Prof. G. Surender Reddy
Director, EDC



Webster:
–er·go·nom·ics (ûr'gə-nŏm'ĭks): an applied
science concerned with designing and
arranging things people use so that the people
and things interact most efficiently and safely.
Literal definition:
–Ergon (work) + Nomos (rules or habits) = “The
rules of work”
Ergonomics has become an integral part of
product design from the perspectives of
both the end user and the assembly process.



Ergonomics is about designing for people, wherever they interact
with products, systems or processes. We usually don’t notice good
design (unless perhaps, it’s exceptional) because it gives us no
cause to, but we do notice poor design.
The emphasis within ergonomics is to ensure that designs
complement the strengths and abilities of people and minimize
the effects of their limitations, rather than forcing them to adapt. In
achieving this aim, it becomes necessary to understand and
design for the variability represented in the population, spanning
such attributes as age, size, strength, cognitive ability, prior
experience, cultural expectations and goals.
Applying good ergonomics will make a product easy to use, it will
help make a manufacturing process efficient, it will make furniture
comfortable, it will contribute to safety, it will add many of the
dimensions a product, system or environment needs to make it fit
for purpose.
Ergonomists are trained in analytical techniques to identify which
user characteristics should be taken into account during your design
process. This is important when you consider how much individuals
vary in terms of:
 body size
 body shape
 strength
 mobility
 sensory sensitivity
 mental ability
 experience
 training
 culture
 emotions
When applied at the earliest stages of the design process, ergonomic
methods often identify opportunities for innovation.
 Physical
Ergonomics
 Psychological
Ergonomics
 Organizational
Ergonomics
Physical ergonomics looks at how human
anatomical, anthropometric, physiological
and biomechanical characteristics relate to
physical activity. This includes:
 working postures
 manual handling
 repetitive movements
 musculoskeletal disorders
 workplace layout and environment
Psychological ergonomics studies mental processes –
e.g., perception, cognition, memory, reasoning and
emotion - and how people interact with products,
systems and environments. This includes:
 mental workload
 decision-making
 human-computer interaction
 human reliability
 attitudes
 stress
 motivation
 pleasure
 cultural differences
Organizational ergonomics is about
optimizing the organizational structures,
policies and processes of socio-technical
systems. This includes:
 communication
 work design
 staff resource management
 working time patterns
 co-operative work
 quality management
 organizational culture


Ergonomics is commonly thought of in terms of
products. But it can be equally useful in the
design of services or processes.
It is used in design in many complex ways.
However, what you, or the user, is most
concerned with is, “How can I use the product or
service, will it meet my needs, and will I like
using it?” Ergonomics helps define how it is
used, how it meets you needs, and most
importantly if you like it. It makes things comfy
and efficient.


Comfort is much more than a soft handle. Physical comfort in
how an item feels and is pleasing to the user. If you do not
like to touch it you won't. If you do not touch it you will not
operate it. If you do not operate it, then it is useless. The job
of any designer is to find innovative ways to increase the
utility of a product. Making an item intuitive and comfortable
to use will ensure its success in the marketplace.
The mental aspect of comfort in the human-machine
interface is found in feedback. You have preconceived
notions of certain things. A quality product should feel like it
is made out of quality materials. If it is light weight and
flimsy you will not feel that comfortable using it. Better
ergonomics mean better quality which means you will be
more comfortable with the value of the item.
Efficiency is quite simply making something easier
to do. Efficiency comes in many forms however.
 Reducing the strength required makes a process
more physically efficient.
 Reducing the number of steps in a task makes it
quicker (i.e. efficient) to complete.
 Reducing the number of parts makes repairs more
efficient.
 Reducing the amount of training needed, i.e. making
it more intuitive, gives you a larger number of people
who are qualified to perform the task. Imagine how
in-efficient trash disposal would be if your teenage
child wasn't capable of taking out the garbage. What?
They're not? Have you tried an ergonomic trash bag?


