A Manufacturing Informatics Framework for Manufacturing Sustainability Assessment

Abstract

Manufacturing firms that wish to improve their environmental performance of their product, process, and systems are faced with a complex task because manufacturing systems are very complex and they come in many forms and life expectancies. To achieve desired product functionalities, different design and material can be selected; thus the corresponding manufacturing processes are also changed accordingly. There is direct need of assessment tools to monitor and estimate environmental impact generated by different types of manufacturing processes. This research proposes a manufacturing informatics framework for the assessment of manufacturing sustainability. An EXPRESS information model is developed to represent sustainability information such as sustainability indicators and their associated weighting and uncertainty factors, material declaration information, and hazardous condition information, etc. This information model is tested with industrial products to validate its completeness and correctness. This information model serves as the first step of establishing close association of sustainability information with product design specification. In the next phase of research, investigation will be conducted to integrate sustainability information model and existing standardized product design model ISO 10303 AP 242.Keywords: Manufacturing process; Environmental impact; Life Cycle Assessment; Information Model INTRODUCTIONSustainability is a multi-disciplinary field that involves the areas of ecology, economic development, and social equity [1]. The manufacturing industry is often cited as the cause of many environmental and social problems, yet it is acknowledged as the main mechanism for change through economic growth [2]. It is clear that the world is moving forward aggressively to achieve sustainable design and manufacturing with life cycle considerations. Industry is confronted with the challenge of designing sustainable products and manufacturing processes. LCA considers all environmental impacts associated with a product or a service from its inception to the end of its life. It can be broken down in five main stages; namely the material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, use, and disposal. International standards for industrial life cycle assessment, such as ISO 14040-14043, have been published in the past decade. These standards lay out the rules that industry should follow for conducting and reporting life cycle assessment. Considering the diversity and complexity of most manufacturing products, LCA methodologies are hampered by two main challenges: a) the diversity and variations in materials, processing techniques, usage durations, and disposal routes; and b) excessive implementation time. Most LCA research is specifically developed for one particular material or product. In industrial setting, LCA is very data-intensive and requires months to complete. Furthermore, LCA is not connected to business perspectives, and thus it does not measure the value of sustainability practice without ad...

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