(30 employees)

Morris, Illinois- radiological laundering and protective clothing programs for the nuclear industry

www.unitechus.com

“IMEC's people didn't invade our business or come in telling us exactly what to do. Instead, they worked with us to set realistic expectations for what we could accomplish and provided good suggestions for how we could make our business better.”

Mark Porfirio, Plant Manager

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Situation

A focus on environmental stewardship is a given for any supplier to the nuclear power plant industry. But with 80 percent of its seasonal laundry business occurring in just six months of the year, UniTech also puts operational efficiencies at the top of its list of priorities. When a key customer, Exelon, nominated UniTech to participate in a Lean and Clean Review project, company leaders jumped at the chance. Developed by the Green Suppliers Network and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lean and Clean Reviews expand the traditional definition of lean to include environmental as well as process waste. They were developed to help large companies work with suppliers to use materials more efficiently and reduce environmental impact.

IMEC Solution

A team from IMEC and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center led UniTech through the two-day Lean and Clean Review. Day one included training to identify environmental waste, value stream mapping, Kaizen events and 5S+Safety, along with generation of a current state map focused on process and environmental inputs and outputs. On day two, the team developed a future state map that included Kaizen events to reduce environmental waste. Over the course of the review, UniTech was able to map its entire laundry process, identify waste and inefficiencies in areas ranging from utilities to soap to radioactive waste, and develop an action plan that will result in significant savings over time.