Good lumbar support for lower back

Keep the neck aligned – adjust equipment so that
neck is in neutral posture

Keep elbows at sides and shoulders relaxed

Keep wrists in neutral position - use wrist support if
necessary. Here’s an example of how this principle
applies to tool design. Working continuously with the
pliers can create a lot of stress on the wrist. By using
pliers with an angled grip, however, the wrist stays in
its neutral posture.
 One
concept is to think about the "reach
envelope." This is the semi-circle that your
arms make as you reach out. Things that you
use frequently should ideally be within the
reach envelope of your full arm. Things that
you use extremely frequently should be
within the reach envelope of your forearms.
 Another
common problem is reaching into
boxes. A good way to fix this is to tilt the
box.
A
good rule of thumb is that most work
should be done at about elbow height,
whether sitting or standing. A real common
example is working with a computer
keyboard. But, there are many other types of
tasks where the rule applies.
 There
are exceptions to this rule, however.
Heavier work is often best done lower than
elbow height. Precision work or visually
intense work is often best done at heights
above the elbow.
 One
of the simplest ways to reduce
manual repetitions is to use power tools
whenever possible.
 Another
approach is to change layouts of
equipment to eliminate motions.
 Or
sometimes there are uneven surfaces
or lips that are in the way. By changing
these, you can eliminate motions.




A good example of static load that everyone has
experienced is writer’s cramp. You do not need to hold onto
a pencil very hard, just for long periods. Your muscles tire
after a time and begin to hurt.
In the workplace, having to hold parts and tools continually
is an example of static load.
Having to hold your arms overhead for a few minutes is
another classic example of static load, this time affecting the
shoulder muscles.
Having to stand for a long time creates a static load on your
legs. Simply having a footrest can permit you to reposition
your legs and make it easier to stand.




Another thing to watch out for is excessive pressure points,
sometimes called "contact stress." A good example of this is
squeezing hard onto a tool, like a pair of pliers. Adding a
cushioned grip and contouring the handles to fit your hand makes
this problem better.
Leaning your forearms against the hard edge of a work table
creates a pressure point. Rounding out the edge and padding it
usually helps.
Another pressure point that can happen when you sit is between
your thigh and the bottom of a table.
A slightly more subtle kind of pressure point occurs when you
stand on a hard surface, like concrete. The answer is anti-fatigue
matting or sometimes using special insoles in your shoes.
 Work
areas need to be set up so that you
have sufficient room for your head, your
knees, and your feet.
 Being
able to see is another version of
this principle. Equipment should be built
and tasks should be set up so that
nothing blocks your view.



This principle is more or less a catch-all that can
mean different things depending upon the nature of
the types of operations that you do.
Concerns include glare, working in your own
shadow, and just plain insufficient light. One good
way to solve lighting problems is by using task
lighting; that is, having a small light right at your
work that you can orient and adjust to fit your needs.
Vibration is another common problem that can
benefit from evaluation. As an example, vibrating
tools can be dampened.
The above principles all address physical
issues, those items that people are most
interested in currently. Two additional
"principles" are:
 Make displays and controls
understandable
 Improve work organization
1. There are four girls, and four apples in a
basket. Every girl takes an apple, yet one
apple remains in the basket? How is this
possible?
1. The last girl takes the last apple along
with the basket.
1. There are 20 people in an empty, square
room. Each person has full sight of the
entire room and everyone in it without
turning his head or body, other than the
eyes. Where can you place an apple so
that all but one person can see it?
1. Place the apple on one person’s head.
“Almost any seat was comfortable at
one-sixth of a gravity.”
- Arthur C. Clarke
Suggest how a classroom can be made
more ergonomically sound.
Prof. G. Surender Reddy
Director, EDC
It is the process of taking apart a no longer
functioning product and re-building and refurbishing
it to be usable again. Not to be confused with
recycling, remanufacturing is much more involved
than simply recycling a part. Remanufacturing is the
process of disassembly and recovery at the module
level and, eventually, at the component level. It
requires the repair or replacement of worn out or
obsolete components and modules.
 Simply stated, remanufacturing is the process of
disassembly of products during which time parts are
cleaned, repaired or replaced and then reassembled
to sound working condition.

A product is considered remanufactured if:
 Its primary components come from a used product.
 The used product is dismantled to the extent necessary to
determine the condition of its components.
 The used product's components are thoroughly cleaned and
made free from rust and corrosion.
 All missing, defective, broken or substantially worn parts are
either restored to sound, functionally good condition, or they
are replaced with new, remanufactured, or sound,
functionally good used parts.
 To put the product in sound working condition, such
machining, rewinding, refinishing or other operations are
performed as necessary.
 The product is reassembled and a determination is made
that it will operate like a similar new product.




