Failure analysis method for enhancing circularity through systems perspective

Recently, a circular economy has attracted global attention as an approach for addressing material security and resource-efficiency issues. As our societies shift toward a circular economy, manufacturers need to not only produce environmentally conscious products but to also realize reliable systems that will ensure the closure of the loops of the products, components, and materials. To do so, early-stage design is crucial to effectively and efficiently detect possible failures and then take adequate countermeasures against them. Although a few methods of failure analysis have been proposed to address environmental issues, these methods have failed to consider the cause–effect relationships among failures. This will hinder manufacturers from identifying core problems that should be addressed in a given system. Therefore, this study extends failure mode and effect analysis, which is an engineering technique used to address potential failures, by addressing the entire system reliability in relation to circularity. As a result of a case study of a manufacturer aiming to increase circularity with their products on the market, we revealed that the proposed method is useful in the early stage of design to (a) identify failure modes where effects are largely given to or received from other failures, (b) develop countermeasures effectively by addressing root causes of failures, and (c) find an opportunity to collaborate with external actors

A new approximation for risk assessment using the AHP and Fine Kinney methodologies

The most important stage in the field of occupational health and safety is the assessment stage, where the risk point of each identified hazard is calculated, and a determination is made as to whether the hazard level is acceptable or unacceptable. In the field of risk assessment, the Fine Kinney method is commonly used in practice. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) might also be used as an efficient method in determining the importance levels of the hazards in risk assessment studies, but the AHP method does not determine whether the hazards are at an acceptable level based on their risk points. In this paper, a risk assessment study has been conducted in a large manufacturing company in which the hazards were determined based on experience, and the past 10 years’ statistical records were categorized and each category has been prioritized using the AHP method. The hazards determined in the field have also been assessed using the Fine Kinney method. The relation between the assessment of the risk class in the Fine Kinney risk assessment and the AHP points has been examined and the risk class intervals for AHP have been determined. In the study, an approach has been developed based on the fact that the measure of the risk class in the Fine Kinney risk assessment method could be used with the results obtained using the AHP method; therefore, the importance levels and risk classes of the hazards might be able to be determined together with the AHP method. © 2016 Elsevier LtdBritish Association for PsychopharmacologyWe thank the company that was the subject of this study, and it has not refrained from supporting the determination of hazards in our study. This study was supported by the Scientific Research Project (BAP), Cukurova University, Turkey with Grant no. FYD-2015-4737

A new approach for environmental risk assessment

Environmental problems, such as global warming, the limited supply of sustainable energy, the depletion of natural resources, hazardous emissions released into the atmosphere and waste, are increasing global concerns. Therefore, individuals, communities, and businesses need to address environmental protection and sustainability. Environmental impact assessments are needed to identify, mitigate, and control aspects that affect the environment or a company's products, services, or activities. In this study, a general environmental aspect and impact assessment approach, which can be applied to any company that is involved in the production or service sector, is created. An environmental impact pattern that consists of 10 main and 32 sub-categories was formed based on the ISO 14001, environmental studies and field applications. The developed approach was applied to the dyeing units of a manufacturing firm. Sixteen environmental aspects were identified and assessed using the environmental impact template via the environmental failure mode and effect analysis (E-FMEA) method. The developed-approach can be applied to each sector, which will enable us to perform a detailed analysis of the environmental aspects in the environmental impact category. This approach provides a checklist for the environmental impact studies of businesses and has been pioneered as an effective method for company resources to improve their environmental performance. © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.The present study is supported by Cukurova University Science Research Project (Project No. FBA-2017-7730)

Classical and fuzzy FMEA risk analysis in a sterilization unit

Global system pressures prompt hospitals to consider the risk factors of the healthcare system. The sterilization unit is a focal point of the healthcare system in regards to risk factors, and these units should be properly managed. Therefore, to study risk factors in sterilization units, we utilized failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), which is a proactive risk assessment method for examining all failure modes and eliminating or reducing the highest risk priority failures. In this study, a 5 × 5 matrix and both classical and fuzzy approaches of FMEA were developed for a sterilization unit to assess and identify the hazards discussed in prior studies and new hazards discovered during this study. The method proposed in this study provided both accurate risk assessments and effective responses to those risks. Finally, a case study of the sterilization unit of a large hospital is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. © 2016 Elsevier Lt

A new approach for environmental risk assessment

Environmental problems, such as global warming, the limited supply of sustainable energy, the depletion of natural resources, hazardous emissions released into the atmosphere and waste, are increasing global concerns. Therefore, individuals, communities, and businesses need to address environmental protection and sustainability. Environmental impact assessments are needed to identify, mitigate, and control aspects that affect the environment or a company's products, services, or activities. In this study, a general environmental aspect and impact assessment approach, which can be applied to any company that is involved in the production or service sector, is created. An environmental impact pattern that consists of 10 main and 32 sub-categories was formed based on the ISO 14001, environmental studies and field applications. The developed approach was applied to the dyeing units of a manufacturing firm. Sixteen environmental aspects were identified and assessed using the environmental impact template via the environmental failure mode and effect analysis (E-FMEA) method. The developed-approach can be applied to each sector, which will enable us to perform a detailed analysis of the environmental aspects in the environmental impact category. This approach provides a checklist for the environmental impact studies of businesses and has been pioneered as an effective method for company resources to improve their environmental performance.Cukurova UniversityCukurova University [FBA-2017-7730]The present study is supported by Cukurova University Science Research Project (Project No. FBA-2017-7730)