index today that was also includedin the original index in 1896.The site in Nantgarw was formally owned by British Airways and was bought by GEin 1991 and has been known as GEAES but now goes under the name GE AviationWales. Last year GE Aviation Wales generated revenues of £1.2bn, with profits ofmore than £40m.They have over 120 customers worldwide who send their engines to the site inNantgarw for engine overhaul.36

Section 7Environmental Welsh Company Reportsi) RPCVisit 10.10.11Agenda15:00 Arrival.15:15-16:00 Induction and presentation of the company.16:00-16:30 Tour of the facilities and production processes16:30-16:50 A chance to ask questions on the environmental impact RPC has.16:50 Finish.RPC EnergyThe RPC factory, which produces plastic containers and bottles, islocated in Llantrisant, Wales. They reduce their amount of energyusage using various energy saving initiatives. One example is usinglight-switches with motion detectors. That means that the lights areonly turned on if someone walks along the corridor. They also reducethe energy by using new modern machines, which have a higherefficiency than the older ones, and they do a lot of tests to find outhow you can reduce the amount of materials you need to produce abottle. By using fewer materials you can save compressed air, heatand resources, and of course you reduce the pollution of the air.37

Due to these measures the company has already made the first steps to reduce theamount of their energy. The analysis shown below point out that the average use ofenergy per tonne has gone down in the last two years from approximately2400KwH’s\Tonne to 2250KwH’s\Tonne. The company set the aim to reduce energyconsumption steadily within the next years.The head of the company also told us that the carbon footprint is not a problem ofthe industry, but a problem of society. In the UK there is less plastic recycling than inGermany and old plastic is still dumped in landfills whereas in Germany it isincinerated; the energy gained from theat process is heat.Waste – RPCThe company tries to avoid as much waste as possible. The waste which isaccumulated during the production process will be recycled. There are wastecontainers everywhere in the production hall, where you can separate the waste.50% of the material which is needed to produce the packaging is recycled material.The products are used for packaging, which alsomeans waste after being used. Thus, the companyactually produces waste. However, the companyargues, that packaging also avoids a lot of waste. Forexample bananas stored for 7 days keep fresher in aplastic bag than without packaging. This way a lot offood-waste is avoided. Over 25% of the waste whichhouseholds generate each week is food-waste; only18% is packaging waste. Goods-waste is also reducedbecause the packaging protects the goods fromdamages. In addition it is possible to recycle the packaging-waste – over 60% of allpackaging from homes, commerce and industry is recycled. The rest is dumped inlandfills but Mr Bryan Glasper, the General Manager of RPC, pointed out that wastedumping in the UK is a problem of society and not of the company.38

The only thing the firm can do for reducing packaging waste is that they try to use aslittle material as possible. So packaging becomes lighter. The last 10 yearsconsumers have bought more goods than before, but the weight of packaging hasstayed the same.Packaging reductions since 1970s:• Washing up liquid bottles 64% lighter• Drink cans 45% lighter• Yogurt pots 67% lighterPackaging usedKg per person2007 1998Ireland 245 185Italy 212 161Netherlands 212 161France 202 194Germany 196 172Spain 189 159Denmark 180 158UK 176 175Portugal 162 101Belgium 158 140RPC has a very strong view on sustainability, not only because of governmentlegislation, but through their own initiative and also the customers demand for it. Forthis reason they have set up a “sustainability matters” program to help eliminateunnecessary waste and energy usage. They are committed to developing andsupplying products that help its customers meet their environmental objectives andthe demands of their customers and of the regulators. They are well aware of theirresponsibilities as a manufacturing company and have good initiatives to reduce theenvironmental impact of their factories and manufacturing processes.39

Questions:Q: Is the American company governed by the same environmental regulationsthat are in the UK and Europe?A: Yes they are to a degree but not as strict.Q: Are you aware of how much waste you produce?A: Yes we are very aware of our waste, we try to recycle as much as possible andare aiming for 100% recyclable waste so nothing goes to landfill.Q: Do you have an environmental team?A: Yes we have an environmental team, we also encourage our employees toengage and come up with waste and energy reducing initiatives.40