Other terms may be synonymous with remanufacturing in
certain specific industry segments.
One such term is rebuilt. Rebuilt is synonymous with
remanufacturing when used in connection with motor
vehicle parts and systems but not the entire vehicle.
Recharged is synonymous with remanufacturing when used
in connection with imaging products, such as laser toner
cartridges.
There are numerous other terms in numerous different
industries which are synonymous if they utilize the minimum
requirements outlined above. Examples are
retread/remoulded in the tyre industry, rewound in the
sector of electrical equipment, and overhaul in the
aerospace industry.
There are many terms which may be confused with remanufacturing,
including the following:
 Recycled – A 'recycled' product may very well meet the minimum
remanufacturing requirements; and many legitimate remanufacturers use
this term to describe their product. However, many times a recycled
product may be, as in the automotive sector, removed from a scrap vehicle
and resold with little or no work performed on it. Some recycled products
are superficially cleaned, boxed and sold. Obviously, as described,
recycled would not be considered remanufactured and its reliability is
questionable.
 Repaired – This is an imprecise term. Essentially it means that the product
has had enough work done to it to make it operational again, but this
would probably not be considered remanufactured. A holistic root cause
analysis is generally not performed in the repair process which means the
product may not perform like a new product.
 Restored/Reconditioned – These are generic terms generally applied to
antique or classic goods as opposed to a mass market consumer product.
 Used – Generally, this is a product that has been subjected to previous use
and is not new. Nothing has been done to repair it or correct any
problems it may have. Therefore, its useful life is unknown.





















Aircraft parts
Air-conditioning units
Bakery Equipment
Carpet tiles
Compressors
Computer and telecommunication equipment.
Defense equipment
Electrical motors and apparatus
Excavation equipment
Gaming Machines
Industrial food processing equipment
Machine tools
Musical Instruments
Office furniture
Office photocopiers (laser toner cartridges)
Power bearings
Pumps
Robots
Rolling stock (railway vehicles)
Vehicular Parts
Vending Machines, etc.
Remanufacturing without identity loss: With this
method, a current machine is built on yesterday’s
base, receiving all of the enhancements, expected
life and warranty of a new machine. The physical
structure (the chassis or frame) is inspected for
soundness. The whole product is refurbished and
critical modules are overhauled, upgraded or
replaced. If there are defects in the original design,
they are eliminated.
 This is the case for customized remanufacturing of
machine tools, airplanes, computer mainframes,
large medical equipment and other capital goods.
Because of its uniqueness, this product recovery is
characterized as a project.



Remanufacturing by recoating of worn engine parts:
Many engine parts, components are large and expensive
and after a period of use become worn. An example of such
a part is the engine block, in particular the cylinder engine
bores, which must withstand explosions during piston firing.
Instead of disposing of large engine blocks,
remanufacturing has resulted in re-use of the parts by
coating them with plasma transferred wire arc spraying
(PTWA).
Caterpillar known for manufacturing very large industrial
trucks and machinery has started such remanufacturing
programs of equipment parts using PTWA, resulting in a
greener environment. Remanufacturing by recoating of
parts is also very popular in the aircraft field, the geothermal
pipe field and the automotive engine field.

Repetitive remanufacturing without identity
loss: In this method, there is the additional
challenge of scheduling the sequence of
dependent processes and identifying the
location of inventory buffers. There is a fine line
between repetitive remanufacturing without loss
of identity and product overhaul. Again, the
critical difference is that remanufacturing is a
complete process. The final output has a like-new
appearance and is covered by a warranty
comparable to that of a new product.

