Options Proposed for the Waste Management Program at the Navistar Plant

Introduction

Navistar International Corporation carried out a thorough review about the outcomes of the plant-wide waste audit during August 1994. The company's then co-coordinator's proposed that necessary steps should be taken to completely address the issue. The coordinator believed that a solid waste management strategy should be adopted to ensure the sustenance of the company. During 1994, Navistar was the leading producer company known in selling both medium and heavy trucks in the entire North American market for 14 successive years. At that time, the corporation only operated eight manufacturing plants as well as 2 technical centers, with a total number of employees of 14, 900 individuals globally. During that year, the company generated $5.3 billion in revenues.

Background

Navistar's premium conventional and serious service trucks were manufactured at the Chatham manufacturing plant, whereas the company's regular usual and cabover trucks were manufactured and assembled at Navistar's assembly center located in Springfield. Regardless, the company presented its first environmental, health and safety report for the financial year of 1994. The report, however, outlined that company-wide events, especially in environmental, health and safety sectors as well as the planned program for future environmental, health and safety events for the corporation. The report also included Navistar's Environmental Protection Policy which should guide the company's options regarding proposed options for the waste management program.

Because of that, Navistar sustained a competent environmental staff with an aim of monitoring and implementing various environmental outlines and to offer training to the company's workers. More so, the company's environmental staff advised the company's vice-president, who then reported to the company's quality management and technology department, who then report to both the president and CEO. To add, the board of directors which had sanctioned the Environmental Protection Policy and Management Program was frequently informed regarding the company's environmental routine.

In October 1994, the company officialized a number of its Environmental Executive Committee. The committee was accountable for overseeing and assessing the company's observance with environmental needs, assure the world that the company's environmental thoughts are an integral part of Navistar's business programs. Furthermore, the committee was responsible for assuring involved stakeholders that there are enough resources that can support the company's Environmental Management Program. The committee also reviewed all environmental revelations in their yearly 10-K as well as other shareholder statements as needed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, creating and communicating business status on important environmental outlines, problems, legislation and involvement in voluntary environmental outlines funded by various government institutions.

Navistar's Waste Management Program

The company included various environmental processes in their Environmental Management Program. These procedures were developed with an aim of implementing them at all company sites. Therefore, Navistar's environmental Protection Policy alongside its Environmental Management Program as well as corporate processes were intended to guarantee the implementation of company-wide environmental programs. Additionally, these programs were implemented in technically achievable and cost-effective ways, and complied with applicable governmental guidelines.

To begin with, the company institutionalized its pollution deterrence events according to the GREEN Program. The main objective of this option was to minimize the company's environmental emissions. In this scheme, the company's executive environmental, health and safety directors were explicitly accountable for creating general objectives for waste and emissions minimizations. Each and every facility or plant, nevertheless, was offered with independency to create and highlight specific methods for attaining the programs'objectives. For instance, in the company's 1994 environmental health and safety statement, Navistar's management were compelled to design pollution avoidance objectives for 1996. One such goal was to include a 20% decline in the material and waste disposal expenditures. Also, a broad range of plans was in progress, targeting pollution avoidance and decline, and recycling and treatment. In other words, the company had adopted recycling strategies for cardboard, packaging materials and wood pallets to name a few.

Creating a Sturdy Waste Management Program

The company should have substantial prospects for recycling. This means that a plant-wide recycling strategy can be the best pathway to meet the company's waste minimization objectives. However, setting up a budget and recognizing the needed resources for the program is decisive. The prevailing configurations for the company's cardboard or even scraps, for instance, were income-neutral. Therefore, a further waste management program should comprise of extra commitment to recycling to ensure that the current configuration does not get discontinued.

Also, the company can include two options in their recycling program. To begin with, the company can contract with a third party waste management corporation to deal with plant waste at a central location. Under this alternative, solid waste gathering in any plant can continue unaffected, even though after it's been collected, the solid waste would be shipped for cataloging and processing purposes. Though, sorting can make the company shoulder unnecessary expenses since it is a labor intensive procedure in sorting, managing and shipping recyclable products.

The company can also install recycling centers all through the manufacturing plant. Additionally, each center would comprise of numerous containers, even though the total number of containers needed relies of the diversity of the materials recycled, with each container branded to contain particular waste including glass and paper. Though, this suggestion does not clearly outline how many stations will be needed to hold recycled materials. In this alternative, the isolated solid waste would be taken to a processing center situated in the plant where materials to be recycled would consequently be retailed or gotten rid of by other recycling firms.

Lastly, for Navistar to efficiently handle their Waste Management programs, they all must have corporate and plant management support. In a nutshell, corporate management ensures that accountable individuals comply with corporate principles and processes, including the team achieving a 20% waste minimization included in their GREEN program. Therefore, efficient plant organization would be closely apprehensive about plant operations as well as profitability. However, the company must first comply with the 3R Regulations which will aid towards the success of waste audit and waste minimization strategy.

Conclusion

To sum up, it is evident that Navistar Corporation is obligated to following high standards of environmental superiority in addition to offering a workplace that safeguards both the health and safety of their employees as well as the communities neighboring the company's facilities. Therefore, for the company to manage these obligations, in a technically sane and cost-effective way, it must carry out all its operations in observance with pertinent environmental laws and guidelines. The company must also design, create and operate its facilities in a way that safeguards the health and safety of their workers, people in surrounding societies, and even the environment itself among employing other strategies.

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