Ford targets 30% water reduction per vehicle

Ford has set itself the goal of cutting the amount of water used to make each vehicle 30% globally by 2015, compared with the amount of water used per vehicle in 2009. If the company meets this goal, the amount of water used to make a vehicle will have dropped from 9.5 m³ in 2000 to approximately 3.5 m³ in 2015. One m³ is equal to 1000 L of water.

When it comes to water, drought and extensive population growth are just two of many challenges in places such as Mexico’s Sonoran Desert, home to Ford’s Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant. The plant produces the Ford Fusion, Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ.

Production at Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant doubled between 2000 and 2010. However, water usage at the plant dropped during the same period by 40%.

“We applied innovative technology to our Hermosillo plant to reduce water consumption, minimise impact on the community and build vehicles in a more sustainable manner,” said Larry Merritt, Manager, Environmental Quality Office.

To reduce water use, a membrane biological reactor - a biological water treatment system - was installed. The complex system is able to make up to 65% of the plant’s wastewater suitable for high-quality re-use elsewhere in the facility or for irrigation. The water treatment system also is being used at Ford plants in Chennai, India and Chongqing, China.

Another approach is to cut the amount of water necessary to complete a task - a strategy afforded by the use of advanced technologies and processes.

“As we invest in new and existing facilities globally, our water strategy prioritises sustainable manufacturing technologies,” said John Fleming, Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs. “This disciplined approach allows us to make significant progress in water reduction and other environmental efforts over time.”

For example, several of Ford’s engine plants around the world are using Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) machining, also known as dry-machining.

This technology lubricates the cutting tool with a very small amount of oil sprayed directly on the tip in a finely atomised mist, instead of with a large quantity of coolant/water mixture. The process saves over a million litres of water and oil per year. By eliminating the coolant/water mixture, dry-machining eliminates the need to treat and dispose of an oily waste stream. It also delivers significant benefits in energy use, waste production, quality, working conditions and costs.

In the US, the dry-machining system has been implemented at Ford’s Livonia Transmission Plant, Van Dyke Transmission Plant and Romeo Engine Plant. Ford also has implemented the system at a number of transmission and engine plants in Europe and applications in other plants around the world currently are being considered.

Ford has already implemented a number of initiatives in Australia to ensure it helps meet the company’s water-saving target locally, including: installation of more than 40 water meters across the Broadmeadows site in Victoria that has enabled the company to obtain detailed site water usage information which is then used to develop targeted conservation plans; and research on identifying the stages of the painting process where water can be recycled rather than discharged to trade waste.

Before Ford launched the Global Water Management Initiative in 2000, many facilities had little ability to even track water usage. When the initiative started, Ford engineers developed software to predict this usage. Another kind of software was developed to track water use at each facility and generate a monthly report so successes and potential opportunities for improvement could be identified.

Also, water reduction actions are built into Ford’s Environmental Operating System (EOS), which provides a standardised, streamlined approach to meeting all environmental requirements, including sustainability objectives and targets within each of Ford’s plants around the world.

EOS allows Ford to track its plants’ performance of fundamental water reduction actions such as leak identification and repair, and cooling tower optimisation at every manufacturing site worldwide.

Ford’s progress against its water reduction target will be communicated in the company’s annual sustainability report and through participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Water Disclosure, which Ford joined in 2010.

CDP Water Disclosure serves as a central clearinghouse for Ford and other participating companies to report on water usage, water risks and water management plans of company operations and their supply chains.

“We recognise that these environmental issues are increasingly important to our stakeholders, including our customers, investors and business partners,” said Merritt.