Environmental Attributes of Manufacturing Processes

The standard of living in the USA is greatly dependent on the ability to competitively produce manufactured products. In the absence of the manufacturing enterprise, there is little need for technologists and engineers and those engaged in supporting business activities. Every design decision within such an enterprise carries with it manufacturing implications—usually restricting the choice of materials and processes, and thus impacting competitiveness. In recent years, increased attention to the environment has been presenting manufacturers with new challenges. The US manufacturing industry produces approximately 5.5 billion tons of nonhazardous and 0.7 billion tons of hazardous waste each year (Zhang et al., 1997). These wastes include sand with additives produced by metal-casting operations, fluids from heat-treating, and welding gases. Ever more attention is being focused on reducing the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) consequences of process waste, as reflected by the tightening standards, increased fines, and growing litigation associated with the waste. It is clear that organizations that are to be competitive in the future must be able to avoid/minimize the costs concomitant with being (or not being) “green.”