The present work was carried out at the Villa Clara Fuse and Disconnect Factory (EPEM), making a small contribution to the process of recovering liquids and solids to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of production. A characterization of the company and the system in which it is framed was carried out, in addition to a bibliographic study on the topics to be dealt with. Finally, it is possible to establish a diagnosis for the disposal and treatment of the waste generated in the Factory, in order to improve its reverse logistics.
The current world trend is directed towards a new environmental culture in all sectors of society, which considers that economic well-being can only be achieved together with safe environmental management. Environmental care is closely related to all the production processes that generate waste in a company anywhere in the world.
For this reason, national and international regulations are continually being improved and are becoming increasingly stringent.
The Cuban economy, despite its difficult situation, has been able to find ways to get ahead and increasingly meet customer expectations, in such a way; that products and / or services are offered that offer greater opportunities at lower costs, as well as the elimination of waste, providing quality to the processes.
In Cuba no effort is spared to lessen the negative effect produced by dumping business waste both in rivers, in places selected for being close to the company, in the sea or in the so-called landfills.
Villa Clara Fuse and Disconnect Factory (EPEM) was not an exception to the previous statement, this work being one of many that are carried out on a daily basis to contribute to its efficiency and effectiveness, from the point of view of the use of waste. In line with what has been stated, the objective of this research is: to carry out a diagnosis for the disposal and treatment of waste, as a first attempt for the subsequent completion of a more completed investigation.
Development
1- Theoretical Foundations of the work
Unlike the concept of “Logistics” that has changed and evolved over time since its establishment approximately 50 years ago, the term “Reverse Logistics” has been developing for 10 years.
Some Reverse Logistics concepts developed by different authors are described below.
• Executive Council of Reverse Logistics of the United States, the PILOT group and the REVLOG group of Europe: “Reverse logistics is the process of planning, implementation and efficient control of the effective flow of costs and storage of materials, inventories in progress and finished products, as well as related information, from the point of consumption to the point of origin, in order to recover value or ensure its correct elimination ». (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 1998).
• Pilot, 2004: “Reverse logistics is in charge of the recovery and recycling of containers, packaging and hazardous waste; as well as the return processes, excess inventory, customer returns, obsolete products and seasonal inventories, it is even advanced to the end of the product's life in order to give it exit in markets with higher turnover ”.
• Revlog, 2004: “Reverse logistics includes all operations related to the reuse of products and materials. including all the logistical activities of collection, disassembly and processing of materials, used products, and / or their parts, to ensure a sustained ecological recovery. …………………………………………………… …
Waste from ferrous and non-ferrous materials is not the exception to the rule, finding the company in an unflattering situation by not applying logistics decisions that allow it to rationally coordinate the material flows of reverse logistics processes.
That is why the economic prospects of waste are analyzed from two points of view:
a) Demand: the recovery of the waste and its reintroduction in the supply chain can become a commercial instrument for the manufacturer to enhance its image in the market, presenting itself to consumers as an environmentally aware company that manufactures products environmentally friendly, reducing waste generation and pollution levels.
b) Of supply: the recovery of materials and waste involves replacing raw materials and original components with these recovered articles, which generates a decrease in manufacturing costs and in the sale price of these products. The economic recovery of the residuals takes advantage of the value that the discarded products still incorporate, obtaining economic profitability and sustainable competitive advantages.
1.1 Classification of waste
When the product's life cycle ends, what is known as waste appears and it is any type of material that is generated by human activity and is destined to be discarded.
Waste is defined (by Law 42/1975) as any material resulting from a manufacturing, transformation, use, consumption or cleaning process, when its owner or producer destines it for abandonment. Also residue is defined as the solid, liquid and gaseous waste product generated in production and consumption activities.
There are many types of waste obtained in different ways, which are classified according to different criteria based on their characteristics, the materials that compose them, the treatments to which they can be subjected or considering their origin, the latter being the most used
Some objects or materials constitute waste in certain situations, while others are used. In developed countries, a large amount of waste is discarded daily, which in developing countries would be reused or remain valuable assets. Furthermore, many wastes can be recycled if the appropriate technologies are available and the process is economically profitable. Good waste management aims precisely not to lose the economic value and utility that many of them can have and to use them as useful materials.
1.2 Waste management:
Traditional waste treatment did not take into account or care about the incidence of pollutants. Currently, there is great concern for the environment, with which this traditional treatment has changed to a "clean" productive and social model, in which the production of waste is minimized, either by reducing its amount at source or by the application of treatment and recovery systems. All this can be summed up in the Coefficient Principle "Producing cleaner is more profitable than cleaning". Disposal techniques, treatments and storage of special waste in suitable and safe places must also be considered in waste management.
Thierry et al. (1995, 114) define the concept of Management of Recovered Products as "the management of all products, components and materials used and discarded by consumers, for which the manufacturer has any type of responsibility and whose objective is to recover so much economic value (and ecological) as possible, thus reducing the final amount of waste. ” These authors point out five options that the company can use to obtain an economic value from the waste:
a) Repair: its objective is to return the used product to operating conditions although, in general, the quality of these repaired products is usually lower than that of new products, as in the case of household appliances, electrical products and electronic.
b) Restoration: involves returning to the used product specific levels of quality (generally lower than those of the original products) and thus extending its useful life. Examples of this recovery option can be found in the civil and military aviation industry.
c) Remanufacturing: this option provides the used product with quality standards as rigorous as those of the original products, achieving lower manufacturing costs. Examples of this option are found in photocopiers, appliances, or disposable cameras.
d) Cannibalism: only a small part of the reusable components are recovered, which will be used for repair, restoration and remanufacturing options, for example: electronic components, integrated circuits, precious metals, etc.
e) Recycling: consists of recovering the material with which the out-of-use product is manufactured, to be used in the manufacture of new products. It is the best known and most widely applied option, for example: glass, paper, cardboard, cans, etc.
For their part, Fleischmann et al. (1997, 3) carry out a classification according to the degree of decomposition that the product undergoes in the recovery process, considering the reuse of the products, repair, remanufacturing and recycling as management options for economic recovery.
The existing options for waste management must have as their main objective their economic recovery, so these options must satisfy certain premises:
a) That it is really a product that is no longer in use, that is, that it no longer meets the consumer's needs and is discarded.
b) Incorporating added value that can be recovered through the supply chain.
c) That a new life cycle is obtained for the product or for some of its components.
According to these premises, perhaps it would be more appropriate not to include the repair of products as an option in waste management, in the first place, because the recovery of the waste is based on the idea of taking advantage of the value that these products incorporate and the repair activity does not recover but replaces.
Secondly, repair does not constitute a new life cycle for the returned product or for any of its components, but simply an extension thereof.
Activities that make up a logistics system
About the activities that make up a logistics system, there are several approaches; Among these the following stand out: the approach based on the level of importance (key and support activities) enunciated by Ballou and IEFP-ISQ, and the approach based on the conjugation of activities - flows (activities associated with material flow, activities associated with flow information and support activities) contributed by Gómez Acosta & Acevedo Suárez.
Given the need for integration imposed by logistics, systems theory becomes a valuable concept of work, since it is not possible to speak of logistics as a work item, but as a system of activities.
2. Brief characterization of the company
The Villa Clara Fuse and Disconnect Factory was created in January 2000 by the Company of Electricity Groups and Electric Services (GEYSEL) and since April 1, 2007 it belongs to the Company of Electromechanical Productions (EPEM) of the Ministry of the Basic Industry (MINBAS). The main headquarters is located on the Carretera a Camajuaní, km 4 ½, in the city of Santa Clara, Villa Clara, within the General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río Polytechnic, where it occupies an approximate area of 7 550.0 m2, 2826 of them, 7 m2 covered. The geographical location of the company can be observed in detail in Annex 1.
It also has two locations, one located on Carretera Central, km 307, Placetas band, Universidad deviation, Santa Clara, which occupies an area of approximately 4027.10 m2, 836.8 m2 of which are covered (hereinafter Nave Victoria) and another located in Calle B, number 34, between 6th and Final, Reparto Moro, Santa Clara, which occupies an approximate area of 10,410.0 m2, of them 1,624.7 m2 (hereinafter Nave Los Moros).
