Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE ENR5104

 
TITLE Sustainable Product Development

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit covers topics in environmental engineering that are relevant to product development, including the following:

- Sustainable product development, life cycle thinking, new product design concepts, design for the environment procedures, tasks for the engineer/designer versus those of the environmentalist - green products.
- Life cycle assessment (LCA) - a methodology for sustainable product development,environmental impact,simplifying LCA - case studies.
- Waste minimisation and prevention - five business reasons for waste minimisation, profiting from waste, workshop approach to waste minimisation.
- Drivers for sustainable development - laws and regulations - the environment protection act, the solid waste management plan - eco-labels - producer responsibility, packaging and packaging waste, electrical and electronic waste directive, integrated product policy - standards.
- Materials and the environment, choice of materials based on environmental concerns include cleaner manufacture.
- Pollution and manufacture, energy efficiency in production, air emissions and water pollution issues in manufacture.
- EU initiatives to promote green products and cleaner production, ETAP – case studies.
- The disassembly factory – recycling as a means of waste disposal.

Study-unit Aims:

To provide students with a deeper understanding of the environmental issues in product development and manufacture in order that they learn to develop commercially viable greener products and processes through sustainable engineering practices.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Describe the relationship between sustainable development and product development;
- Explain the process of Life Cycle Assessment;
- List the relevant EU directives and regulations which are relevant to product development;
- Explain the relationship between industrial production and the environment, and between materials and the environment.

2. Skills:

By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:
- Carry out a Life Cycle Assessment of a given product or products;
- Improve the design of a product to reduce the impact of the product on the environment during its manufacture and use;
- Select the best material for a given product in order to reduce the impact on the environment;
- Improve the design of a given product in order to minimise the use of material and energy in its production;
- Design the product for ease of disassembly to facilitate recycling.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- Design for Environment – A guide to Sustainable Product Development, Joseph Fiksel, McGraw Hill, ISBN-13: 978-0071776226.
- Green Manufacturing – Fundamentals and Applications, David Dornfeld, Springer, ISBN 978-1-4419-6016-0.
- Guinee' Jeroen B. (ed.), Handbook on Life Cycle Assessment, Eco-Efficiency in In dustry and Science vol.7, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, ISBN1-4020-0557-1.
- Kiely Gerard, Environmental Engineering, McGraw-Hill International Editions, ISBN 0 -07-116424-3.
- Relevant EU Directives and Regulations, such as WEEE, ROHS, REACH.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM1 Yes 25%
Examination (3 Hours) SEM1 Yes 75%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
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The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit