Life Cycle Management - A Manageable Approach for Integrating Life Cycle Management into Manufacturing 961028

Environmental issues have significantly impacted automotive operations worldwide. Countries are continuing to ratchet down their allowable emissions and to remain competitive, all industries must take Life Cycle Management (LCM) and implement it into everyday practice. Economic competitiveness as a part of economic development is central to the nation's social and financial well-being. America must catch-up to the rest of the world in how it views government and industry relationships as well as how to focus costs within the corporate structure. The adversarial relationships between government and industry must give way to stronger partnerships. For this concept to succeed a long term view of problems must be made by a corporation and both short and long term actions taken to resolve these problems.

Industry must help create the market for recycled goods and must “walk the talk” by using recycled goods where possible. With the new national and international regulations, more innovative emission reduction strategies have to be developed. True Pollution Prevention principles lie at the heart of making cost effective decisions to avoid long-term liabilities and increase operational flexibility. Implementing the LCM Approach will result in each company being better prepared to make sound environmental decisions. LCM focuses on the total cost of a decision throughout the entire life of the product, process and materials. If implemented in the design and development stage, 80% of all cost savings can be realized.

LCM is a piece of Chrysler's Pollution Prevention strategy that helps make effective product changes resulting in quality products with the least environmental impact at the lowest total cost. It provides the means to address environmental costs, once viewed strictly as overhead, as a product and/or process activity cost and moves us from a reactive to a proactive environmental program. Pollution Prevention Managers and other decision makers must view multi-media emissions and disposal as lost profits and non-value added cost burdens to the product and plant. Chrysler's LCM program has helped us to meet national regulatory requirements as well as global demands never thought about before. We have forged a strong relationship between Design, Engineering and Manufacturing groups whose combined efforts will exceed today's environmental requirements while providing the flexibility to adapt to and meet future requirements.

As part of the LCM strategy, Chrysler has been recycling solvent booth cleaners; drying paint sludge for reuse in the construction industry; approved use of re-refined used oil for production cars; utilizing recycled antifreeze in production vehicles; using recycled plastics such as pop bottles in inner roof liners and has recently been discussing the recycling of tires into many automotive components such as: splash shields, seals, brake pedals, etc. These advancements will help stimulate jobs to finance the social framework of all our nations.

While reducing a facilities environmental impact is very important, so is the facilities ability to maintain operational flexibility and optimize business decisions. All manufacturers must embrace Pollution Prevention along with LCM to compete in the global market place or face elimination. We intend to show how Chrysler made some major changes by successfully implementing Pollution Prevention, common sense and life cycle initiatives.