Currently the organization has seven departments, a calibration laboratory for electrical energy meters, accredited according to NC-ISO / IEC 17025: 2006 and six work brigades directly linked to production. Annex 2 shows the organizational structure of the company.
In the Fuse and Disconnect Factory, the most important resource for achieving the objectives is human resources, since it is the production process that adds value and quality to the product, so no worker can replace the good work of another They are all responsible for the achievement of quality and the fulfillment of the objectives.
Its human capital is made up of 137 employees, 105 of them men and 32 women, of an approved workforce of 157 workers, which represents an occupation level of 87%.
Its corporate purpose is the wholesale production and marketing of electrotechnical and electromechanical components, as well as the provision of calibration services and electrical tests for electrotechnical components to the entities of the Unión Eléctrica.
Its main products include the 15 kV and 34 kV medium voltage fusible link (Type K), drop out cutouts, single and three pole disconnectors, test chains, thimbles, luminaire assembly, of cabinets for electric energy meters and the calibration of electric energy meters (known as meter meters).
MISSION
“Produce and commercialize competitive electrotechnical and electromechanical components in a wholesale manner, that satisfy the needs and expectations of national clients, to improve electrical networks, using a highly trained and professional human resource, which allows continuous improvement of their processes and create the conditions for insertion in the international market ”.
VISION
"To be an organization recognized for its leadership and business competitiveness, with cutting-edge technology and a human resource of excellence, with a sense of belonging, motivated and qualified that diversifies and integrates quality products with management that anticipates and adapts to change, learn of experience and innovate permanently ”.
For the achievement of these directions the Factory:
- Maintains the Business Improvement System in place with high productive and economic results; as well as a salary stimulation system with collective and individual indicators.
- There is an Integrated Management System that includes:
- Quality Management System based on the Cuban Standard NC ISO 9001: 2008 certified by the ONN and the International Standard ISO 9001: 2008 certified by the Veritas Bureau.
- Occupational Health and Safety Management System based on Cuban Standard NC 18001/2005 Certified by the ONN.
- Environmental Management System based on the Cuban Standard NC ISO 14001/2004 certified by the ONN and on the International Standard ISO 14001: 2004 certified by the Veritas Bureau.
- The Calibration Laboratory of Electric Energy Meters is accredited according to the Cuban Standard NC-ISO / IEC 17025: 2006.
- Accounting was certified by the CANEC consultancy.
3. Diagnosis of the company's reverse logistics.
The Villa Clara Fuse and Disconnect Factory recovers all the waste from its productions (Ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper, cardboard, plastics and others) which is contracted with the company that recovers raw materials, and there is a plan to start of customer demand.
There is a group of common wastes (glass, ceramic and silica gel) that are not recoverable and are dumped into the municipal landfill, there is also a contract for this.
A brief description of the supply chain will follow.
Once defined, by the Production Manager, the "Annual Production Plan" that is broken down by month according to "Monthly Production Plans" with the planned consumption standards and taking into account the technical specifications, the calculations are made and prepared the document ¨Request for orders to
EPEM Supply System¨ with the following minimum contents:
Material assurance by product.
- ITEM, Quantity requested, Technical Specifications of the requested product, U / M, Delivery times, Possible suppliers, Estimated unit price, Total value.
Tool needs.
- Quantity requested, ITEM, Technical specifications of the requested tool, U / M, Delivery times, Possible suppliers, Estimated unit price, Total value.
Both documents are produced for the first time at the end of the year by the Production Manager and are delivered to the Commercial and Purchasing Department.
Once the "Request for orders to the EPEM Supply System" has been received, the Commercial and Purchasing Manager verifies the stocks in the warehouse and calculates the real need by means of the difference between the need according to plan and the stock.
With the supply needs, purchase requests are prepared by each department. Purchase Request (SD-0). The following events follow:
a) The J Commercial and Purchasing Group collects the SD-0 generated by the different Departments, examines them in their formal, technical, etc. aspects.
b) If the models are received correctly,
c) The following are presented for approval at the following levels, regardless of their value in MN or CUC:
- Contracting Committee, Board of Directors, Purchasing Directorate of EPEM.
