Crossfunctional Teams
Concurrent Engineering
Design for Manufacturing
Design for Environment
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS OF NORTEL
Green Design
BNR designers of the Vista telephone came up with a way for customers to upgrade their telephones without b
uying new ones and scrapping the old. Three new Vista models were designed as two parts - a standard base
with basic telephony features and an up-gradeable slide-in module that can add class features such as incom
ing caller ID, call waiting, or a larger screen and better graphic display. The base is designed to hold i
ts functionality for a long time, while the modules can be interchanged to provide the latest, most competi
tive features at half the price of replacing the phone. The design minimizes product obsolescence with its
attendant concerns of high replacement costs and the challenge of recycling or scrapping old products.
Environmental Screening Of Suppliers
Environmental performance criteria are now becoming part of our supplier selection process. Supply Managem
ent staff have developed an Environmental Audit checklist to evaluate major current and potential suppliers
. Suppliers that score low in some areas learn where they must take remedial action if they are to remain
or become preferred suppliers to Nortel.
Green Manufacturing
The Process Development Team is made up of engineers, chemists and environmental specialists from manufactu
ring locations throughout the corporation - the people who know what works in practice, not just in theory.
The dedication and creativity of this team were central to the success of our CFC solvents elimination pr
oject, and its members continue to drive efforts to minimize the environmental impacts of our manufacturing
processes. The team's current projects include research on and testing of volatile organic compound (VOC)
-free fluxes, fluxless and lead-free soldering, and alternative circuit board coatings.
Environmental Packaging
Minimizing the cost and environmental impact of product packaging throughout the supply chain - from our su
ppliers to our customers - is a key aspect of our Environmental Life-cycle program. Employees at Nortel lo
cations in Bramalea, Canada and Research Triangle Park, U.S.A. recently developed a reusable container tha
t meets environmental, cost and customer requirement criteria. To be used for transporting circuit boards
to customers, this reusable molded PVC container replaces the old cardboard packages that had to be thrown
out after one use. The new container can be recycled once it reaches the end of its useful life.
Energy Conservation
Led by a major initiative to increase the energy efficiency and decrease the power consumption of the DMS-1
00 digital switch, all next generation Nortel products will have built-in capability for extended service l
ife cycle. This means cost savings for the customer, as well as reduced environmental impact.
Recycling
The environmental impact of a product at the end of its useful life is becoming an increasingly important c
onsideration for both manufacturers and consumers. Nortel Materials Recycling Centers in Durham, U.S.A. a
nd Barrie, Canada take in used and surplus products, equipment and components, from which they recover prec
ious and non-precious metals, plastics and usable components. The Centers also act as focal points for dis
posal or reallocation of materials.
Establishing Control Procedures
Some sites in the Montreal, Canada area have used a Process Environment Profile procedure to systematically
consider the "big environmental picture," while assessing individual processes. The Profile, which is app
lied to each manufacturing or other process with polluting potential, itemizes features of all incoming raw
materials and inputs, and the outgoing wastes and outputs. This detail enables site personnel to analyze
the potential environmental effects of even minor proposed modifications to a process or input, and to resp
ond accordingly. The profiles highlight inefficiencies in material use or waste handling, and instances wh
ere pollution control systems are required. As a result of using the Profile approach, one Montreal site w
as able to eliminate the use of ethanol in an assembly process.
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