ii) GE Aviation Wales11.10.11Agenda:9:00am- 9:45am - Arrive at the factory, general introduction to what the companydoes as a whole and factory specific by the apprentices9:45am- 10:45 am – Ecomagination and sustainability talk/presentation involvingstudent interaction10:45am – 11:50 – Tour of test beds.11:50 – 12:30 – lunch provided by the company.GE as a company are trying to produce cleaner and more efficient aircraft engines allthe time as they understand that no matter what if their engines are flying they arehaving an impact on the environment.GE90 & GP7000 Test CellEcomaginationEcomagination played a major role in developing two significant areas of the GE90-115B. First, by improving the process by which air and fuel are mixed in thecombustor, this engine meets the next generation of emissions requirements withroom to spare. And whilst lowering emissions, fan blade technology has helped thisengine meets some of the most stringent airport noise requirements around theworld.On a trip to New York to Los Angeles, that that power would allow the bowing 777-300ER to travel at over 500 MPH with an equivalent gas mileage rating of 86 MPGon a per passenger basis.41

GE90 EngineWe were given a presentation by Kerry Owens a member of the Green Skiesenvironmental team who spoke about the projects that the company are participatingin at the moment and projects that have already been implemented.Like virtually every area of human activity, air transport has an impact on theenvironment.The aviation industry is under increasing scrutiny. This is primarily due to theindustry projected growth rates of 4% to 5% per year, which outpaces manufactures’ability to introduce fuel efficiency improvements in aircraft engines to offset theemissions increase.As a responsible company within the aviation industry they are currently participatingin a project called green sky which comes under their ecoimagination project thataim it is to reduce the amount of emissions emitted into the atmosphere. Howeverthis is a project not implemented by management but implemented managed andmaintained by trade unions, employees, shop stewards and also environmentalists.It encourages members to think about their actions and what effect it has (E.g.leaving a light on would use more energy) not just in industry but also in their livesoutside work as well. However the company does offer incentives for ideas such asrewards and offering a range of different opportunities, as it is run by the shop floortradesmen who use the processes everyday more innovative ideas are produceddue to knowledge possessed by these people. Also they are investing in newtechnologies such as cold air blowers instead of paper towels for drying your handswhich save £15000 a year in energy and push taps which waste 70% less waterwaste plus reduce energy used due to you will need to heat less water. Under thisproject they have also installed an air desertification system which means that youonly have to turn air heating systems on a small amount so they use 20% lessenergy. These systems use 0.18kw motor which reduce emissions and are alsosourced locally. On site they recycle 18% of their nonhazardous waste. The sitegenerates over 800 tonnes of waste a year’s which costs them £95,000 per year andis paying 8-10 thousand more this year that last. Their goals for this to be achievedby 2013 are to at least double the rate of recycling on site reduce the cost of theirnon hazardous waste by 40% and progress to eliminate the need to send nonhazardous waste to landfill. To monitor the energy used by the company in differentsections of the factory they use an energy management system called RUM which alocal company. G.E’s energy team monitor this every 30 minutes to detect anyanomalies in energy usage and investigate these and indentify and fix the problem.42

Waste Questions1) What waste is produced?The site has in total has approximately 250-300 waste profiles. The majority arehazardous waste materials which must be controlled and consigned from site inaccordance with UK/EU transport requirements and for various forms of disposal/recovery (Chemical reduction, blending, incineration, physiochemical). In terms ofnon hazardous waste we have 6 key waste streams;CardboardPlasticsGeneral wastesTimberPaperFood2) Is there anything that cannot be recycled?Many of the hazardous waste streams are difficult to recycle due to their potentiallyhazardous nature.In terms of non hazardous wastes we have a great challenge with plastics due totheir being in total over 3000 different types of plastics worldwide, only half of whichcan be recycled effectively.Polyurethane foam is a packaging material used for vendor parts returned t the sitewhich we have yet to find an effective recycle route for.3) Are you aware of the amount of waste you produce, if so how much?In 2010;43

Waste typeWeight (tonnes)General waste 597.85Timber/wood 39.25Special case wastes 223.82Scrap metal 50.00Cardboard 39.48Paper 6.22WEEE 13.10Plastic 1.10Hazardous waste 7474) Are you actively trying to reduce waste?Yes we have a program in place to target both our own internal systems and oursupply chain to reduce the amount of waste we generate.We are also looking to move ever more wastes away from Landfill and into formalrecycling streams. Our total site recycling % for non-hazardous waste is 65% (on-siteand off-site recycling). We are targeting an increase to around 80% in the next 12months.5) Can you find an alternative to using hazardous materials and chemicals?This is very difficult for our business as the engine manufacturer manuals dictate themethods and chemical used for each process.We are finding that the GE90 and the GP700 are both more modern in theirefficiency in flight and design but also in using cleaner technologies whenoverhauling. Fewer hazardous chemical are being used in these engines comparedto the RB211.44

