Sustainability is about everybody winning

INC Corporation, recognised for its innovation and leadership through induction into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame (2004), is one of many medium-sized Australian companies facing significant strategic challenges due to increasing global competition and the introduction of new technologies in both the textiles and automotive industry.

INC's Vision Statement includes all key stakeholders to underpin the need for a culture that recognises that sustainability is important to all of us.

INC defines sustainability in three key ways: proactive management of waste, focus on and continuous improvement of resource efficiency and a culture that understands waste.

INC's Deci-Tex product is processed from a polyester raw material fibre into rolled product, then laminated, moulded and cut into final products mainly for automotive acoustic applications.

Through management of the entire value stream, projects at INC focus on avoiding and reducing material waste through efficient die designs and cutting programs.

One of INC's project team is currently researching methods for reusing in-house material off-cuts through re-processing back into new products. In this way, wasted materials would be entirely eliminated providing both an economic incentive and an underlying sustainability motivated solution.

INC Corporation's lean systems manager, Rebekah Vesali defines waste as "any activity that consumes resources but creates no value" (after Taichii Ohno) to drive continuous improvement in resource efficiency.

Various projects in progress include quicker set-ups to reduce labour and machine inefficiencies, warehouse 5S (housekeeping) projects to standardise processes and reduce labour and transport inefficiencies.

Overall reduction of emissions is monitored through INC's commitment to the Greenhouse Challenge cooperative agreement. INC's involvement has driven a multitude of continuous improvements that include: security lighting using motion sensors, non-essential circuits isolated after hours, selected solid waste to recycling, skylights in production areas, light sensors in all office areas, timers for all heating equipment, rainwater capture and solar hot water.

INC is also a supporter of OREN (Otway Ranges Environmental Network) in Victoria, and through this partnership has undertaken offset measures, in particular the planting of 25 ha of hardwood trees in 2004.

Supporting all these projects is its change management program, underpinned by lean manufacturing techniques. This program highlights the power of analysing costs in light of the whole system, a key lean philosophy.

The corporation has a change program that is focused on communicating the INC Vision, creating incentives to support that vision and aligning resources appropriately.

An inter-departmental team comprising top managers and team leaders within the business are working towards an action plan to guarantee successful change in the overall business.

INC Corporation in partnership with RMIT Brunswick Campus has enrolled all production employees into the Certificate III Textiles (Production) program. The skills targeted are closely aligned with INC's overall strategy, which is continually reinforced to help ensure employees' anxiety or fear of the change program is minimal.

This program has already provided successful results through introduction of 5S, Kanban, Quality (TS 16949) and Environmental Systems (ISO 14001) over the last 12 months.

Hargroves and Smith (2005) in their book, The Natural Advantage of Nations states: "Competitive advantage and sustainability are not mutually exclusive." Globally, in the industrial world this is a new paradigm to overcome, and INC Corporation is a great example of an Australian organisation driving sustainable business practices that embody a competitive advantage of creativity and innovation.