211522, 12:18 PM “Three Keys To Designing Sustainable Producis Fora Better World
Aug 16, 2018, 08:30am EDT | 12,847 views
Three Keys To Designing
Sustainable Products For a
Better World
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By Thomas Ohnemus, VP, Solution Marketing, Digital Supply
Chain, SAP
As more people around the globe generate more demand for more
products, sustainable product design has never been more important. At a
point when the global environment is being pushed to the brink,
companies ~ particularly those operating on a global scale — have an
imperative to think and run sustainably.
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A response to this imperative is summed up in one mission statement: To
help the world run better. In the digital supply chain, efforts towards this
end is the design-to-operate (D20) product lifecycle.
How does D20 help the world run better? It starts by integrating product
lifecycle phases ~ design, plan, manufacture, deliver, and operate —
through data visibility, flexible collaboration, and the ability to respond to
opportunities and challenges with agility. Greater integration across the
product lifecycle is particularly important for achieving sustainability
goals — and one of the most important focal points in this regard is the
design phase.
In the design phase, engineers set the stage for what is to come. Where
sustainability is the goal, key design decisions need to be made in three
key areas: materials, production methods, and product functionality.
Choosing sustainable product materials
Design engineers can have tremendous impact on sustainability with their
initial decisions about the materials that go into the products they're
designing. Do you use recycled materials that have already been culled
from the earth? Or do you take more from the earth? Where do the
materials come from? Are they from a region known for honoring
environmental regulations or for flouting them?
‘To understand these issues, engineers need to see deep into the supply
chain. This requires close collaboration and data sharing with
knowledgeable planners capable of ensuring sustainable and ethical
sourcing. The details are important. Even the chemicals used to color
products can have adverse environmental and health effects. Making the
wrong decisions can harm the environment and also damage your
company’s reputation.
Making sustainable manufacturing decisions
Design engineers need to consider issues of manufacturability, not just in
terms of the cost to produce but also in terms of costs to the environment
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and the health and well-being of customers and non-customers.
To move toward sustainable production methods, engineering and
manufacturing teams need to collaborate and share data. For engineers,
the objective is a clear understanding of what’s required to make the
product as designed. Altering design specifics can help to optimize the
manufacturing process and substantially improve the environmental
impact.
One of the most significant areas of impact, however, comes after
manufacturing is complete. It is well known that the delivery phase
contributes significantly to the carbon footprint of the product lifecycle —
which is why sustainable companies seck to cut emissions from the
delivery phase as much as possible.
One idea for reducing the carbon footprint in the delivery phase is to
locate manufacturing closer to the customer - thus making emissions
from transport less of an issue. This is where 3D printing can help. With
3D printing, plastic dust (ideally made from recycled materials) is used to
model and produce products using relatively inexpensive “printers” that
can be housed almost anywhere (rather than overseas where facilities for
mass production are located).
3D printed products, moreover, can be 100% recyclable without any
impact on quality. At SAPPHIRE NOW this year, the CIO of HP explained
how HP is using 3D printing to print printers — which, while boggling the
mind a bit, serves as a good example of a fully circular manufacturing
process. Products made from recycled plastic dust can be returned to dust
— which can again be reformed into new products.
Production at scale with 3D printing may be a way off, but progress is
being made. For now, however, 3D printing already enables production
with far less energy consumption than traditional manufacturing. And
with the ability to produce products closer to the customer, delivery has
less impact on the environment.
Designing for sustainable operations
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Finally, design engineers need to think about the impact of their product
design during the operational phase. This is hardly news. Engineers have
long considered the carbon output of automobile design, for example,
moving wherever possible to lighter, more aerodynamic cars (and planes)
that use highly efficient hybrid or electric motors to burn fewer fossil
fuels.
Beyond such efforts, however, engineers are increasingly seeking tighter
integration with the operational phase to inform decisions at the point of
design. Internet of Things (IoT) technology is helping to make this
possible. By designing products with embedded sensors, engineers can
collect feedback on how products are used and adjust designs to optimize
running the machine according to the purpose customers have in mind,
IoT sensors can also be used to monitor specific parts and subsystems
within a product or machine. This information can then be used to
accurately predict part failure. Rather than replacing a part on a schedule
(when the part may still have some life to it), maintenance teams can
replace parts only when absolutely needed. In this way, design teams can
help maximize the lifecycle of parts and minimize waste. And where parts
do in fact need to be replaced, generating the new part with 3D printing
techniques can further help to minimize the environmental impact.
Learn more
If the goal is to help the world run better, then sustainable design,
sustainable products, and sustainable operations are key parts of the
equation. An integrated D20 product lifecycle can help by facilitating the
sharing of information across traditional silos so teams can make smarter
decisions that help protect the environment while driving business
forward.
To find out more about the options available to your organization for
improved sustainability, have a look at the new IDC report “Design as a
Critical Element of Digital Supply Chain.”
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