Environmental / trainingQuestions1. Do you have an energy saving team?Yes there is a Green Skies Team who meets regularly and discusses energy savingideas that then get implemented around site.2. How do you communicate to your employers?Business feedback sessions, emails, Big screen TVs around site.3. Do you educate your apprentice in saving energy/materials?Yes as part of the apprenticeship they do environmental projects and there is trainingprovided on site.4. Are you doing energy saving courses?Yes there is a plan in place where training will be given to Green skies teammembers to then deliver training to and energy saving tips to the shop floor andoffice staff.5. Do you invest in energy efficient equipment, and how?Sensor lighting has been installed in many areas so when there is no one in thatarea they are not in use.6. Do you publish your energy wages? Do you use it for advertising?No we do not publish the energy wages.7. Do you have any accreditation for energy saving like EMAS or ISO?We had ISO but that was superseded by the Global Star accreditation.8. Do your customers prefer your products to be green?They actively try and reduce the emissions of the engine all the time. We alsochallenge our vendors in reducing the amount of packaging they use and wastewhen shipping the components.9. Do you reward your employees for energy saving?Yes all ideas that are brought to the Energy team are looked at and the persons arerewarded within the company.45

Conclusion:When we carried out our industrial visit at General Electric Aviation Wales weasked the same set of questions we asked every other company. The engines theyrepair then go to operators all over the world. This is achieved by transporting themby lorry and by putting them on wing to fly out to where they want to be. Consideringthe industry General electric aviation Wales is part of, while they can control theamount of emissions to a certain extend by making then more efficient the enginesstill put out a lot of emission, they are of the damage that this could be causing theenvironment so they make an effort with in their business to reduce the amount ofemissions and energy used in overhauling the engines.While General Electric Aviation Wales is not an EMAS or ISO1400 accreditedbusiness they are concerned about the amount of waste and energy they use. Theyare part of the green sky project, whose aim it is to reduce emissions produced byaircraft by 50% by 2050, and they are also accredited by the carbon trust due to thework they are doing to reduce the amount of emissions and energy they use.In conclusion to this visit as a group we decided that General Electric is aresponsible company concerned about the amount of emissions produced by theirindustry and doing their best to reduce their footprint46

Section 8ConclusionThe idea behind the German/Welsh exchange was to look into several differentmanufacturing companies throughout Germany and Wales. Our main goal was togather information and put together a report outlining different areas of eachcompany regarding environmental sustainability and compare our findings.The site tours and discussions involved took us through the processes of thecompanies, from which we were able to determine not only the energy efficiency ofeach site, but the future plans and active practices currently employed.Briefly, we found that MTU had a significant problem with the disposal of oil andcomponents contaminated with it. There appeared to be very little planning withregards to the impact the company hason the environment, but they weremaking an improvement with waterwaste, which they were treating andreturning to Lake Constance. There wasno evidence of future environmentalprojects or plans to reduce waste orother disruption caused to theenvironment. However, this companywere in the process of being taken over by a company called Daimler, who haveextensive environmental policies already in place.RAFI, on the other hand, employed a team which monitored energy usage and theamount of waste produced. This team worked together with the production staff tocome up with various ways to save energy and money,such as energy efficient lighting around the site. They alsohave a reuse and recycle policy which has had a positiveimpact on their waste production. The only negative wefound was the oil and oil contaminated components, whichcannot be reused or recycled.47

Looking at TOX, we found that very few of their waste materials could be recycled orreused. They have regular meetings to monitor and work on solutions for the amountof waste being produced. Again, they had a significant amount of materialcontaminated with oil which could not be effectively disposed of.Our visit to RPC Containers suggested a very well structuredenvironmental policy and strictly implemented plan. A veryhigh percentage of their waste was recycled or reused, andenergy usage had been greatly reduced in recent years. Aproblem for this company was the high use of compressed air,which has very high energy consumption.At GE, there is an employee led environmental team whichdeals with everyday environmental issues, as well as longterm solutions. There is intelligent lighting, upgradedextraction systems, air leak monitors, heating efficient doorsand recycling schemes across the site. GE has employed anoutside agency to monitor and report on their energyconsumption. Oil contaminated goods are the major problemfor them on site.As can be seen from the report, the results we achieved contained a wide range ofdata concerning the main aspects of the environmental issues relevant today. Withour planned questions and strong project outline, we were able to directly comparewhat we learned from each company and come up with some interesting contrasts.48