Once the volume and characteristics of the purchase to be made are known, the Head of the Commercial and Purchasing Group sends an "Offer Request" to the possible suppliers; An example of this document and its characteristics is established in Annex 3. In addition to the information established therein, the potential supplier is requested to: Propose delivery terms, facilities and payment obligations, whenever possible, products compatible with the environment.
Supplier evaluation: Suppliers will be evaluated once a year as established in the description "Supplier Evaluation". For the development of the work, the document “List of Suppliers” will be available.
Selection of Suppliers. Suppliers are selected by specialists from the Commercial and Purchasing Group and Engineering and Development Group during the process of contracting supplies according to the offers presented and giving priority to those with a higher evaluation. It will also be taken into account that the supplier has the product in its nomenclator (if it is raw materials), as well as the most advantageous prices and payment conditions. In the specific case of Personal Protective Equipment, suppliers that are registered and approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security will be selected. The specialists process the information, recording the results of their analysis,by writing a joint technical document signed by each of the managers ("Technical Evaluation of Bids"); the characteristics of the document are established in Annex 4, after which the approval by the Director of the organization is evidenced by signing the said document which will be filed by the Head of
Group of Commercial and Purchasing Group.
Once the proposal has been analyzed and approved, it is evaluated jointly with the importing company to define the final supplier and prepare and sign the contract.
By complying with what is contracted, raw materials and materials are received in the input warehouse, in which the provisions of the National Accounting System regarding the reception, storage and delivery of products are enforced. The same occurs with merchandise and semi-products made on production lines or by cooperation with external producers.
Elements that make up the Medium Voltage Fuse Link (See Annex 5)
List of raw materials and materials (See annex 6)
For the production volumes that are planned, the Factory generates 20,180 Tons. of solid waste, which will allow the organization income of 3,296.7 CUC, as well as its proper management, positively contributing to the preservation of the environment.
Conclusions
1. Lack of a methodological tool in the Factory for the disposal and treatment of waste.
2. An impact is achieved from the organizational point of view of the Factory with the classification of waste, contributing to the preservation of the environment.
3. Income is generated in CUC through the commercialization of solid waste with the company Recuperadora de Materias Primas.
4. All wastes generated in the organization are identified, as well as those of greater significance due to their volume and economic value.
recommendations
As part of the continuity of this work it is recommended:
1. Implement a procedure for the logistics system, allowing the supply chain of the waste generated in the Fuse and Disconnect Factory to be developed.
2. Carry out a correct environmental identification of the deposits used to collect the waste.
3. Raise the environmental culture of the organization by giving talks, courses, conferences, videos that make it possible to disclose the objectives and commitments of senior management.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND KEY SOURCES OF INFORMATION
1. Bañegil Palacios, Tomás M. & Rubio Lacoba, Sergio. Reverse logistics systems in the company. Business management group. University of Extremadura.
2. Cespón Castro, R. & Auxiliadora, M. (2003). Supply chain management. Manual for students of the specialty of Industrial Engineering. Central American Technological University of Honduras. UNITEC. Honduras.
3. Fundora Miranda, A (1987). Organization and Production Planning. Volume II. ENPES Editorial. Havana City.
4. García Cabrera, Andy.T (2008), Application of a procedure for the design of the waste supply chain in the company "Mármoles Centro" in the municipality of Fomento, Santi Spiritus province.
5. Hypertext. Ebook. Earth and environmental sciences.
6: Residuos.http: //www1.ceit.es/Asignaturas/Ecologia/Hipertexto/13Residu/100Rsid.htm
7. http://bibliotecnica.upc.es/PFC/arxius/migrats/34033-2.pdf
8. Knudsen González, J. (2005). Design and management of the supply chain of agro-industrial waste from sugar cane. Application to sugarcane agricultural residues, bagasse and honeys. Doctoral thesis.
9. http://www.monografias.com/trabajos12/elproduc/elproduc.shtml
10. Rubio Lacoba Sergio. Doctoral Thesis "The reverse logistics system in the company: Analysis and Applications". University of Extremadura, Department of Applied Economics and Business Organization.
11. THIERRY, MC, SALOMON, M., VAN NUNEN, J. AND VAN WASSENHOVE, L. (1995). "Strategic issues in product recover and management". California Management Review 37 (2), 114-135.
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