Product Lifecycle Engineering and Management a Life Line for SMEs in Nigeria: An Appraisal

In this 21st century and beyond characterized with rapid development change in technology and innovations, organizations must relentlessly improve their product processes and systems, if they hope to outperform their competitors and maintain relevancy. Invariably, every product has 'life', starting with the design/development, followed by resource extraction, production, use/consumption, and end-of-life activities. However,, Product Lifecycle Engineering and Management (PLM), represents a very important approach for achieving a more sustainable paradigm of work and life, a more sustainable product development, manufacturing, use and dismissal. It is remarkable to note that SMEs account for 97% of all businesses in Nigeria, employs 50% of Nigeria's workforce, and produce 50% of Nigeria's industrial output, but most of these companies (SMEs) are short-lived. The sustainability of these companies and their products' lifecycle has become imperative in order to increase their contributions towards economic, social, political, environmental, and technological development of the Nigeria nation. This paper therefore, shows that effective and efficient PLM will inevitably play a vital and unprecedented role in creating sustainable product environment for SMEs in Africa and most especially fast growing economy like Nigeria. Keywords: Lifecycle, Management, Sustainability, SMEs, ICT Solution, Product Life, Developmen

technospheric mining of mine wastes

The concept of mining or extracting valuable metals and minerals from technospheric stocks is referred to as technospheric mining. As potential secondary sources of valuable materials, mining these technospheric stocks can offer solutions to minimise the waste for final disposal and augment metals’ or minerals’ supply, and to abate environmental legacies brought by minerals’ extraction. Indeed, waste streams produced by the mining and mineral processing industry can cause long-term negative environmental legacies if not managed properly. There are thus strong incentives/drivers for the mining industry to recover and repurpose mine and mineral wastes since they contain valuable metals and materials that can generate different applications and new products. In this paper, technospheric mining of mine wastes and its application are reviewed, and the challenges that technospheric mining is facing as a newly suggested concept are presented. Unification of standards and policies on mine wastes and tailings as part of governance, along with the importance of research and development, data management, and effective communication between the industry and academia, are identified as necessary to progress technospheric mining to the next level. This review attempts to link technospheric mining to the promotion of environmental sustainability practices in the mining industry by incorporating green technology, sustainable chemistry, and eco-efficiency. We argue that developing environmentally friendly processes and green technology can ensure positive legacies from the mining industry. By presenting specific examples of the mine wastes, we show how the valuable metals or minerals they contain can be recovered using various metallurgical and mineral processing techniques to close the loop on waste in favour of a circular economy

Municipal Soild Waste Management in Sri Lanka. A study of municipal solid waste management in Dehiwala-Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council & Boralesgamuwa Urban Council of Sri Lanka

This book by Fernando and De Silva presents the scenario of solid waste in Sri Lanka by going beyond purely technical and managerial discussions. It examines waste management in Sri Lanka also from a historical perspective, particularly through the analysis of waste discourses. It acknowledges that waste is perceived differently by different actors and between historical periods. Fernando and De Silva examine the institutional, socioeconomic and political factors that enable and constrain effective, environmentally friendly and gender-sensitive waste management. Given its broad scope and detailed analysis, we trust that the present book will be useful for government authorities, civil society and grassroots actors, and private parties to improve solid waste management in Sri Lanka and make it more sustainable

Planning for municipal solid waste management : the case of Greater Jos, Nigeria

Among the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century is the rapid growth of cities. The growth of most municipalities has remained unplanned and uncontrolled. Unmanageable development in developing countries has given rise to environmental disorders in the built-up settlements. Municipal solid waste management in particular, is now a fear-provoking assignment for the municipal establishments who are lacking in capacity to confront the municipal solid waste issue. The main objective of carrying out this research is to see how urban planning can help improve municipal solid waste issues in Greater Jos municipal area. It defines the municipal solid waste problem and identifies a number of specific planning drivers as the factors responsible for lack of improvement in the municipal solid waste management situation. A mixed method approach was used for the empirical analysis which combined both interviews and questionnaire data from senior government officials, industry stakeholders and residential neighbourhoods, collected with observational and documentary data, in order to investigate the solid waste issue. Major problems identified in this research are: (i) municipalities are undergoing deterioration of solid waste conditions but the local, state and federal governments are lacking adequate planning to deal with the circumstances (ii) apart from quite a lot of causes of the municipal solid wastes crisis can be known, the political commitment to urban planning is lacking which serves as the basis of the deteriorating situation in Nigerian municipalities and (iii) relationship exists between poor planning and municipal solid waste management delivery of collection services and disposal amenities. Individual municipal solid waste management strategy alone was found to produce unplanned and uncoordinated management of waste issues. Collaboration to produce a joint municipal solid waste management plan has been recommended as a good practice

Where are you? A preliminary examination of the track and trace mechanisms in place to facilitate effective closed-loop medical equipment retrieval in the National Health Service (NHS) (UK)

yesThe National Health Service (UK) is wholly accountable and heavily scrutinised for its strategy, activity, performance and spending (Appleby, 2016; NHS Confederation, 2016; Parliament UK, 2010), and much research has been undertaken as to its effectiveness at managing its operations and its competency in doing so (Gov.Uk, 2016; National Audit Office, 1999)). The impact of not performing adequately combined with threats such as funding cuts (King’s Fund, 2016), government intervention and private sector competition; has led to uncertainty and disillusion with the sustainability of the service (Hunter, 2016). Based on current economic concerns, this paper chooses to focus on the area of Medical Equipment Loans Services where products are released to patients to aid therapeutic rehabilitation and physical mobility. The aim of this study is to examine the process of product retrieval in a multi-case study analysis and consider how value-added technologies can be used to improve retrieval success rates