One of the most poignant findings was during our visit to MTU. They were thecompany which proved to have the most devastating effects on the environment, andthe fewest policies and procedures in place for energy and waste management.Being the largest grossing company, they would in effect have the most money tosave, should they implement some basic but significant changes to theirenvironmental attitude.Another interesting result was the effect that oil contaminated materials had on therecycling effort of each company. We found that there was no effective way to cleanor dispose of these products, which was often the only major blemish on their wastemanagement reports.Looking at our results, we believe that the project goal has been achieved. In manyways, we learned much more than we initially set out to. We experienced a widerange of manufacturing processes throughout the visits in Germany and Wales andbecome we became increasingly familiar with the legislation governing theenvironmental laws throughout Europe.From the outset, we felt that the project was very relevant to the modernmanufacturing industry. The affect that manufacturing has on the landscape, theatmosphere and natural resources is huge. It is important that all companies,whether local or international, control, monitor and reduce their energy consumption,waste production, use of resources and transportation. This project has helped us tounderstand how these companies work, what measurements they have in place forimprovements and what they are still trying to find solutions for.49

Section 9EvaluationOverall, we have had a really fantastic experience workingon this project. From a social point of view, both partieshave enjoyed different cultures and traditions in thecountries we visited. We all felt proud to play host to ourguests and share with them the landmarks and heritage thatwe are honoured to have.Visits to the Austrian Alps, the Swiss boarder and theDornier museum were highlights of the trip in Germany. InWales, there were visits to the Millennium Stadium, St.Fagan’s and The Big Pit.The project itself has been an amazing learning curve forboth the students and the staff involved. Visitinginternationally successful companies in Germany and Walesand being able to find out how they operate, what theiraspirations are and what effect they have on theenvironment has been a privilege.We enjoyed the company of all of the students and staff andeach group was made to feel very welcome during theirvisit. We all worked hard together as a group to come upwith the best project and we believe our final work istestament to the efforts put in by all involved.Finally, the work that we have produced is to a highstandard and includes an abundance of vital informationrelevant to today’s environmental effort. The research wecarried out backs up our findings, which have been set outin a comprehensive manner.50

Section 10AcknowledgmentsAs a whole we think that this project has been extremely beneficial, and bothGerman students and Welsh students have discovered similarities between the twocultures. We have worked well together and co-operated to produce a report, andhave bonded well. We would like to thank everyone for their support and cooperationwith out you it would not have been possible.We would like to thank;The Cornelius projectRafi: Wolfgang MatheisTox: Georg AmftMTU: Volker HeuerGE: Kerry Owens, Andy LewisRPC: Bram Fischer, Bryan GlasperAccommodation:Gasthof OchsenThe Bertie HotelGewerbliche schule Ravensburg:Fritz ZimmermannMeinrad MagerColeg Morgannwg:Nigel WilliamsPaul MeekOther:Mrs Schlaf, head of environmental dept. Chamber of industry and commerceBodensee-oberschwaben, Weingarten.51

Section 11AppendicesAppendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3Appendix 4Germany visitWales visitExchange EvaluationApplicable European Environmental Legislation52

Appendix 1Germany VisitHere is a picture of the Welsh studentsin front of their accommodation(Gasthof Ochsen) upon their arrivalto Ravensburg, Germany.Here is a picture of the Welsh students inRavensburg’s town hall. The picture was takenShortly before they met the town Mayor.On the Wednesday we visited the Dornier museum.We also visited the MTU factory in Friedrichshafen.53

This is a picture of when we all visited Lake Constance.The place we went to was Lindau and we also visitedRafi which they done electrical mechanical assembly.This is a picture of when we went sightseeing at lakeConstance and the same day we went across to Switzerland.On the Saturday we travelled to Austriaand went to a ski resort where wewalked in the Austrian Alps .54

