**IMS PROGRAM**

**Outline Proposal**

**Submitted by: National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS)**

**Date: June 1, 2005**

+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+
| **1. Ref.   | OP05004       | **2.          | SPI                  |
| Number**    |               | Acronym**     |                      |
+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+
| **3. Full   | Sustainable   |               |                      |
| Title**     | Product       |               |                      |
|             | Initiative    |               |                      |
+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+
| **4.        | In many       |               |                      |
| Theme**     | industries,   |               |                      |
|             | the           |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             | impact of a   |               |                      |
|             | product after |               |                      |
|             | it is in the  |               |                      |
|             | hands of the  |               |                      |
|             | consumer is   |               |                      |
|             | greater than  |               |                      |
|             | the impact of |               |                      |
|             | manufacturing |               |                      |
|             | the product.  |               |                      |
|             | There are     |               |                      |
|             | some          |               |                      |
|             | instances of  |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             | regulations   |               |                      |
|             | that apply to |               |                      |
|             | products      |               |                      |
|             | rather than   |               |                      |
|             | processes,    |               |                      |
|             | but in        |               |                      |
|             | general,      |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             | regulation of |               |                      |
|             | products is   |               |                      |
|             | significantly |               |                      |
|             | less          |               |                      |
|             | developed     |               |                      |
|             | than that of  |               |                      |
|             | manufacturing |               |                      |
|             | processes.    |               |                      |
|             | Products seem |               |                      |
|             | inherently    |               |                      |
|             | resistant to  |               |                      |
|             | the kind of   |               |                      |
|             | regulation    |               |                      |
|             | that has      |               |                      |
|             | historically  |               |                      |
|             | been          |               |                      |
|             | successful at |               |                      |
|             | mitigating    |               |                      |
|             | the effects   |               |                      |
|             | of            |               |                      |
|             | manufacturing |               |                      |
|             | processes.    |               |                      |
|             | What other    |               |                      |
|             | options are   |               |                      |
|             | available for |               |                      |
|             | improving the |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             | status of     |               |                      |
|             | products?     |               |                      |
+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+
| **5.        | Su            |               |                      |
| Keywords**  | stainability, |               |                      |
|             | e             |               |                      |
|             | nvironmental, |               |                      |
|             | process,      |               |                      |
|             | lifecycle.    |               |                      |
+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+
| **6.        | The first     |               |                      |
| De          | step is to    |               |                      |
| scription** | evaluate a    |               |                      |
|             | set of        |               |                      |
|             | industry      |               |                      |
|             | sectors to    |               |                      |
|             | determine the |               |                      |
|             | potential for |               |                      |
|             | SPI projects. |               |                      |
|             | The following |               |                      |
|             | sectors are   |               |                      |
|             | under active  |               |                      |
|             | c             |               |                      |
|             | onsideration: |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | <table>       |               |                      |
|             | <colgroup>    |               |                      |
|             | <col          |               |                      |
|             | style="w      |               |                      |
|             | idth: 48%" /> |               |                      |
|             | <col          |               |                      |
|             | style="w      |               |                      |
|             | idth: 51%" /> |               |                      |
|             | </colgroup>   |               |                      |
|             | <tbody>       |               |                      |
|             | <tr           |               |                      |
|             | class="odd">  |               |                      |
|             | <td><ul>      |               |                      |
|             | <li><p>Aeros  |               |                      |
|             | pace</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <li><p>Applia |               |                      |
|             | nces</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <li><p>Automo |               |                      |
|             | tive</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <li><p>Batte  |               |                      |
|             | ries</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <l            |               |                      |
|             | i><p>Building |               |                      |
|             | Mater         |               |                      |
|             | ials</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | </ul></td>    |               |                      |
|             | <td><ul>      |               |                      |
|             | <l            |               |                      |
|             | i><p>Construc |               |                      |
|             | tion</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <li><p>Furni  |               |                      |
|             | ture</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <             |               |                      |
|             | li><p>Medical |               |                      |
|             | Dev           |               |                      |
|             | ices</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <li><p>Paints |               |                      |
|             | and           |               |                      |
|             | Coat          |               |                      |
|             | ings</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | <li><         |               |                      |
|             | p>Pharmaceuti |               |                      |
|             | cals</p></li> |               |                      |
|             | </ul></td>    |               |                      |
|             | </tr>         |               |                      |
|             | </tbody>      |               |                      |
|             | </table>      |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | Two examples  |               |                      |
|             | of SPI        |               |                      |
|             | initiatives   |               |                      |
|             | in the        |               |                      |
|             | automotive    |               |                      |
|             | sector will   |               |                      |
|             | serve to      |               |                      |
|             | illustrate    |               |                      |
|             | the approach. |               |                      |
|             | NCMS is       |               |                      |
|             | developing    |               |                      |
|             | these program |               |                      |
|             | elements in   |               |                      |
|             | conjunction   |               |                      |
|             | with vehicle  |               |                      |
|             | manufacturers |               |                      |
|             | and leading   |               |                      |
|             | suppliers to  |               |                      |
|             | the           |               |                      |
|             | automotive    |               |                      |
|             | sector.       |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | ## Comp       |               |                      |
|             | onent Leasing |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | When a        |               |                      |
|             | vehicle       |               |                      |
|             | reaches the   |               |                      |
|             | end of its    |               |                      |
|             | service life, |               |                      |
|             | many of its   |               |                      |
|             | components    |               |                      |
|             | are typically |               |                      |
|             | still in      |               |                      |
|             | working       |               |                      |
|             | order. Some   |               |                      |
|             | parts may be  |               |                      |
|             | salvaged by   |               |                      |
|             | recyclers,    |               |                      |
|             | but in        |               |                      |
|             | general, a    |               |                      |
|             | significant   |               |                      |
|             | proportion of |               |                      |
|             | these parts   |               |                      |
|             | are scrapped. |               |                      |
|             | A much higher |               |                      |
|             | proportion    |               |                      |
|             | could be      |               |                      |
|             | recovered and |               |                      |
|             | made fit for  |               |                      |
|             | reuse if part |               |                      |
|             | longevity     |               |                      |
|             | were a design |               |                      |
|             | goal. But     |               |                      |
|             | there is no   |               |                      |
|             | economic      |               |                      |
|             | incentive for |               |                      |
|             | a supplier to |               |                      |
|             | reduce the    |               |                      |
|             | future demand |               |                      |
|             | for its       |               |                      |
|             | products by   |               |                      |
|             | designing     |               |                      |
|             | parts to last |               |                      |
|             | longer than   |               |                      |
|             | the vehicles  |               |                      |
|             | they are      |               |                      |
|             | installed in. |               |                      |
|             | The economic  |               |                      |
|             | and           |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             | incentives    |               |                      |
|             | appear to be  |               |                      |
|             | fundamentally |               |                      |
|             | at odds.      |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | SPI is        |               |                      |
|             | investigating |               |                      |
|             | an            |               |                      |
|             | alternative   |               |                      |
|             | scenario,     |               |                      |
|             | based on the  |               |                      |
|             | trend in some |               |                      |
|             | sectors for   |               |                      |
|             | consumers to  |               |                      |
|             | prefer buying |               |                      |
|             | functionality |               |                      |
|             | rather than   |               |                      |
|             | hardware.     |               |                      |
|             | Leasing a new |               |                      |
|             | vehicle is    |               |                      |
|             | currently not |               |                      |
|             | a             |               |                      |
|             | particularly  |               |                      |
|             | attractive    |               |                      |
|             | proposition,  |               |                      |
|             | since the     |               |                      |
|             | value of the  |               |                      |
|             | vehicle       |               |                      |
|             | depreciates   |               |                      |
|             | rapidly, and  |               |                      |
|             | the cost is   |               |                      |
|             | built into    |               |                      |
|             | the lease     |               |                      |
|             | fee. But if   |               |                      |
|             | consumers     |               |                      |
|             | could pay a   |               |                      |
|             | much lower    |               |                      |
|             | monthly fee   |               |                      |
|             | for a vehicle |               |                      |
|             | that retained |               |                      |
|             | its value for |               |                      |
|             | a much longer |               |                      |
|             | period,       |               |                      |
|             | leasing would |               |                      |
|             | command a     |               |                      |
|             | much larger   |               |                      |
|             | share of the  |               |                      |
|             | market.       |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | Suppose now   |               |                      |
|             | that          |               |                      |
|             | suppliers no  |               |                      |
|             | longer sold   |               |                      |
|             | their parts   |               |                      |
|             | to vehicle    |               |                      |
|             | m             |               |                      |
|             | anufacturers, |               |                      |
|             | but leased    |               |                      |
|             | them. Part of |               |                      |
|             | the           |               |                      |
|             | consumer's    |               |                      |
|             | monthly lease |               |                      |
|             | fee would be  |               |                      |
|             | passed back   |               |                      |
|             | to the        |               |                      |
|             | supplier, and |               |                      |
|             | the supplier  |               |                      |
|             | would receive |               |                      |
|             | the revenue   |               |                      |
|             | stream from   |               |                      |
|             | the part as   |               |                      |
|             | long as that  |               |                      |
|             | part remained |               |                      |
|             | in service.   |               |                      |
|             | Under this    |               |                      |
|             | scenario,     |               |                      |
|             | suppliers now |               |                      |
|             | have an       |               |                      |
|             | economic      |               |                      |
|             | incentive to  |               |                      |
|             | design parts  |               |                      |
|             | that last as  |               |                      |
|             | long as       |               |                      |
|             | possible,     |               |                      |
|             | with          |               |                      |
|             | subcomponents |               |                      |
|             | that tend to  |               |                      |
|             | wear out      |               |                      |
|             | designed to   |               |                      |
|             | be easily     |               |                      |
|             | accessed and  |               |                      |
|             | re            |               |                      |
|             | manufactured. |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | This basic    |               |                      |
|             | concept opens |               |                      |
|             | up a wide     |               |                      |
|             | variety of    |               |                      |
|             | opportunities |               |                      |
|             | and issues.   |               |                      |
|             | For example:  |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | -   The       |               |                      |
|             |     "outer    |               |                      |
|             |     shell"    |               |                      |
|             |     and       |               |                      |
|             |     high-tech |               |                      |
|             |     items can |               |                      |
|             |     be        |               |                      |