Perspective study: governance for C2C

This perspective study will serve as frame of reference for follow-up activities and exchanges both within and outside the Cradle to Cradle Network (C2CN) and it aims to reflect the current challenges and opportunities associated with implementing a Cradle to Cradle approach. In total, four perspective studies have been written, in the areas on industry, area spatial development, governance and on the build theme

Solid Waste Management at a University Campus (Part 3/10): Waste Generators, Current Practices, and Compliance with relevant-law-provisions.

This-study is a-third-piece in a-series of 10.  It can-be-subdivided into: (i) identification of waste generators, at the-subject-university; (ii) establishing background-information on Solid-Waste-Management (SWM)-system, from the-service-providers’ point of view; (iii) observation and examination of current-SWM-practices; (iv) assessment of compliance of SWM-practices with SWM-laws and regulations; and (v) SWOT-analysis. Main-instruments, employed by the-study, were-limited-to: document-analysis; regular physical-site-visits and non-participant-observations; questionnaire; and interviews. Besides maps, still-photographs, and a-flow-chart-diagram, were generated. Issues on: Universities and their-role in achieving sustainability; Waste-scavengers/pickers; Potential-dangers of uncontrolled-waste-dumpsite; Socio-cultural-barriers; and Financial-assistance for SWM-projects, were also-elaborated on. Numerous- barriers, to-effective-SWM, at-the-university, were reported; lack of readily-available, and sufficient- allocation of financial-resources, was identified as the-most-serious-barrier. On-the-other-hand, the-both- departments, responsible for SWM, have declared, that they have-being-stretched, indeed, to-perform their-duty, and they are just doing their-very-best, under the-circumstances. The-study also-revealed that: the-current SWM-system, at-the-university, is largely unacceptable, as it-is characterized as: (a) of Inferior-Quality and accessibility of SWM; (b) Inefficient; (c) of Poor-Legitimacy and social-acceptability; (d) Potentially-damaging to Health and Environmental-sustainability; and (e) Financially-incapable. In-particular, this-study has justified, that on-overall, the-open and uncontrolled-waste-dumpsite, at the-university, is making, all: environmental-pollution, health-impacts, and safety-violation, highly probable. People/students, residing near the-dumpsite, and waste-scavengers, as-well-as ecosystems of the-Kesses-Dam-complex and the-Sosiani-River, and ground-water of Rift-Valley-Basin, are facing impending-threat, from the-open and uncontrolled-dumpsite. The-study also-points-out on the-deficiencies/ gaps, that need-to-be bridged, to-meet the-legal-obligations, towards SWM, as there is a-gross non-compliance with the-legal SWM-provisions (both; international and national). Results of the-SWOT- analysis, points-out, that it-is necessary to-maximize both; strengths and opportunities, minimize the-external-threats, transform the-identified weaknesses into strengths, and to-take advantage of opportunities, along with minimizing both; internal-weaknesses and external-threats. In-this-regard, several-tailored-recommendations, were offered, including: on the-actual-operations (at both; a-long-term and short-term-scale); and on-Social involvement, in-WM. Besides, areas for further-research were identified. The-findings of this-study will-be used as-a-baseline, in-further-development of a-tailored-Integrated SWM-model/system, for the-university. The-study is, hopefully, also-contributes (in-its-small-way) to the-body of knowledge on-the-subject-matter. Keywords: SWM, SWOT analysis, waste pickers, dumpsite, littering, ISWA, UN.

Waste Management Strategy: A Cross-Border Perspective (NIRSA) Working Series Paper No. 2

The issue of waste management is examined from a social science perspective focusing on its social 'construction' and the issue of governance (Chapter 1). Chapter Two summarises the legal and policy parameters. Chapters Three and Four report on the findings based on interviews with 'key players' in terms of (a) their perception of the current situation on waste management; (b) their understanding of current 'drivers' of waste management strategy; (c) their perspectives on ways forward and on the potential for North/South co-operation in this area. Chapter Five analyses the issue in terms of democratic participation, sustainable development, and governance. Chapter Six on conclusions and recommendations charts a way forward, emphasising the need to follow the 'waste hierarchy', a genuine partnership process and better governance

Financial considerations of South African environmental problems

No panacea exists for the resolution of environmental problems. In South Africa environmental control is affected almost exclusively by way of direct prohibition an~ regulation. These policies have serious limitations predominantly as a result of legal and administrative inadequacies. The remedy of these inadequacies is not feasible and alternative, complementary or replacement control policies are needed. This report reviews a number of alternative policies, most of which rely on market related mechanisms, in the context of pollution, resource destruction and land use problems. In addition, current financial legislation is replete with provisions contributing towards the exacerbation of environmental ills. These anomalous provisions must be re-evaluated in terms of material objectives, which must include the need for sound environmental resource management. A number of provisions do, however, offer some potential for conservation activities. These provisions, together with some innovative schemes, are introduced in the report and deserve further research