Towards the end of our visit to Germany,Both the Welsh and German studentsWorked together at the college in orderto start preparing the first part of the project,Including all the information about thevarious companies we visitedthroughout our stay.On our last day in Ravensburg, the students, teachers andParents involved in the project all gathered at the collegeFor a barbecue in order to say goodbye and thank you.55

Wales VisitSunday 9 th of OctoberWe visited the National Waterfront Museum of Swansea in the morning. TheMuseum is about the industrial development of Wales in the last 300 years in 15different topics:‐ Energy‐ Landscape‐ People‐ Sea‐ Communities‐ Organisations‐ Achievers‐ Money‐ Day’s Work‐ Network‐ Transformations‐ Land‐ Coal‐ Metal‐ FrontiersOn midday we had the possibility to walk through Swansea to visit shops and theharbour.56

Monday 10 th October• 7.30am - Getting up• 9.30 am – Reception at Coleg Morgannwg• 11 am – small brunch with juice and cake• 1 pm – reception at the Town Hall and meeting theMayor of Rhondda Cynon Taf• 3 pm – Visit industrial plant of RPCThe vision statement of the college is: “Realising potential – shaping future”.They accept every student who comes to the college, they test his (her) basic leveland normally he (she) will be taken on.Students learn engineering, construction, designing, etc in this college.Opposite the college there is a new building under construction.Many of the students work in their free time, to get money for attending the college.The computers have internet access to ensure that the students can look up someinteresting videos about their topics.In the college there are many rooms for practical work such as rooms for training theskills of bricklayers, to work with wood and to work with electronics.Reception at Town HallAs Ravensburg is twinned withRCT we were invited by theMayor to see her at the TownHall. She pointed out that thereis a long lasting relationshipbetween the two areas. Shealso mentioned that our topicwe are working on is veryimportant and up-to-.date asthe local Council isinvestigating at the momenthow to dispose of theremnants of householdand industrial waste. After her address she invited us for a snack, which was reallygood and there was plenty of it.57

RPCRPC is a group of companies, whichproduce packaging, in our case fixpackaging.The group have 7.500 employees and49 plants in 12 countries. The turnoverof the composite is about £1bn. Thepackagings of that company are usedin different sectors: personal cure,pharmaceutical, bottles , fresh food,long shelf like food and fruit, ice cream,crop protection, garden careproductions, detergents etc..The company we visited has 110employees and a turnover of £14m. The company uses PET,HD,PP,PCR andproduce bottles from 25ml size to 2 l, 24hours a day and 7days a week. Did youknow that milk is most packaged in the UK?Tuesday 11 th GE- General ElectricOur Tuesday at GE started with a presentation of the Welsh students, in which theygave us an overview about the company. After that we got a guide through theturbine testing area, followed by a really good lunch.58

AfternoonWelsh school, where children from theage of 5 to 14 were taught untill 1945. Itwas removed from Maestri , Lampeterto Saint Fagans59

A Welsh village of 400 BCVisit to Big Pit in BlaenavonWednesday 12th OctoberIn the afternoon we visited Big Pit in Blaenavon. It is a coal mine which was closed in1980 and was opened for visitors as a museum.First we acquired helmets and the traditional coal miner equipment from our guidewho led us through the deep tunnels. At the coal mine we went 90 metresunderground by lift and steps. Down there he told us about the bad workingconditions and the disasters which happened there. Mainly he told us about theimportance of anthracite coal for the economical development of the Valleys as wellas for the whole country.60

Thursday 13 th October• 8.00am getting up and breakfast• 9.00am picked up by bus anddrove to Cardiff• 10.30am guided tour throughWales SenateBefore we were allowed to get into thebuilding, we had to go through a securitycheck similar to that at an airport. Wewere welcomed by our guide whoexplained us the building. It’s a very newand energy efficient building which wasbuilt in 2006. The roof is built with woodand formed like a wave to improve the acoustics. Instead of concrete walls they usedglass from Saint Gobain which keeps the building warm in winter and cool insummer. They can also switch the lights off mot time of the day because there isenough sunlight. To heat the building in winter they use geothermal energy and alsoa boiler which uses recycled wood.• 11.30am walk around Cardiff Bay• 12.30pm eating fish and chips• 13.30pm picked up by bus and drove to Cardiff City centre• 14.30pm shopping in Cardiff• 16.30pm picked up by bus and drove back to the hotel.61