|             |     replaced  |               |                      |
|             |     to meet   |               |                      |
|             |     style and |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |    technology |               |                      |
|             |     changes.  |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | ```{=html}    |               |                      |
|             | <!-- -->      |               |                      |
|             | ```           |               |                      |
|             | -   Vehicles  |               |                      |
|             |     will be   |               |                      |
|             |     scanned   |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | periodically, |               |                      |
|             |     as part   |               |                      |
|             |     of        |               |                      |
|             |     regularly |               |                      |
|             |     scheduled |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |  maintenance. |               |                      |
|             |     Parts     |               |                      |
|             |     will      |               |                      |
|             |     carry     |               |                      |
|             |     scannable |               |                      |
|             |     i         |               |                      |
|             | dentification |               |                      |
|             |     tags      |               |                      |
|             |     (RFID).   |               |                      |
|             |     Can also  |               |                      |
|             |     scan for  |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |    diagnostic |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |  information. |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | -   The       |               |                      |
|             |     scenario  |               |                      |
|             |     lowers    |               |                      |
|             |     the       |               |                      |
|             |     market    |               |                      |
|             |     entry     |               |                      |
|             |     barrier   |               |                      |
|             |     for new   |               |                      |
|             |     vehicle   |               |                      |
|             |     "         |               |                      |
|             | integrators". |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | ## Automot    |               |                      |
|             | ive Materials |               |                      |
|             |  Design Guide |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | SPI is        |               |                      |
|             | evaluating    |               |                      |
|             | proposals to  |               |                      |
|             | create        |               |                      |
|             | on-line       |               |                      |
|             | resource for  |               |                      |
|             | designers of  |               |                      |
|             | auto          |               |                      |
|             | components to |               |                      |
|             | aid in the    |               |                      |
|             | choice of     |               |                      |
|             | alternative   |               |                      |
|             | materials.    |               |                      |
|             | The resource  |               |                      |
|             | will provide  |               |                      |
|             | data and      |               |                      |
|             | guidelines    |               |                      |
|             | for           |               |                      |
|             | evaluating    |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             | consequences  |               |                      |
|             | of            |               |                      |
|             | alternative   |               |                      |
|             | materials     |               |                      |
|             | choices, as   |               |                      |
|             | is typical    |               |                      |
|             | for           |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             | design        |               |                      |
|             | guides. But a |               |                      |
|             | further       |               |                      |
|             | objective of  |               |                      |
|             | this resource |               |                      |
|             | is to provide |               |                      |
|             | a means of    |               |                      |
|             | evaluating    |               |                      |
|             | potential     |               |                      |
|             | economic      |               |                      |
|             | consequences  |               |                      |
|             | of materials  |               |                      |
|             | choices.      |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | The resource  |               |                      |
|             | will          |               |                      |
|             | therefore     |               |                      |
|             | require a     |               |                      |
|             | database that |               |                      |
|             | contains:     |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | -   extensive |               |                      |
|             |     materials |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |  information, |               |                      |
|             |     including |               |                      |
|             |     physical  |               |                      |
|             |     and       |               |                      |
|             |     chemical  |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |   properties, |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |    regulatory |               |                      |
|             |     status,   |               |                      |
|             |     and       |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             |     impact    |               |                      |
|             |     data      |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | -   a         |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |    functional |               |                      |
|             |     model of  |               |                      |
|             |     vehicle   |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |   subsystems, |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |   alternative |               |                      |
|             |     materials |               |                      |
|             |     available |               |                      |
|             |     for any   |               |                      |
|             |     given     |               |                      |
|             |     function, |               |                      |
|             |     and       |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | environmental |               |                      |
|             |     impact    |               |                      |
|             |     data      |               |                      |
|             |     specific  |               |                      |
|             |     to each   |               |                      |
|             |     subsystem |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             | -   data on   |               |                      |
|             |     actual    |               |                      |
|             |     usage of  |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |   alternative |               |                      |
|             |     materials |               |                      |
|             |     for each  |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |    subsystem, |               |                      |
|             |     and the   |               |                      |
|             |     tradeoffs |               |                      |
|             |     and       |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |   limitations |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |    associated |               |                      |
|             |     with each |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
|             |   alternative |               |                      |
+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+
| **7.        |               |               |                      |
| Contact     |               |               |                      |
| details of  |               |               |                      |
| the         |               |               |                      |
| proposing   |               |               |                      |
| party**     |               |               |                      |
+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+
| Paul        |               |               |                      |
| Chalmer     |               |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
| NCMS        |               |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
| <paul       |               |               |                      |
| c@ncms.org> |               |               |                      |
|             |               |               |                      |
| \(734\)     |               |               |                      |
| 995-4911    |               |               |                      |
+-------------+---------------+---------------+----------------------+