1996 Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap - Civil and ...

Electronics Industry Environmental Roadmap
Emerging information systems, in particular the rapidly emerging Internet- and World Wide
Web-based technologies, offer a mechanism for managing and sharing information widely both
within and across the industry. The availability of data encompassing design; technology;
regulatory, standards, and compliance; performance and risk; and other information is made
substantially easier by the open, readily navigated environment of the World Wide Web. As
corporate management increasingly emphasizes environmental considerations in decisionmaking
processes, environmental measurement and monitoring systems will need to improve to
establish more reliable data. The effective linkage with robust industry-wide data sources and
benchmarking can provide a powerful tool for environmental management.
The effectiveness of data management will be substantially enhanced by a focused industry effort
to develop improved analytic tools to take advantage of environmental data. Techniques such as
data warehousing, data mining, and data fusion need to be employed and enhanced to specifically
address the information needs of this industry.
Chapter 4: Design For Environment: Evolution And Tool Needs
The Roadmap focuses specific attention on the subject of design for the environment (DFE).
DFE is a fundamental requirement for the electronics industry as it seeks to infuse environmental
attributes in all aspects of design, manufacturing, and product life cycle management.
For the purposes of this roadmap, a limited survey was conducted evaluating the state of DFE
tools available to industry and the key features that should be present in effective DFE tools. The
survey found wide differences in the level and type of DFE activities undertaken, supporting a
conclusion that DFE is in a very early stage of development within the industry. Most of the
responding companies utilized DFE tools ranging from relatively simple information resources to
more complex software-based products. The report includes a listing of DFE tools currently
available, identifying their developer and providing a very brief assessment of their capabilities.
From a requirements standpoint, survey respondents indicated that key features required of DFE
tools include built-in databases of environmental information, integration with CAE/CAD
platforms or existing tool suites, support for technology trade-off studies (including real-time
trade-off studies), applicability to multiple manufacturing areas, compatibility with standards,
and the ability to generate ranked/priority results.
Chapter 5: Disposition
Planning for and managing end-of-life disposition of electronic products is becoming
increasingly important. Regulatory requirements imposed upon OEMs and distributors, the
increasing cost of traditional disposition alternatives, market demands, and other trends are
increasing the priority attached to product end-of-life management. Product end-of-life
management (PELM), in and of itself, represents a potential industry in its early stages of
development. Recovery, remanufacturing, and recycling all have potential economic value to
PELM service providers who overcome obstacles relating to recapturing end-of-life product and
processing it appropriately for particular purposes.
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