Posted: January 15th, 2015

Individual Sustainable Development Assignment

Individual Sustainable Development Assignment

ENGG107 – Individual Sustainable Development Assignment
Guidance Notes for use in completing the Final Report Template
1. Product (or Process / System) selected
Select an appropriate product (or process; but unlikely a system) to research. The product must be of
suitable, but not excessive, complexity. You should also think about possible alterations you could
make before doing any in-depth research, basically to avoid having to re-select a product later on.
2. Brief Description of the product
Describe how the product is used, its development, and why it is designed the way it is. But, most
importantly, indicate why the product is currently not sustainable. Try to avoid just listing reasons a
product is unsustainable, and instead try to include why these reasons are issues for sustainability.
3. Overview of the completed case study
This can be written at the end, being a summary of your product, what you discovered researching it;
in particular materials-wise, how you found it to be unsustainable, and what design improvements
you intended to make, and how it is intended for one design improvement to be implemented.
4. Background Technology of your product/process relevant to Sustainability issues
This is a more in-depth and technical look at your product. How it is made, used, disposed of. The
materials and process of manufacture are of particular importance, as they are most likely to provide
changes to the design. However, usage may also reveal areas that can be exploited for alteration.
5. Framing of the product in a Sustainable Development context
This section requires you to think about how the product affects the relevant groups of stakeholders
noted, and also what these groups are looking for from the product. You should, where possible, look
for examples of what the relevant groups have said about the product, and naturally reference this.
6. Process Flow diagram of life-cycle (‘cradle-to-grave’ analysis)
This diagram should always be a graphical representation, showing the product through its life-cycle
from manufacture to final disposal. You should try to show all processes that affect the product, so as
to expand the areas that may show potential design improvements; not just providing a linear path
from start to finish. You should also ensure you properly explain all the processes that are in the flow
diagram. Try to keep this diagram neat and easy to follow, too.
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7. Text Matrix of Life Cycle Stages and Sustainable Development impacts
This matrix should list all the ways in which your chosen product affects the relevant columns at each
stage in its life-cycle, both positive and negative. Try to include suitable factors relating to sustainable
development, such as materials, energy, waste, etc. Make sure you also explain each effect, and why
this causes a problem.
8. Scoring Matrix
Your scoring matrix should align with your text matrix. Make sure you think carefully about the
impact each effect in your text matrix has, and then give a suitable value.
9. Design Opportunities Matrix
You must think of three design changes (A, B and C) you can make to the product you have selected
that will reduce the sustainability impact it has that you have previously discussed. At least one of
these changes should relate to the materials used. Make sure your design changes are well
explained, so that they are easy to understand and you also explain how this change will improve the
sustainability of your product. You must then decide on the potential benefits and potential success
of each of your design changes.
10. Materials Information relevant to the Implementation Approach for the selected idea
For the next sections of the template, you must select ONE design change and describe any material
information relevant to that change, even if you have not selected your material design change. You
should also list in the table the required properties (e.g. hardness, fatigue resistance, low friction
coefficient, etc.), and ensure the material you select for the design change meets these criteria.
11. Implementation Approach for ONE Design Opportunity idea selected
The final section of the report involves implementing your design. This is how you plan on integrating
your changes into the current product and what sort of changes, all along the product’s life-cycle,
would be required to achieve this. For example, new machines, different suppliers, different safety
inspection requirements, etc.
12. References
Here you must list all the references you used in your report. All information you use in the
document must be referenced in the text, and all references recorded must use the Harvard
referencing system; e.g. (author, year of publication).
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