Remanufacturing with loss of original product
identity: With this method, used goods are
disassembled into pre-determined components and
repaired to stock, ready to be reassembled into a
remanufactured product. This is the case when
remanufacturing automobile components,
photocopiers, toner cartridges, furniture, ready-touse cameras and personal computers. Once the
product is disassembled and the parts are recovered,
the process concludes with an operation not too
different from original manufacturing. Disassembled
parts are inventoried, just like purchased parts and
made available for final assembly.
When considering pieces for remanufacturing it is important
to keep in mind the following points to determine if it is truly
worth undergoing the process:
 The replacement costs per part. Unfortunately, some pieces
are not economically remanufactured. It may be cheaper to
buy new pieces, or have custom replacements built from
scratch.
 The end product. Are you using the remanufactured piece in
the same application, or do you want to modify it for a new
use? Can this be done efficiently?
 Health and safety considerations. Are there safety concerns
surrounding the performance of a remanufactured piece?
Do your research and make sure you won’t run into
regulatory problems when using remanufactured parts.
The basic remanufacturing process consists of:
 Used parts are assessed for quality and usability
 Thorough cleaning of all reusable components
 Any missing, broken, or defective parts are
repaired or replaced with new components
 Machining processes or other processes are
performed to restore the piece to working order
 Any performance testing required to ensure
quality and safety
 Reassembled product is ready for use


Inherently, remanufacturing has positive environmental ramifications. In fact,
many organizations are now using the concept of remanufacturing, if not the
term, in their environmental literature. However, remanufacturing offers a
better alternative. Remanufacturing differs from recycling because
remanufacturing ‘recycles’ the value originally added to the raw material. A
study on the remanufacturing of automobile components indicated that
approximately 85% of the energy expended in the manufacture of the original
product was preserved in the remanufactured product. This is why
remanufacturing is considered the ultimate form of recycling.
According to studies performed at the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart,
Germany, energy savings by remanufacturing world-wide in a year equals the
electricity generated by 5 nuclear power plants or 10,744,000 barrels of crude
oil which corresponds to a fleet of 233 oil tankers. The Fraunhofer Institute
also determined that raw materials saved by remanufacturing worldwide in a
year would fill 155,000 railroad cars forming a train 1,100 miles long. Because
products that are remanufactured are kept out of the waste stream longer,
landfill space is preserved and air pollution is reduced from products that
would have had to be resmelted or otherwise reprocessed.


Demanufacturing, essentially, describes a disassembly process.
The remanufacturing process, as described previously, includes
disassembly as the first step. Many additional steps are required in
remanufacturing, including cleaning and examining components,
replacing or remanufacturing those components, and, finally,
reassembling the product to operate like a new one. To
remanufacturers, disassembly is only the first of many steps.
Demanufacturing, or disassembly, are often used for products
which will be recycled. For instance, automobiles need to be
disassembled so materials, such as steel, aluminum, assorted
plastics, etc., are not mixed.
Demanufacturing does provide environmental benefits. However,
if a product is only demanufactured and then recycled, society
loses the value-added to a product that remanufacturing
preserves.
There are numerous legal, regulatory, and
other issues which affect remanufacturers on
a daily basis. Below is just a sample of issues
affecting remanufacturers:
 Core valuation
 Intellectual property and anti-trust matters
 Government recycled-content procurement
procedures
 Design for Remanufacturing
 Government Economic Incentives


Design for Remanufacture can optimise
remanufacture, making profit margins greater. A
survey of American automotive remanufacturers
showed the main issues with regard to Design for
Remanufacture can be grouped as concerning:
• Complexity
• Fastening methods
• Means of assembly and disassembly
• Increased part fragility
Design for Disassembly relates strongly to all the
above, by allowing ease of disassembly which results
in faster disassembly times and greater recovery of
intact parts.
1. Why does the Honourable Mayor of New
York City pick up a dollar bill lying on
the sidewalk?
1. Because His Worshipful dropped it.
1. A horse is tied to a 5 meter rope; 6
meters away from it was a bale of hay.
Without breaking the rope, the horse
was able to get to the bale of hay. How is
this possible?
1. The other end of the rope is tied to
nothing!
“Any product that can be manufactured
can also be remanufactured. However,
some products are remanufactured more
often than others.”
- Ron Giuntini
Why is remanufacturing considered the
ultimate form of recycling?
Prof. G. Surender Reddy
Director, EDC
 The
Brundtland Commission
Report defined sustainable development
as development that "meets the needs of
the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their
own needs."
 For a company to grow and secure its
growth in the future, it needs to embed
sustainability into all its products,
services and processes.


Companies have long been looking for a way of quantifying
sustainability and as a result Carbon Footprinting or LifeCycle Analysis (LCA) have become commonplace
approaches adopted to identify the impact of a company
and its activities in terms of the environment. These are both
appropriate as indicators of sustainability and involve
calculating the embodied carbon within a product or activity
and using this as a metric throughout the entire life-cycle of
a product, service or process.
The basis of carbon footprinting and LCA stems from the
idea of “Life-Cycle Thinking” which is, very simply, just
looking at the life-cycle of a product, service or process
from raw material extraction, through manufacture and
distribution to ultimate disposal (see Figure on next slide).



For everything that is manufactured, it makes sense to look at
sustainability from the very beginning of the process, and thus the
concept of eco-design has evolved over time. Eco-design has
been around for years, even Dieter Rams, chief designer at Braun
in the 60’s and 70’s included environmental considerations in his
10 principles for good design .
Eco-design can be described as a simple application of life-cycle
thinking from a design perspective, and the benefits of doing so
can include cost savings, legislative and regulatory compliance
and customer satisfaction (or PR).
If a company wants to design a product with sustainability
principles in mind, all it needs to do is to consider its eco-design
and its life-cycle impacts and then minimise the biggest
environmental impacts identified from this analysis. This is the first
step to sustainable design.

During product or packaging design, the
environmental impact should be considered at
every stage in the life-cycle, from the raw
material extraction through to the end of the
product’s life. Designers already do this when
considering form or function; for example, a
common design question is “how strong does
packaging need to be to transport the product
safely from the manufacturer to the consumer?”.
It is therefore only a small step for businesses to
start to consider the life-cycle from a wider
sustainability point of view.




There are a number of tools and techniques that can be used to
design products more sustainably, and the right technique will
depend on each company’s aims and objectives.
For example, if a company is looking to reduce its carbon
footprint, then it would make sense to look at “Design for
embedded carbon” and review the material selection, or look at
“Design for transport efficiency”, as the distribution of the product
may well cause the biggest production of carbon.
However, if a company has set targets for moving to 100%
recyclable packaging, then it would need to look at “Design for
recyclability” and move towards using mono materials that can
easily be separated at point of disposal and recycled in most local
authorities’ collection streams. Companies need to be careful,
however, when transporting packaging or products abroad that
the materials can be readily recycled at their destination.
A few of the techniques commonly used for minimizing
environmental impact are outlined below.
Design for embedded carbon
 Look at the material used in the product or its packaging; for example, using Aluminum
that is made from 60% recycled content can reduce the product’s embedded carbon by
up to 90%
Design for recyclability
 Consider the recyclability of the materials from which the product or packaging is made
 Minimize the different types of materials used and, if possible, move to a single material
product
 Look at how the materials are fixed together; for example, moving from screws to snap
clips reduces the amount of time it takes to dismantle the product and they could also be
made from the same material
Design for recycled content
 Most modern materials can include high levels of recycled content, for example
cardboard boxes, metals and most plastics. An obvious and commonly-used example is
the Innocent Drinks bottle, one of the first to be made from 100% recycled PET
 By asking suppliers for more recycled content in the materials purchased, costs can
often be cut and money can be saved
Design for bio-degradability or compostability
 Does the consumer have the ability to compost? If so, moving to
biodegradable packaging (which is suitable for home composting) can
minimize the impact of the packaging at the end of its life
 However, care must be taken and the company needs to ensure that the
packaging really will be composted. The EU Landfill Directive sets
demanding targets to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal
waste going to landfill, one of the reasons being this type of material can
increase methane and CO2 production by up to 20 times!
Design for transport efficiency
 Can the packaging be designed so that more products fit onto one pallet?
 Can the packaging be designed to interlock or stack in a different way to
allow more products to stack together?
 Can shelf-ready packaging be introduced, thus eliminating the need for
secondary and transit packaging and therefore fitting more products
together in one pack?
Design for concentration
 If a product contains water, for example cleaning products, paints, coatings or drinks,
can it be concentrated so the consumer can mix it with water at it’s destination? This
means smaller (and cheaper) packaging, lower transport and storage costs and
sometimes a longer lifespan of the product
Design for longevity
 Historically, some companies have been accused of planned obsolescence, which is
deliberately planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so that it will
become obsolete or nonfunctional after a certain period to ensure consumers repurchase products
 Most designers are, however, now moving away from inbuilt obsolescence and looking at
whether the product can be designed to last longer, for example a kitchen knife with 2
blades, so that, once the user cannot re-sharpen the first blade satisfactorily, the blade
can be swapped and the blunt one sent back to the manufacturer to be professionally
sharpened. Another example is that of a washing re-programmable machine, so that
when a new washing powder is released that allows consumers to wash at a lower
temperature, a new programme can be uploaded that sets the temperature to the new
level
Design for energy efficiency
 Products that use energy are starting to be covered by new regulations
(under the European Energy Using Products Directive ) which set out ecodesign requirements, mostly to do with energy efficiency in use.
Therefore, manufacturers are starting to have to document and reduce the
energy used in standby, on and powered-down modes
All of the above can (and should) be considered during the design stage of
any product or packaging. A good way to do this is to undertake a workshop,
inviting representatives from all the different sections of the business, from
marketers, production managers and environmental managers to the senior
management to attend and contribute.
Brainstorming with these different staff together, looking at product lines as
specific examples and building short, medium and long term plans for
improvements, quite often identifies projects where low cost / no cost
changes can save vast amounts of money. It is worth remembering that,
although external consultants can often add value by providing additional
advice and expertise and by helping to facilitate the workshop discussion,
no-one knows a company better than its own staff!
 The
green consumer market grew by
15% in 2008, whereas the overall figure
for the consumer market growth was
nearer 1.4%, with estimates on
sustainable food up by 14%, sustainable
textiles up 71%, green stationery up 49%
and even eco-friendly funerals up by
18% , now is the ideal time for
companies to grow by producing and
marketing more sustainable products.

