Marathon is 'Walking-the-Walk' with In-House Green Initiatives!
“Conserving our environmental resources has always been a part of Marathon’s core values. As a company we are not only exploring sustainable energy technology and environmentally friendly products for our customers, but for ourselves as well.” - Gordon Shaw, President/CEO
Marathon recently installed a solar panel to power facility lights as well as a GreenBuilt™ compactor for in-house, non-recyclable waste. This is just the beginning of what will hopefully have a ripple affect on the surrounding community and affiliates as we continue to spread awareness of the endless possibilities to create a cleaner, safer, more conservative environment for our present and future.
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Take a Swing With Us At Waste Expo '08!
For more information please visit our Waste Expo webpage.
Marathon's Lean Team
Key Players in The Lean Team, L-R: Mike Beuke, Gene Laminack, Dusty Wilder, Calvin Kuykendall, & Greg Leong
Value Stream. Kaizen. Journey. Cultural Change. Lean. These are just a few of the terms you will hear around Marathon these days. What is it, you ask? It is the language of Lean Enterprise, and it is all focused on one goal: to be the best.
With origins in the automotive industry and a phenomenal history of success, Lean Enterprise is slated to become the paradigm for manufacturing companies around the globe in the next 5 to 10 years. In 1950, Ford Motor Company was producing 8,000 cars per day. Toyota was only producing 40 per day. This enormous gap motivated change in the Toyota organization and today they are the largest automotive company in the world, all through creating and implementing the principles of Lean Manufacturing.
The basic philosophy of Lean is to first identify, then eliminate, waste. It is focused around waste-reduction in every process from order to cash. In fact, Lean principles become beneficial from employee to end-user and all points in between. Employees become more versatile and work in team-oriented cells while distributors and customers enjoy shorter lead times with improved product quality. All of this is achieved through a top-down process where positive results will be seen gradually at first, then exponentially as the implementation takes foothold.
In order to increase both quality and production without incurring more costs to the customer, Marathon is preparing to accommodate the growing global waste-handling market. Recently, we've enlisted the guidance of the Alabama Technology Network (ATN) to assist with the implementation of Lean at Marathon. We've also created an in-house "Lean Team", with members from all areas of the company, to initiate the process. Although there is never a "final destination" for a company who goes Lean and adopts the principles of "kaizen" and continual improvement, the next 12 months will be an exciting time for Marathon, its employees, and ultimately, its customers.
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Marathon Engineers Take Expertise to New Heights!
Quito, Ecuador - Marathon's engineers are good at lots of things, but problem-solving nearly always resides at the top of the list. When Product Manager James Robbins first arrived in Quito, his head was in the clouds, literally. "Standing at the site elevation, you were looking down on the city below and directly across at the clouds, which drifted only a few hundred feet over the city," says Robbins. To the 1.8 million inhabitants of the capital city of Ecuador, living at 10,000 ft above sea level is no big deal. For Marathon engineers, designing a transfer-station to efficiently operate at that elevation, however, is a big deal.
Why? Hydraulic systems depend partly on barometric pressure to function properly. When barometric pressure changes, so does the nature of operation. Normal pressure at sea level is around 15 psi. The pressure at the BlokPak 3000® site in Quito is around 9 psi, roughly two-thirds normal pressure, which affects the system considerably. Normally, on a hydraulic power unit, the pump resides over the reservoir and transports the oil through suction. In this instance, "we had to elevate the tank (above the motors) and add centrifugal pumps to boost the inlet pressure to the piston and vane pumps in order to compensate for the atmospheric conditions," said Ronnie Brown, the Electrical/Hydraulic Engineer who designed the custom power unit. Basically, "it's comparable to a supercharger."
But atmospheric pressure isn't the only obstacle here. "Power outages are pretty common," said Robbins.
And "they have frequent lightning strikes," commented Brown. "Therefore, in order to eliminate voltage spikes, we installed a surge compressor in the control system and also used sequential Wye-Delta starting motors to lessen the amp draw during start-ups." This means the BlokPak motors will start up slowly, one at a time, without overloading the local power supply.
Like many cities in developing countries, Quito is struggling to accommodate an over-sized population with an under-sized infrastructure. The BlokPak installation will not only help make Quito's waste-handling process more efficient, but also much safer. Whether it's in your neighborhood or in the clouds, Marathon is dedicated to providing effective solutions for waste-handling needs.