On Saturday we went to a bigrugby match: the world cup semifinalFrance-Wales. We had tocatch the train at 7.05 to be intime for the public viewing in themillennium stadium. It was a nicegame, but unfortunately Waleslost.62

Appendix 3Exchange EvaluationEvaluation of Project Work ‐ during Stay in GermanyLectureby Ms SchlafGroup work(mixedgroups,allocation etc.The lecture on EMAS by Ms Schlaf was very informativegiving plenty of relevant information about Iso1400 and EMASand what the companies had to do to be certified for these, alsoshe spoke very good English so both parties could understandwhat was going on. On the downside the presentation lasted abit long and towards the end some of the student’s interestwandered.The group work was carried out with a mix of 3 welsh studentsand 3 German students in each group. Each group wasallocated a key issue such as energy, fuel Etc. The groupsworked well together communicating ideas effectively to therest of the groups so everyone knew what was happening.IndustrialvisitsThere were three industrial visits when in Germany these wereinformative as it showed the students what products were madeat each of the facilities, the processes which were involved inthe products and some theory behind how these processesworked. Also during the presentations given by the companiesit gave the students a good opportunity to ask questions aboutwhat kind of legislation they had to abide by to maintain theiraccreditationsWhat elsewould youlike tomentionThere was very little downtime between each visit and a lot ofinformation to be processed in a short amount of time till thenext visit so maybe there should be a day in between visits onthe welsh trip to give students the time to process and evaluatethe information .63

Good and Bad Points of the VisitAppendix 4Applicable European Environmental LegislationThis appendix lists the European environmental legislation which we found to beapplicable to the project and the topics we covered. Each gives a breif description ofthe legislation and what is required of European companies.• European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December 1994 onpackaging and packaging waste (EN13428:2000 2005-02-19)This European standard defines the requirements for manufacturing companies and theircomposition of packaging. The standard ‘amplifies’ the requirements with respect to thereduction of packaging used at the source. It states that the manufacturer must demonstratethat the minimum adequate amount of weight or volume has been reached taking intoacount the performance criteria such as containment, protection, handling, presentation andconsumer safety.Source: http://www.tcvn.gov.vn/package/source/bsen_13428_2000.pdf• The Landfill Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste)The Landfill Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste) states the requirementsof the WFD at Community level, setting out requirements for the location, management,engineering, closure and monitoring for landfills. It also includes requirements relating to thecharacteristics of the waste to be landfilled.Source:http://aggregain.wrap.org.uk/waste_management_regulations/background/european.html #anchorlink_2• European Community Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronicequipment (WEEE)The directive imposes the responsibility for the disposal of waste electrical and electronicequipment on the manufacturers of such equipment. One item states: “Users of electricaland electronic equipment from private households should have the possibility of returningWEEE at least free of charge” and that companies are compelled to use the collected wastein an ecologically-friendly manner, either by ecological disposal or by reuse or refurbishmentof the collected WEEE.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Electrical_and_Electronic_Equipment_Directive64

Applicable Environmental European Legislation Continued:• Council Directive of 12 December 1991 on hazardous waste (91/689/EEC)This Directive states that companies must improve the effectiveness of the management ofhazardous waste and to use a precise and uniform definition of hazardous waste. It alsostates that they must ensure that disposal and recovery of hazardous waste is monitored inthe fullest manner possible.Scource: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31991L0689:EN:NOT• Section 34 of The Environmental Protection Act 1990: Duty of careThis directive imposes a duty of care on persons concerned with handling waste. This dutyof care affects anyone who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes ofcontrolled waste, or as a broker has control of such waste. The following sections cover thekey waste legislation requirements of the duty of care and set out how most waste producerscan ensure that they comply. Any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps treats ordisposes of controlled waste or, as a broker, has control of such waste is subject to the Dutyof Care with respect to such wastes.• The Energy Act 2010http://www.countrystylegroup.co.uk/wastemanagement/legislation/duty-of-care.aspxThe Energy Act 2010 is subdivided into four parts: carbon capture storage and regulation,schemes for reducing fuel poverty, regulations of gas and electricity markets, and finalprovisions. Each of these parts contains a number of sections and clauses.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Act_2010• The Environmental Protection Act 1990The Environmental Protection Act 1990, a UK act of parliament relating to controlled wastesis the successor to the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and makes provision for themanagement of pollution from industrial processes.http://www.countrystylegroup.co.uk/waste-management/legislation/environmental-protection-act.aspx65