Business And Project Management

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Business and Project Management Green Manufacturing INTRODUCTION TO GREEN MANUFACTURING

Tan Xinyi Mindy S10046509F PDI 19/11/2009

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Summary Designers are becoming responsible for the environmental performance of their products throughout the product life cycle, from extracting raw materials to the disposal of the products at their end life. The message that is needed to send out is the need to greatly reduce the use of raw materials & impact on the external environment while preserving or improving the functionality of the products.

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Introduction The basic idea of eco-design is the reduction of environmental impacts throughout entire product life cycles by improved product design. The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental impact completely through skilful, sensitive design". Manifestations of sustainable designs require no non-renewable resources, impact on the environment minimally, and relate people with the natural environment. Applications of this philosophy range from the microcosm — small objects for everyday use, through to the macrocosm — buildings, cities, and the earth's physical surface. It is a philosophy that can be applied in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, urban planning, engineering, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, and fashion design. Sustainable design is mostly a general reaction to global environmental crises, the rapid growth of economic activity and human population, depletion of natural resources, damage to ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.

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Findings Principles of sustainable/eco design While the practical application varies among disciplines, some common principles are as follows:  Low-impact materials: choose non-toxic, sustainably-produced or recycled materials which require little energy to process  Energy efficiency: use manufacturing processes and produce products which require less energy  Quality and durability: longer-lasting and better-functioning products will have to be replaced less frequently, reducing the impacts of producing replacements  Design for reuse and recycling: "Products, processes, and systems should be

designed for performance in a commercial 'afterlife'."  Design Impact Measures for total carbon footprint and life-cycle assessment

for any resource use are increasingly required and available. Many are complex, but some give a quick and accurate whole earth estimate of impacts. One is estimating any spending as consuming an average economic share of global energy use as 8000btu/$ and CO2 production of .57kgCO2/$ (1995$) from DOE figures.

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Strategies to Eco-design Key questions to ask self are:  What is the main purpose or application of the product?

 What are the most likely usage patterns?  What is the intended lifetime, the usual lifetime?  Who is the user? Business-to-business or business-to-consumer?  What is the product size? Agenda of Eco-design  Selection of low impact materials  Hazardous materials avoidance  Cleaner production processes  Maximization of energy & water efficiency  Design for waste minimization Innovation through Eco Design CASE STUDY #1 Eco-mouse – an Eco Design role model

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The Austrian Centre of Excellence for Electronic Scrap Recycling & Sustainable Product Design has developed an Eco Design computer mouse – Eco-mouse. Eco-mouse represents the implementation of a comprehensive, ecologically based approach, which consists of: improved power management, employment of components with low levels of hazardous substances, a casing made of renewable materials, lead-free soldering, and recycling-oriented product design. The objective was to create a role model for Eco Design of electrical and electronic products and to show the innovative benefits of Eco Design. CASE STUDY #2 Surfboard

Made from plant based foam and resins

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It is essential, for the future of not just the UK economy but for the whole of mankind, that sustainable eco-friendly manufacturing methods are developed. The harmful effects of our disposable consumer lifestyle on our environment are well known and well documented and as a result, the government is increasingly introducing legislation to control the effects on the environment of the materials used in the manufacture of many of our everyday products. To directly address this issue, Sustainable Composites Ltd (SCL) was founded in January 2003 to develop a range of eco-friendly manufacturing materials made from sustainable crops such as hemp and castor oil. Working in partnership with Movevirgo Limited and a number of other leading organisations and academic institutions, SCL has extensive expertise in the development and use of sustainable materials in composite manufacturing. Our expertise was recently and successfully used in the development and manufacture of the 'eco-board' a balsa cored, hemp coated surfboard for the Eden Project. Environmentally Sustainable For any innovative and environmentally conscious manufacturer, where there is an opportunity to use sustainable composite technology, SCL can provide the materials as well as providing the technical advice and the development and processing expertise required to make your project a success.  Comment from the users of the surfboard

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"I really enjoyed riding the eco boards. I found them to be buoyant and fast. It felt great to be riding a board that is actually great for the environment and our future." By Nathan Hedge Material used for my product  Ceramic  Glass

 Recycled Glass as a Ceramics Raw Material Container glass is a vitreous silicate, the primary ingredients of which are silica sand (SiO2), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and soda ash (Na2O). Although silica has a melting point of over 3000°F, in the presence of the other fluxing and fining agents, the sand forms a glass at temperatures below 2500°F. With proper cooling, the silicate remains a glass at room temperatures. Most clay are silicates, as well. The Clean Washington Center (CWC) has performed research on a number of ways in which the properties and techniques of traditional ceramics can be combined to help create markets for glass and to enhance the properties of ceramics. Several businesses in the state of Washington have been created based on these techniques. They represent an opportunity to perform small business development manufacturing unique products from recycled commodities using readily available raw materials and appropriate technologies.  Glass Fusing

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At temperatures considerably below melting, particles of glass begin to bond through a process called sintering. Sintering of soda-lime glass begins at about 1250°F. Sintering can be used to create solid glass objects by heating glass particles to above the sintering point and holding at that temperature until a dense body forms. A number of commercial “castable” moldmaking products are available, which mix and pour and set up like cement, but can withstand repeated firings to over 1500°F. The CWC has also developed formulas for making inexpensive molds from local materials. Glass fusing can be used to make tiles, plaques, simulated stones, bricks, and pavers.

Conclusion As the whole product life cycle should be regarded in an integrated perspective, representatives from advance development, design, production, marketing, purchasing and project management should work together on the eco design of a further developed or new product as they have together the best chance to predict the holistic effects of changes of the product and their environmental impact. Environmental aspects which ought to be analyzed for every stage of the life cycle are:  Consumption of resources (energy, materials, water or land area)  Emissions to air, water, and the ground as being relevant for the environment and human health  Miscellaneous (e.g. noise and vibration)

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Waste (hazardous waste and other waste defined in environmental legislation) is only an intermediate step and the final emissions to the environment (e.g. methane and leaching from landfills are inventoried). Equally are all consumables, materials and parts used in the life cycle phases accounted and all indirect environmental aspects linked to their production. Having made up a list on which phase of the life cycle has which particular environmental aspect, these aspects are evaluated according to their environmental impact on the basis of a number parameters such as extend of environmental impact potential for improvement or potential of change.

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Bibliography  http://en.wikipedia.org  http://www.suscomp.com/  http://www.ecodesignarc.info  http://www.sherinb.net

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