30 research outputs found
A framework for the resilient use of critical materials in sustainable manufacturing systems
A number of materials have been identified by the EU as being critical to their member's economies and manufacturing industries. A material has been defined by the EU as being critical if it is of âhigh economic importance combined with a high risk of supply shortageâ. This criticality will become increasingly acute as the escalating use of finite resources continues, driven by growing populations and consumer demand. One group of materials that is listed top on the majority of these âcriticalâ lists are rare earths, which include the elements neodymium and dysprosium. These are often used in high value, high technology products used in renewable energy, military and aerospace sectors. Whilst most manufactures would be aware of the direct use of rare earth elements in their products, many may not be aware of their indirect use such as in manufacturing equipment and bought-in components, or further down the value chain in inter-reliant products or consumables. This paper presents a framework for the resilient use of critical materials in sustainable manufacturing systems. The first phase of this three phase framework identifies where, in the value chain of this business, critical material are used. Once identified, the second phase assesses the level of risk to the business based upon the likelihood, frequency and severity of a supply disruption occurring for the critical material identified. The third phase supports the identification and development of suitable mitigation strategies to reduce this risk, including the consideration of factors specific to the business as well as more general ones associated with the type of rare earth and its application. The paper concludes with a case study, based on simulated data, that demonstrates the application of phase one of this framework in a typical manufacturing operation
Reclosable packaging
A package comprises a flexible bag (1) and a label (2), the bag having a closed end (3). The closed end is openable to provide an opening (12) for access to the contents of the package and reclosable by means of the label (2). The label (2) has on one face two areas (8, 9) of adhesive separated by a non-adhesive area (10), the adhesive areas (8, 9) being adapted to adhere to the package (1) one to each side of the opening (12) such that said non-adhesive area (10) extends over the opening
A framework for material flow assessment in manufacturing systems
Improving material efficiency is widely accepted as one of the key challenges facing manufacturers in the future. Increasing material consumption is having detrimental impacts on the environment as a result of their extraction, processing, and disposal. It is clear that radical improvements in material efficiency are required to avoid further environmental damage and sustain the manufacturing sector. Current resource management approaches are predominantly used to improve material consumption solely in economic terms. Meanwhile, environmental assessment methodologies can determine sources of significant environmental impact related to a product; however, a methodology to effectively assess material efficiency in production systems is currently not available. This paper highlights the benefits of material flow modeling within manufacturing systems to support advances in increased material efficiency, proposing a framework for âmaterial flow assessment in manufacturingâ that promotes greater understanding of material flow and flexibility to explore innovative options for improvement
A decision support tool for improving value chain resilience to critical materials in manufacturing
A number of non-energy materials have been identified by the EU as being critical to the manufacturing sector and wider economy. A material is termed a critical material when it has a âhigh economic importance combined with a high risk of supply shortageâ relative to other materials as defined by the EU. This criticality of specific raw materials will become increasingly acute as the escalating use of finite resources continues, driven by increasing consumer demand for an ever wider variety of products by a growing global population. Critical materials are vital elements in the value chain yet many manufacturers are unaware if they are affected by the use of a critical material in their operations. We have previously developed a framework that takes a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and mitigating risk associated with critical materials bilaterally up and down the value chain. In this paper we examine how this framework can be facilitated for application in industry through the specification and development of a decision support tool
Impact of the use of renewable materials on ecoefficiency of manufacturing processes
The use of renewable materials has attracted interest from a wide range of manufacturing
industries looking to reduce their environmental and carbon footprints. As such, the development
and use of biopolymers has been largely driven by their perceived environmental benefits over
conventional polymers. However, often these environmental claims, when challenged, are lacking
in substance. One reason for this is the lack of quality data for all life cycle stages. This applies to
the manufacturing stages of packaging, otherwise known as âpackaging conversionâ, where for
certain product/production types, a reduction in energy consumption of 25â30% from lower
processing temperatures can be offset by an increase in pressure, cycle times and reject rates.
