Technical Note: The scope for operational savings through sound environmental management Online publication date: Thu, 04-Nov-2010
by Jan O. Yttredal
International Journal of Materials and Product Technology (IJMPT), Vol. 7, No. 4, 1992
Abstract: In 1987 an observer in Ardal would have seen the detrimental effects on vegetation of our aluminium plant's emission of unacceptable quantities of fluorine. The plant was not performing well in any operational field. Absenteeism was very high as was the number of lost-time accidents. Compared to the better fifty percent of competitors, productivity was low. This plant needed leadership to develop more harmony with its surroundings. It did not need more of the conventional way of conducting discussions. It needed leadership to tap the ability of people to think and to see their surroundings, the plant and themselves in new ways. The plant needed the leadership of the people in the plant. Leadership responded to these needs with an approach that changed people's way of thinking, seeing and acting. It changed the discussions. People were seeing themselves in the organization interacting with other people. They began discussing how they perceived the plant and how they saw themselves seeing and acting. They were learning to reflect and to correct their actions. The story of the reshaping of the Ardal plant is about commitment. It is about the commitment of people to their goals. It is about permitting and encouraging that commitment. It is about letting committed people find their way of doing things. The reshaping of the plant started with a strong focus on emission and safety. We added new elements as we saw more clearly that 'emission involves everything'. If we have discovered any secret in this, it must be that everything is linked together and that we had to make the connections to see how they were linked and how they were interacting. This is 'environmental management' and it is a very effective approach as the results show. This approach has obtained, so far, a 60 % reduction in emission of fluorine. It reduced lost-time accidents to less than a fifth (from 1987 to 1990). It has completely reshaped the organization of the plant. We have created some new production units, and reduced cost by NOK 341 million. We could mention more. Through this process Ardal Verk, and to some extent the community, have shaped a new identity. The observer today does not see in Ardal a static and low productivity plant with pollution problems. The observer sees the results of the changes: a dynamic organization with a promising future in better balance with its surroundings. We have set new goals. The process will continue.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Materials and Product Technology (IJMPT):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook