I was listening to Wharton Business Radio on the way to the office. An interesting piece was on regarding recycling with the team from Community Recycling. They were talking about the initiatives in recycling consumer clothing and shoes. There is a significant ability to reuse products that still have life in them. The obvious use is donating clothing to support those in need. But they also have programs to recycle worn out goods - like grinding up worn our shoes to be used for fuel or building materials. All good things!
In the PLM industry there is much talk and debate over the topic of sustainability. But most of the discussion centers around REACH, RoHS and the like. Again, all good things! What about recycling? I did a couple of quick web searches and I did not find a lot of concrete examples. This is not to say that there are no examples out there...just nothing that I found quickly with the all powerful Google.
I feel many companies think about recyclability. However, enabling recyclability requires a commitment and turning that thought of recyclability into a measurable part of your business process.
How could this be enabled in a PLM system?? Here are a few unrefined thoughts off the top of my head:
- Material Definition - include recyclability information on the material item(s). In the same item where we define Mechanical properties like Young's Modulus it would be very straightforward to prescribe a number of recyclability properties.
- Part Marking - Many parts have a part mark with the part number. Add the recycling symbol - just like at the bottom of your favorite water bottle or Red Solo
Cup. - Design for Manufacture and Assembly + Disassembly and Recyclability (DFMA + DR) - many companies use DFMA today. This is simply adding an additional facet to the DFMA process. There is a real benefit - this will pay dividends in the maintenance or warranty of your products. Win-Win!
- Product Recycling info - Include more/additional or more prominent recyclability information on product packaging and/or documentation to encourage the consumer to recycle the product at the end of life.
- Business Process - include a recyclability review as part of your product lifecycle. Determine appropriate recycling processes and locations. Present this information to the consumer in the docs/packaging or part mark.
- Supply chain - set a metric for recycled content in your product - and commit to it. This would be a simple report against your BOM and materials. This will require he supply chain to be creative and make things happen.
- In-house recycling - take products back free of charge and strip them of reusable parts like hardware or recyclable components that can be sold for scrap. Win-Win #2
- Marketing - encourage recycling by your consumers. Add this to your next Super Bowl commercial. Win-Win #3. Tout your 35% recycled content and encourage consumers to recycle. (OK not PLM...but I think its a good idea)
What about cost. I suppose it will cost something to create these features/processes and some additional cycle time. But wait...remember the Win -Wins? The savings from improved DFMA+DA, recycled fasteners, and cash from scrap could pay for this effort. There is also a marketing benefit that may increase sales - or if nothing else goodwill.
Here is my point. I believe that we are all responsible for our impact to our community and environment. And not just individuals, but businesses as well. Most businesses have a PLM system that is not used to its fullest potential. This is a way to use your PLM system to do more than just data management. It is an opportunity to step into LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT that will expand your horizons in terms of what PLM can do for your Business of Engineering. It is also an opportunity to do something great for the environment and future generations. Win-Win!
I would enjoy hearing about your recyclability solutions. Come to think of it, this would make for a great Aras Community project that all of us can work on together using our open source version. Any takers?
Thanks for reading.
-Dave