Model-based Engineering for Sustainable Manufacturing

The objective is to understand the effect of design and manufacturing decisions on sustainability by identifying the variables that contribute to the characterization of sustainability for designed objects (products and manufacturing processes). The definition of sustainability metrics is fundamental for gaining an understanding and identification of the parameters that define sustainable manufacturing. A consequence of developing these metrics could be the characterization of quality measures from different aspects of sustainability, such as material or energy flow.

Understanding the effect of design and manufacturing decisions on sustainability requires the identification of the variables that contribute to the characterization of sustainability for the designed objects (products and manufacturing processes) in question. The clear definition of sustainability metrics is fundamental in gaining an understanding and identification of the parameters that define sustainable manufacturing. A consequence of developing these metrics could be characterization of a quality measure from different aspects of sustainability (material or energy flow models at different levels of granularity).

The quality of sustainability will be only as good as the quality of information used. Measurement of information and data quality is an open question that will have to be developed in the context of defining and validating information models for all aspects of product design including sustainability. In physical metrology there are established principles such as fundamental units, precision, accuracy, traceability and uncertainty. In order to understand and define quality for information and sustainability we need to develop metrological concepts similar to physical metrology appropriate for validation and testing.

The current lack of formal models (syntactically and semantically consistent representations) of product life cycle information makes it difficult to standardize and validate support systems for product life cycle management. We have identified the following classification of standards relevant to PLM support: (1) information modeling standards (languages), (2) content standards- domains of discourse and (3) architectural framework standards. This classification may have to be extended to accommodate standards identified in Project 1.1.

To meet the project’s objectives, the following activities will be undertaken:

• Define a clear set of “conformance classes” and “metrics” based on some well defined standards and required set of functionalities at various stages of PLM, and define precise levels of interoperability among various systems and stake holders.
• Define metrics and metrology for sustainable manufacturing.
• Harmonize and extend standards related to sustainable manufacturing.