If you have any questions or need any technical assistance please contact us at 1-800-269-7237 or by email at marketing@marathonequipment.com
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Guard Goes Green!
Pictured L-R: PFC Kyle Dubois, SP4 Noah Jackson, & SP4 Jason Bodine
Marseilles Training Site, IL – Fatigues aren’t the only thing green around Marseilles Training Site these days. The National Guard facility recently purchased a new GreenBuilt™ RJ-225 Stationary Compactor with a Solar Power Unit from one of our distributors. "We wanted to accomplish several specific objectives," said David Miller, Solid Waste and Recycling Coordinator for the facility. One objective was to reduce utility costs. "The additional costs required to run electrical service (both short term and long term) to the unit caused us to look at alternative types of compactors. We decided to go with the solar unit."
24-Hour Compactor, Inc. in Warrenville, IL installed the GreenBuilt compactor at the Marseilles Training Site in LaSalle County, Illinois in late 2007. It started out as an experiment. The solar power unit had never been tested in a cold-weather application and coincidentally Illinois and the surrounding region experienced an exceptionally cold winter this season. Nonetheless, the GreenBuilt compactor was and still is a success for the training site. "The unit has far exceeded our expectations, from the service and support provided by (24-Hour Compactor, Inc.) to the operation of the equipment itself, we have been very pleased!" states Miller. The Illinois National Guard is looking to purchase several more units for other installations around the state.
"Marathon makes an exceptional compactor. The solar power capability is excellent and provides us a great deal of flexibility in how we use the compactors and where we can place them. I would recommend that anyone who wants to reduce their utility costs, reduce the need for refuse containers, increase recycling and divert precious commodities going to the landfill, invest in Marathon," says Miller.
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Employee Spotlight:
Engineering Manager
Andrew Bryant
Andrew Bryant, Engineering Manager, joins our Engineering team in Vernon. Residing in Northport, AL with his wife Greta and their 3 sons, Andrew holds degrees from Northwest Alabama Technical College and Mississippi State University as well as a professional background with General Motors, Weyerhaeuser, RCA, Phifer, and AIG Baker. However, he is no stranger to Marathon or its great people. He spent most of his childhood around Vernon and graduated from Lamar County High School. "I’m not only small town America, I’m this small town America."
Andrew brings over 20 years of versatile electrical, mechanical, and civil engineering experience with him to Marathon with an eagerness to help move the company forward in the implementation of Lean Enterprise. As an advocate of open communication and team-oriented success, Andrew goes by the credo "there is no 'they', it is all an 'us'."
"The people responsible for making Marathon an industry leader over the last 40 years deserve great praise," says Andrew, "but we have to have an infrastructure in place before we have more growth. Right now, we have to get outside the box."
Being well-acclimated to Lean Enterprise, Six Sigma, and automated processes, Andrew stands behind the philosophy that Marathon will be able to double production within 5 years to accommodate the global waste-handling equipment needs. "My expectation is that our baler business may require additional space…and I’ve got some ideas on how we can manage that."
Spotlight on Service
The Importance of Lock-Out & Tag-Out
Approximately 3 million personnel work around equipment that falls under the OSHA Regulation (29 CFR 1910.147) for Locking-out and Tagging-out equipment prior to maintenance/service. Very simply, this regulation is intended to prevent the accidental energizing of a machine(s) on which maintenance or service is currently being performed. It states that the power disconnect must be locked in the “off” position, and tagged with a clear, legible message stating that you are working on this equipment and no one is permitted to energize the equipment until maintenance/service is complete, and all personnel are clear of all points of operation.
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) documented 34 compactor-related deaths over an 8 year study that could have been prevented by following proper Lock-out and Tag-out procedures.
If an employee cuts corners on operation or maintenance procedures, there is a parallel, if not exponential, increase for an accident. And if that employee is injured (or worse) on the job, the costs for Workman’s Compensation, medical bills, and/or OSHA fines can far outweigh the temporary loss of productivity from taking a few extra minutes to ensure all safety regulations have been followed. These regulations are not only the law, but also ensure that the risk for injury and/or death is absolutely minimal.
For further information about Marathon Equipment, visit MarathonEquipment.com or
NEXGEN Recycling Equipment, visit NEXGENbalers.com
or call (800) 269-7237. |
