Jan Emblemsvåg

Process thinking — a new paradigm for science and engineering

Abstract As our research related to sustainability has progressed, we have realized that knowledge is not the prime problem. We believe that the ruling paradigm of science, engineering and policy needs to be critically evaluated. This paradigm holds that everything can be reduced to the tiniest particles which interact in a clockwork-like fashion. However, new discoveries have lead to the concept of ‘systems thinking’. Systems thinking is particularly important in dealing with our environmental problems and other large-scale open-ended problems. But is systems thinking sufficient? We intend to show that systems thinking is a major step in the right direction, but it is insufficient in handling the increasing environmental problems of our planet. We believe that ‘process thinking’ is a better paradigm due to the profound importance of change and continuous improvement. The superficial understanding of change in science and engineering has, in our opinion, resulted in what we call the ‘Dogmas of Science and Engineering’ which are the main roots of our problems. A new paradigm must therefore violate these dogmas for mankind to overcome the problems we are facing. This new paradigm must permeate the whole of society as well, and hence both scientific and political leadership is crucial.

Environmental Management and Assessment

What is environmental management? This question has many answers that could fill more than just this book. In this chapter, however, we want to give you an overview of a number of environmental management and assessment approaches. We start with showing a classification scheme that can help shed some light in the forest of buzzwords, as it may seem to be for some of you. We will outline the ISO 14000 environmental management standards, as well as some approaches that attempt to link economic and environmental assessments. As you will see, a lot depends on what you define as being ‘environmental impact’ and how you measure it. In this chapter, we also give an illustrative overview of environmental metrics, including a metric that we developed ourselves: the Waste Index (WI).

Designing for the Life-Cycle: Activity-Based Costing and Uncertainty

This chapter presents a method for developing an Activity-based Cost (ABC) model for use in life-cycle design under the presence of uncertainty. The crux in developing an ABC model is to identify the activities that will be present in the life-cycle of a product, and afterwards assign reliable cost drivers and associated consumption intensities to the activities. Uncertainty distributions are assigned to the numbers used in the calculations, representing the inherent uncertainty in the model. The effect of the uncertainty on the cost and model behavior are found by employing a numerical simulation technique — the Monte Carlo simulation technique. The additional use of detailed process action charts and sensitivity charts allows the influence of the uncertainty to be traced through the cost model to specific product and process parameters. The method is illustrated using a detailed product demanufacturing cost model.

Activity-Based Cost and Environmental Management

In this chapter we present the principles behind our integrated Activity- Based Cost and Environmental Management (ABCEM) approach, as well as how to develop Activity-Based Cost, Energy, and Waste models. This chapter is organized as follows: • In Section 1 we introduce the basic principles on how to expand Activity- based Costing and Management into the environmental domain. • In Section 2 we introduce steps for developing Activity-Based Cost, Energy, and Waste assessment models along with a simple, yet illustrative, running example. • In subsequent sections, we discuss some issues related to developing such models in more detail.

LCA comparability and the waste index

There are several problems with the current Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods. One of the most serious problems, in our opinion, is incomparability of results. Several industry representatives have expressed that without comparability and benchmark ability LCA will not survive long in the commercial world. It is therefore paramount that comparability is achieved. Incomparability stems from the usage of different functional units, unit processes and, most notably, different impact categorizations. We propose a new index — the Waste Index (WI) — that does not rely upon any of these techniques, but rather measures an imbalance in Nature and relies upon thermodynamics and chemistry — resulting in comparability.

The Wagonho! Case Study

WagonHo!, Inc. is a toy manufacturer. It operates in a somewhat price sensitive niche market with fairly good demand. Management faces three problems: 1. They have a

The Interface Case Study

1.3 million loss for the year. 2. They expect higher energy costs due to energy shortage. 3. They face possible tougher pollution legislation.

The Westnofa Industrier Case Study

Many readers may not know Interface Flooring Systems, a carpet manufacturer located in Troup County, Georgia, USA. But those who are familiar with the Sustainable Development movement in the United States, may recognize the name Ray C. Anderson. He is the founder of Interface, Inc., and a visionary who seeks to lead his company into what he calls the Second Industrial Revolution. In late 1998, we were given the opportunity to create an Activity-Based Energy and Waste model for Interface Flooring Systems’ plants in Troup County. In this chapter, we show you what we did for Interface Flooring Systems, Inc.

The Farstad Shipping Case Study

In this chapter we show how Activity-Based Cost and Environmental Management (ABCEM) has been implemented in a medium sized manufacturing company in Norway called Westnofa Industrier AS — denoted Westnofa. Again a real company with real problems. The most important purpose of this case study is to illustrate the fact that an actual implementation was made that has been used by management since 1996. This case study also illustrates the comprehensiveness of Activity-Based Cost and Environmental Management. This case outgrew the Crystal Ball® software and it is our largest activity-based model. In this book the highlights of this case study are presented. The most complete presentation is in (Emblemsvag 1999).

Activity-Based Cost and Environmental Management: A Different Approach to ISO 14000 Compliance

Imagine you are a European shipping company managing a fleet of ships and you want to be proactive; you want to assess the impact your ships have on the environment, and you want to reduce that impact in a manner good for business as well as the environment. This was the initial motivation for the case study presented in this chapter. In contrast to the other case studies, which primarily deal with manufacturing, this case study deals with how to develop an Activity-Based Cost, Energy and Waste model for the use (or operational) phase, of a product, namely a UT 705 Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) owned by Farstad Shipping ASA (Farstad in short) in Alesund, Norway. The case study is based on a real product, from a real company with real data.