The ambiguity of the overall environmental benefit achieved during this stage of the life cycle,
when this is the main driver for their use, highlights the need for a clearer understanding of impact
that such materials have on the manufacturing processes
An examination of application scale for material flow assessment in manufacturing systems
Evaluation of material flow in manufacturing systems can be used as a way of identifying and implementing options for improvements in material efficiency in the factory. We have previously developed a framework for material flow assessment in manufacturing systems (MFAM), which incorporates material flow information in both quantitative and qualitative terms as materials travel through a user-defined system. In this paper we examine the potential for application of the MFAM at various system scales, ranging from individual process scale, to manufacturing cell, factory, enterprise, and local or global supply chain scale divisions. Here we describe guidelines for setting the appropriate system boundary. In addition we highlight the potential material efficiency improvement options available in each case, in terms of the scope of improvements and the potential for integration within future strategic planning processes
A framework and decision support tool for improving value chain resilience to critical materials in manufacturing
Certain non-energy materials have been identified as being critical to the manufacturing sector and wider economy. These critical materials have both a high risk of supply disruption combined with high economic importance. The criticality of specific raw materials is becoming increasingly acute as the escalating use of resources is driven by an increasing global population combined with increasing consumer demand for an ever wider variety of products. Critical materials are vital elements in the value chain yet their supply risk may often be ineffectively addressed by traditional supply chain management strategies. Most critical material research to date has been focused at a national or industrial policy level thus many manufacturers are unaware if their operations are at risk from critical materials at a product level. This paper presents a framework that takes a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and mitigating risk associated with critical materials bilaterally along the value chain to facilitate manufacturers in the identification, assessment and mitigation of critical material supply risk. This paper also describes how the framework can be facilitated for application in industry through preliminary design specifications towards a development of a decision support tool
An integrated tool to support sustainable toy design and manufacture
Whilst the importance of considering the positive societal benefits of a product, in addition to other social, economic and environmental factors, has received wider recognition, its definition, concept, and integration into product design are not so well developed and studied. A literature review on sustainable design identified the potential of Social Life-Cycle Assessment as a tool to measure societal benefits of products; however further analysis of sustainable assessment methods highlighted the lack of a coherent definition and method for achieving this. This paper presents a framework for including societal benefits within a product portfolio management process and a prototype tool which aims to support the implementation of the framework within the toy industry, specifically on the societal benefit assessment of the products during the first stage. Finally a simulated case study of three toys is used to exemplify the intended application of this tool and to support the concluding discussions
Societal benefit assessment: an integrated tool to support sustainable toy design and manufacture
A framework and methodology for assessing the societal benefits of a product was developed based on the assertion that, in order to access future diminishing resources, manufacturers will need to demonstrate both the social and environmental benefits of their products. This paper follows on from this published research and presents an integrated tool to support the implementation of this framework and methodology within the toy industry during the design and development phase. A simulated case study is used to exemplify the application of this tool and to support the concluding discussions
A holistic approach to design support for bio-polymer based packaging
The growing interest in bio-polymers as a
packaging material, particularly from companies looking to
reduce their environmental footprint, has resulted in wider
adoption. Traditionally the selection and specification of
packaging materials was based on aesthetic, technical and
financial factors, for which established metrics exist. However
with bio-polymers, where the primary rationale for their
use is environmental, alternative metrics are required. Furthermore,
there is a significant strategic element to the
decision process that requires a broader range of horizontal
and vertical inputs, both within the business and the wider
supply chain. It is therefore essential that a holistic approach
is taken to the bio-polymer based packaging design process
to ensure that the final packaging meets the original strategic
intent and overall requirements of the business. Current ecopackaging
design tools are generally limited to professional
users, such as designers or packaging engineers, and generally
provide tactical rather than strategic support. This disconnect,
between the need for inclusivity and greater
strategic support in holistic design, and the exclusivity and
largely tactical support of current eco-design support tools,
indicates a clear need for a new decision support tool for
sustainable pack design using bio-polymers. This paper
proposes a framework for an eco-design decision support
tool for bio-polymer based packaging that has been developed
using a predominantly qualitative research approach
based on reviews, interviews and industrial packaging design
experience and is an extension of previously published work. This research investigates further how existing eco-design
methods, such as the âBalanced Score Cardâ, can be applied
within the tool and how the shortcomings associated with
incorporating social and environmental aspects can be partly
resolved, through a simplified set of metrics tailored specifically
for bio-polymer packaging decisions. The results of
this research is a framework for the development of a three
tier eco-design tool for bio-polymer packaging that provides
decision support at the three critical stages of the design
process: strategic fit, Feasibility assessment and concept/
pack development