Ecological Planning of Manufacturing Process Chains

authored by: Berend Denkena, Marcel Wichmann, Simon Kettelmann, Jonas Matthies, Leon Reuter
Abstract: Production planning is a critical step for the implementation of sustainable production. It is necessary to consider energy and resource efficiency in all planning phases to promote sustainable production. In this paper, an approach for environmental impact assessment in all phases of process chain planning supported by process models is presented. The level of detail of the assessment is determined based on the level of detail of the planning phase. During the assessment, consumption of energy and resources is considered. This approach aims to align planning phases with the objective of sustainable production. In rough planning, the approach allows the selection of an ecologically favorable process chain. In detailed planning, process parameters can be selected based on their ecological sustainability. The approach can be integrated into the planning of process chains in order to consider ecological factors throughout all planning phases. The approach is evaluated by using an exemplary use case. The results indicate that rough planning under the consideration of uncertainties can form a reasonable prediction about resource efficiency for possible manufacturing routes. By systematically selecting a resource-efficient process chain, energy savings of up to 21% can be achieved for the presented use case.
Organisation(s): Institute of Production Engineering and Machine Tools
Type: Article
Journal: Sustainability (Switzerland)
Volume: 14
ISSN: 2071-1050
Publication date: 01.03.2022
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Geography, Planning and Development, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment, Environmental Science (miscellaneous), Energy Engineering and Power Technology, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052681 (Access: Open)