Faculty of Technology – Course work Specification 2016/17 Module name: Low Impact Manufacturing Module code: ENGT5220 Title of the Assignment: Assignment B - The Circular Economy This coursework item is: (delete as appropriate) Summative Formative This summative coursework will be marked anonymously Yes No The learning outcomes that are assessed by this coursework are demonstration of: 1. A systematic understanding of the activities of industrial organisations at all points of the product life-cycle from raw material extraction to disposal and a critical awareness of current approaches to mitigating the associated environmental impacts. 2. A comprehensive understanding of assessment and analysis techniques that can be applied to the student's own research into ways to reduce the environmental impact and energy consumption of industrial organisations. 3. A conceptual understanding of the energy requirements of the components of common industrial processes such as motors, pumps, heaters and compressors that will allow students to critically evaluate research methodologies and outputs from a range of related academic disciplines. 4. Originality in tackling the problems of meeting consumer demand for products and associated services in a competitive globalised industrial context while minimising the associated life-cycle energy consumption 5. The qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment in tomorrow's low-carbon industries, specifically the skills of decision making in unpredictable situations and the ability to research and learn independently, required for continuing professional development. This coursework is: (delete as appropriate) Individual Group If other or a mixed ... explain here: This coursework constitutes 70% of the overall module mark. Date Set: 31st January 2017 Date & Time Due: 8th May 2017 at 12:00 midday Your marked coursework and feedback will be available to you on: If for any reason this is not forthcoming by the due date your module leader will let you know why and when it can be expected. The Head of Studies ([email protected]) should be informed of any issues relating to the return of marked coursework and feedback. 7th June 2017 When completed you are required to submit your coursework to: 1. Blackboard via Turnitin. Late submission of coursework policy: Late submissions will be processed in accordance with current University regulations which state: “the time period during which a student may submit a piece of work late without authorisation and have the work capped at 40% [50% at PG level] if passed is 14 calendar days. Work submitted unauthorised more than 14 calendar days after the original submission date will receive a mark of 0%. These regulations apply to a student’s first attempt at coursework. Work submitted late without authorisation which constitutes reassessment of a previously failed piece of coursework will always receive a mark of 0%.” Academic Offences and Bad Academic Practices: These include plagiarism, cheating, collusion, copying work and reuse of your own work, poor referencing or the passing off of somebody else's ideas as your own. If you are in any doubt about what constitutes an academic offence or bad academic practice you must check with your tutor. Further information and details of how DSU can support you, if needed, is available at: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/academicoffences.aspx and http://www.dmu.ac.uk/dmu-students/the-student-gateway/academic-support-office/bad-academicpractice.aspx Tasks to be undertaken: You are the sustainability manager for a manufacturer of robotic lawn mowers for home and small business users. At present, your material and energy flows are entirely linear (no reuse or recycling). Your CEO has seen a presentation on ‘The Circular Economy’ and has asked you to investigate the extent to which this concept could be applied to the company and its products. You are primarily responsible for the sustainability of the manufacturing activities of the company, but your role also involves you in the planning of future products and the business model of the organisation, since all these also affect industrial sustainability. 1. Describe the different components used in your product and comment on the degree to which their material flows can be made circular. The main types of component are: • Structural parts (chassis, body, housings, etc.) • Electrical parts (motors, switches, wires, circuit boards) and • Functional parts (blades, fans, etc.) Note: Some of the components are manufactured by your suppliers and simply assembled in your factory. This includes most of the electrical parts. 2. Describe a future sustainable industrial system in terms of the stages in the lifecycle of a typical product after the company’s material and energy flows have been made as ‘circular’ as possible. 3. For each of the types of component above, describe the short term and longer term steps that the company should take to get to the sustainable system you described above. Where possible, illustrate your arguments from case studies in the literature and indicate briefly any relevant policy implications. Deliverables to be submitted for assessment: Your report should be no more than 3000 words. Use appendices to include additional charts, illustrations and data as necessary. Appendices should be no longer than 5 pages in total. The document should be produced in the style of a technical report (formal, factual and to the point). You should use a font of size no less than 10 points. How the work will be marked: Assessment will be based on the extent to which the learning outcomes listed above have been met, and the extent to which the above instructions, notes and guidance are complied with (for example regarding word limit, style, structure, referencing and citation, etc.). The criteria below relate to the current pass mark of 50%. • To achieve a marginal pass of 50% to 54%, you should list the main processing steps for the three types of components, outline a future circular scenario and list a set of initiatives that the company should undertake to make the transition from a linear to circular operations, indicating the timescales over which they might be practically applied. • To achieve a pass of 55% to 59%, in addition to the above you should suggest a bold and innovative approach to the supply, maintenance and disposal of robotic lawn mowers, indicating how this affects the product design, manufacturing processes and business model of the company. You should also indicate the extent to which your changes are feasible in the short and longer term, highlighting any trade-offs between different approaches to industrial sustainability, for example the trade-off between longevity and ease of disassembly. • To achieve a good pass of 60% to 69%, you should demonstrate the ability to critically compare different approaches to manufacturing in order to make a transition from a linear to a circular economy. You should demonstrate an ability to synthesise knowledge from relevant literature to construct responses that reveal good skills of critical analysis and insight. • To achieve an excellent pass of 70% or greater you must demonstrate an authoritative grasp of the conceptual context of the assignment and show insights into current debates around this subject. You should demonstrate the ability to express your arguments clearly, concisely and accurately, with a high degree of technical competence. Work that is deficient in most of the respects outlined above, showing no evidence of critical analysis will be awarded an outright fail of 44% or less. A marginal fail of 45% to 49% may be awarded to work that demonstrates some understanding of the problem but where the understanding, accuracy, organisation and critical analysis fail to justify a marginal pass. Module leader/tutor name: Dr Rick Greenough Contact details: [email protected]