Preventing pollution: improving operating practices and providing training

Using best practices and training to minimize waste and increase efficiency.

Questions to ask yourself

Do you regularly maintain your equipment to ensure it’s always in proper working order?
Do your employees properly use equipment and follow process steps?
Do you provide training and plain language reference material to ensure your employees can safely and effectively perform their jobs?

The following examples come from Canadian companies that have reported to the National Pollutant Release Inventory:

a wood product manufacturing facility cleaned and adjusted its dryer burners to optimize natural gas combustion to significantly reduce carbon monoxide emissions
a fabricated metal product manufacturer in Alberta is implementing a full equipment preventative maintenance schedule to reduce the risk of waste due to factors such as efficiency losses, production of material that does not meet specifications or standards, and leaks
a utility company performs monthly steam-trap inspections to avoid steam release resulting in increased efficiency and reduced gas consumption
an electric power generation facility introduced monthly inspections to increase efficiency and reduce gas consumption