Implementation plan
1. Weigh the bins at three jobs
The weights show which jobs make enough leftover plastic to grind.
| Action | - Pick three jobs that allow regrind (plastic ground up and molded again) and run all shift.
- Put an empty bin at each press, for leftover plastic and rejected parts only.
- At the end of the shift, weigh each bin on the floor scale, less the empty bin.
- Write down the job, the plastic and the pounds.
|
| Owner | Shift supervisor, with a material handler |
| Purchases | None |
| Decision | Do the three bins together weigh about 25 pounds or more? |
| Fallback | If the bins are light, weigh three other jobs, and skip molds that make no leftover plastic. |
2. One grinder at the heaviest bin
The first grinder shows its pounds and its handling before more are bought.
| Action | - Read the job's limit on regrind in its customer's specification, and set the share within it.
- Stand a small, slow-turning grinder on a cart beside the press, where the operator can reach it.
- A material handler weighs the flakes into each box of new plastic at that share.
- Where the plastic is dried before molding, dry the flakes with it.
- Clean the grinder out before it moves to another plastic or color.
|
| Owner | Process technician, with the quality manager and the material handlers |
| Purchases | One grinder on a cart, about $7,500 |
| Decision | Does the job mold about 125 pounds of regrind a week, with no more rejected parts than before? |
| Fallback | If parts show specks or streaks, lower the share and check that only one plastic went in. |
3. Add grinders where bins are heavy
Each new grinder goes where a shift of weighing shows it pays.
| Action | - Weigh a shift of bins at the next jobs that allow regrind.
- Order a grinder for each job whose bin is heavy enough.
- Keep each grinder to one plastic, and label its flakes.
- Track the pounds of regrind molded each week.
|
| Owner | Plant manager |
| Purchases | Five more grinders, about $37,500 |
| Decision | Do the grinders together mold about 750 pounds of regrind a week? |
| Fallback | If the bins at the smaller jobs are light, sort their plastic and sell it to a recycler. |
Illustrative sample. The plant, the walk and the footage are synthetic. Figures from our analysis are estimates made with AI, not guarantees.