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Ecological procurement of external components

Improvement <- B: manufacture intensive <-

Checklist for ECODESIGN analysis

Product
Have locally available raw materials, semi finished products, and components been preferred in the manufacture of the product (minimization of hauling distances)?
  
  
Where do the materials and components used in the product come from? Does their procurement involve excessive need for transportation? Are there alternative supply sources?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Minimize requirement for transportation of materials and components
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Are refurbished parts and components used in the manufacture of the product?
  
  
How can a high return rate be realized? How can the remaining service life of parts and components be determined? What are customers’ reservations about the use of refurbished parts and components, and how can these be dispelled?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Reuse refurbished parts and components
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Have external parts/components been evaluated according to ECODESIGN criteria?
  
  
Which external parts and components carry the biggest ecological rucksack? What is their proportion in relation to the product as a whole? How can the consumption of resources for external parts and components be reduced?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Evaluate external parts/components by ECODESIGN criteria
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Are identical parts (repetition parts) used for different variants of the product?
  
  
What parts can be used in different variants of the product in order to reduce the diversity of parts in production. What production stages (assembly, supply of spare parts, re-use of parts and components...) can be simplified by such a measure?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Use parts of identical design for different variants of product
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Has the input for the transportation of parts and components been minimized?
  
  
What parts and components require the major part of the input for transportation? What are the key factors determining the need for transportation? What measures could be taken to minimize transportation of parts and components?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Reduce requirement for transportation of external parts/components
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline

Is the amount of waste from the packaging of external parts and components relatively small, and is the waste harmless as far as quantities and composition are concerned?
  
  
What quantities of waste are generated by the packaging of external parts and components? Does this waste contain hazardous materials? What are the alternatives to the packaging used at present (e.g. returnable packaging)?
Relevance (R) Fulfillment (F) Priority (P)
very important ( 10 )
less important ( 5 )
not relevant ( 0 ) 		yes ( 1 )
rather yes ( 2 )
rather no ( 3 )
no ( 4 )
P = R * F
Measure Reduce amount of waste from packaging of external parts/components
Idea for
Realization
Costs
more
same
less		 because
Feasibility
difficult
easy		 because
Action
at once
later
never		 Responsibility
Deadline


Approach to assessment:
  1. Relevance:
    Rate the relevance of the assessment question with a view to your product. (10...very important for my product; 5...less important for my product; 0...not relevant for my product).
  2. Fullfilment:
    Estimate the fulfilment of the assessment questions using one of the four possible answers (yes / rather yes / rather no / no); the additional questions support understanding of the assessment question and need not be answered.
  3. Priority:
    Select ECODESIGN tasks with high priority (P) and continue only with these.
  4. Idea for Realization:
    Find ideas to realize these ECODESIGN tasks. The content of the learning part with its examples shall assist you in doing that.
  5. Feasibility:
    Evaluate the feasibility of the suggested ideas (difficult / easy).
  6. Costs:
    Compare the costs of the new ideas with a reference situation (higher / same / lower) and give reason for that.
  7. Action:
    Decide when to carry out the ECODESIGN tasks (at once / later / never) and determine the person or department that shall be in charge of further steps in the realizing the product improvements and fix a deadline.
  8. Save:
    Save the checklist to document the ECODESIGN assessment.

 

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Minimize requirement for transportation of materials and components

The use of regionally available materials aims at sustainability by creating “cascades” of utilization of materials and by realizing regional value added, etc. Using regionally available raw materials reduces the requirement for transportation and thus environmental damage caused by increasing traffic. If procurement within the region is not possible environmentally acceptable means of transportation should be used.


Reuse refurbished parts and components

Re-using parts and components permits to close cycles and, at the same time to maintain a high value. The consumption of resources for refurbishing parts and components is usually much lower than is the case in the manufacture of new components. The argument of impairment of quality can be refuted by the fact that new components show a higher probability of becoming defective than used parts with sufficient residual service life. Re-use is facilitated by standardized and cross-variant parts and components as it is easier to integrate them in a given production process.


Evaluate external parts/components by ECODESIGN criteria

The consumption of resources for the supply of raw materials and the manufacture of external parts and components may be seen as an ecological rucksack, which grows with every stage in the production process and which accompanies these parts and components throughout their life. An overall assessment of the product must therefore take into account the accumulated energy consumption of all production stages. Consequently, efforts should concentrate on minimizing the ecological rucksacks accompanying external parts and components. This may be realized by clearly defined requirements for the selection of suppliers and, subsequently, by the joint implementation of ECODESIGN programs.


Use parts of identical design for different variants of product

Using repetition parts for different products or variants of a product reduces the number of different parts in production. This strategy simplifies assembly and facilitates the supply of spare parts as well as refurbishing and re-use of structural parts and components.


Reduce requirement for transportation of external parts/components

From an ecological point of view the input for transportation includes the consumption of resources, in particular the energy demand for operation as well as the proportional costs for the provision of the means of transportation. In addition, one has to take into account the environmental impact through emissions such as CO2, NOx, dust, and noise. The necessary input for transportation depends on factors such as mass and volume of the cargo, hauling distance, choice of the means of transportation, and number of hauling operations required. An analysis of the influence of individual factors resulting in targeted measures can reduce the overall input for transportation.


Reduce amount of waste from packaging of external parts/components

The consumption of resources for external parts and components can be considerably reduced by a minimization of waste. In this context both, the quantity and the composition of waste from packaging has to be taken into account. Returnable packaging should be considered, in particular if returning packaging material to the supplier does not require additional transportation.