At Offix, we are all about efficiencies: after all, our goal is to make every customer more efficient by providing products and services that reduce waste in the workplace and save time and money.
Throughout the course of the 2000’s, there has been a growing concern of waste ranging from chemical to everyday energy that we may not realize can be significantly reduced through small and simple actions. If scaled nationwide, these activities can save incredible amounts of money and benefit the environment on many levels. This article will discuss the challenges and solutions with energy use and muda (a Japanese term that means “useless”) waste and will discuss the benefits that come from reducing waste in businesses and in the home.
Energy
A federal survey shows that the United States rank 8th out of 23 of the world’s top energy-consuming countries. Some two-thirds of the power America generates is actually captured, which leaves one-third, or 30% of the energy created, to go to waste. There is an opportunity to raise awareness on the simple actions available to reduce energy waste in the workplace. Considering that around $200 billion dollars are spent on commercial building energy and electricity, and that 30% of this energy goes to waste, there has to be better ways to approach this.
For businesses, smart policies and programs can be applied as a company standard in an effort to reduce energy costs. We must first determine that change needs to happen for a purpose that everyone is committed to. Simple actions such as turning off lights after business hours, unplugging unused electrical outlets in the home, and focusing on additional ways to reduce unused energy in our everyday lives can go a long way.
Muda
Muda waste is anything that does not have value and that a customer does not pay for. It is actually a key part of business prosperity and progress to identify and reduce such waste. Examples of this kind of waste are overproduction, waste of transportation, waste of time on hand as well as a waste of moving, waste of making defective products, and so forth.
As an example, Offix calculates that 17% of all paper printed goes completely unused, and that the average professional spends 18 minutes trying to locate a single document; both of these muda waste situations can be resolved through document management software like Therefore.
Employees to managers play a factor in muda. There are multiple areas where muda can be found, the elimination of which can provide significant benefit to a business. This kind of waste can range from obvious to hidden. A key solution to reducing this is awareness and visibility. Accountability is also a key element in every organization, in order to tackle muda waste.
Benefits of Reducing Waste
It is clear that every business and individual who makes an effort to reduce waste in the workplace will see benefits such as reduced use of natural resources, lower CO2 emissions, and money-saving benefits. Saving energy is actually critical to sustaining the environment for current and future generations. The quality of life that we provide our children’s children will be impacted by how each of us manages our waste.
In conclusion, energy efficiencies across the nation in homes and businesses can have a major impact on the quality of life for ourselves and future generations. There are huge economic and money-saving opportunities that come from managing every type of waste with added awareness and simple actions.
Ready to start on your path to a more efficient business? Start by contacting us to see how much money Offix can save you today!