Terms like eco-design, design for sustainability, carbon
footprinting and life-cycle thinking all sound very technical
and complex when first looking at the sustainability of a
product, service or process. However, all these terms have
roughly the same meaning and use similar approaches to
identifying potential improvements in the design of
“greener” products, packaging and services. In simple
terms, they all suggest that the entire life-cycle of the
product should be considered when looking at improving
any product and this will usually include the added benefit
of identifying where costs are highest and where easy
financial savings can be made. After all sustainable design
must also be about financial performance as well as social
and environmental benefits.

Are first impressions always correct? Take the three
examples below; which one could be considered to be the
most (and which the least) sustainable product in the UK?
1) Water Hyacinth Coffin
2) Wood Veneer Coffin
3) Willow Coffin
Most people might initially think that either the Water Hyacinth or the Willow coffin is the
best and the Wood Veneer the worst, but let us examine the life-cycle of each product.
Water Hyacinth. This coffin is made in India and, due to having a short lifespan, must be
flown to the UK.
Wood Veneer. The wood for this coffin comes from Germany and is transported by lorry and
ship. Due to the manufacturing process, however, each piece of wood can provide hundreds
of veneer panels and therefore numerous different coffins.
Willow. The willow for this coffin is 100% natural and easily biodegradable in the ground. It
is harvested and woven on the Somerset Levels and delivered by courier.
Therefore, the results seem to indicate that the Willow coffin would be the best, which may
not be a surprise. However, the next best would be the Veneer coffin, as each slice of veneer
is only 3 mm thick, enabling many products to be manufactured from one tree. It may come
as a surprise to many that the Water Hyacinth coffin probably has a far higher environmental
impact due to it being manufactured in Indian, only having a short lifespan and therefore
having to be flown to the UK in order to reach the client in a suitable condition. The impact
of this form of transportation would no doubt make this the least sustainable of the three
options. However without the analysis of impacts throughout the lifecycle, the consumer’s
first impression and therefore their “green” choice may not have been the right one.








Use non-toxic, sustainably produced, or recycled materials which have a
lower environmental impact than traditional materials.
Use manufacturing processes and produce products which are more
energy efficient than traditional processes and end products.
Build longer-lasting and better-functioning products which will have to be
replaced less frequently, which reduces the impact of producing
replacements.
Design products for reuse and recycling. Make them easy to disassemble
so that the parts can be reused to make new products.
Consult sustainable design standards and guides.
Consider product life cycle. Use life cycle analysis tools to help you
design more sustainable products.
Shift the consumption mode from personal ownership of products to
provision of services which provide similar functions. Some examples of
companies that have made this shift are Interface Carpets (carpet tiles),
Xerox (copier leasing rather than purchase), and Zipcar (car sharing).
Materials should come from nearby, sustainably managed renewable
sources that can be composted when their usefulness is exhausted.
1. The more there is the less you see. What
is it?
1. Darkness
1.Note: this brain teaser must be done in your
head and not using pencil and paper.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it.
Now add another 1000.
Now add 30.
Now add another 1000.
Now add 20.
Now add another 1000.
Now add 10.
What is the total?
1. Most people will answer 5000, but the
correct answer is 4100.
“Every design ought to be Sustainable
design, meaning something people
refuse to trash.”
- Satyendra Pakhale
1. What are the packaging eco-design
techniques?
And/or
2. What are the product eco-design
techniques?
Prof. G. Surender Reddy
Director, EDC
 Reliability
refers to the ability of a product
to perform its specified function under
service conditions. In other words,
reliability can be depicted as the
probability that an item will perform
appropriately for a specified time period
under a given service condition. For
example, a reliability of 0.997 for a typical
part implies that there is a probability of
failure (an inverse of reliability) of 3 parts in
every 1000 parts.
There are a number of reasons why reliability is an essential attribute of a product.
 Reputation
A company’s reputation is very closely attached to the reliability of its products it
produces. The more reliable a product is, the more likely the company is to have a good
reputation.
 Customer satisfaction
A reliable product may not drastically affect customer satisfaction in a positive manner.
However, an unreliable product will definitely attract customer dissatisfaction Thus high
reliability is a quite essential requirement for customer satisfaction.
 Warranty Costs
If a product fails to perform its desired function within the warranty period, the
replacement and repair costs will not only reduce the profits, but also gain unwanted
negative attention.
 Repeat business
A focused effort towards improved reliability shows existing customers that a
manufacturer is serious about its product, and committed to customer satisfaction. This
type of attitude not only has a positive impact on future business but also gives a
competitive edge.
 Cost Analysis
Companies may take reliability data and combine it with other cost information to
illustrate the cost-effectiveness of their products. This life-cycle cost analysis can prove
that although the initial cost of a product might be higher than those of its competitor’s
product, the overall lifetime cost is lower than that of a competitor's because their
product requires fewer repairs or less maintenance.
 Even
though a product has a reliable design
with all checks from the point of view of
design for quality, its reliability in service
can be unsatisfactory that can be attributed
to inappropriate manufacturing process and
/ or the quality of the material used. So, even
though the product has a reliable design, it
is effectively unreliable when fielded, which
is actually the result of a substandard
manufacturing process and/or due to poor
quality of material used for the
manufacturing of the product.
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
 Helps in identifying the failures, their causes
and the corrective actions
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)
 Helps in finding failure modes
 Graphically shows all the potential faults
and their relationships
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
 Average time elapsed between failures
Weibull Analysis



Robustness is a necessary element in creating product and
process designs to counter natural variations in operational
environments, ambient conditions, and human tendencies that
make products and processes susceptible to failures. Without
robustness, human interventions have to be highly accurate to
produce acceptable performance. Such accuracies are impractical
to have or to maintain in operational environments.
Robustness analysis aims at providing an accurate estimation of
the sensitivity of outputs to the variability on the inputs, described
in terms of random variables characterized with probabilistic
distributions. In general, standard deviation is used as a measure
for the robustness of the outputs: the smaller the output standard
deviation, the more robust the output.
Robustness can be defined as an attribute of design that integrates
the interactions among variables requiring no human intervention
for acceptable performance with respect to a single or multiple
correlated characteristics.
1. Correlated output characteristics must be detached so that
each output characteristic can be individually manipulated.
2. Designs and processes must be insensitive to user habits.
3. Materials must be developed that are insensitive to ambient
conditions.
4. Designs or processes must be made tolerance insensitive
whenever process capabilities are not adequate.
5. Ambient conditions must be compensated automatically.
6. Machines should have mechanisms to deal with incoming
material variation without human intervention.
 Experimenting
 Discrete-event
 Monte
 Robust
with prototypes
simulation
Carlo simulation
Design method (Taguchi method)



In a simpler time, safety features and accessories intended to protect
equipment operators were considered the responsibility of the user and
owner, not the design engineer. But today, more stringent safety standards
and rapid technological advances mean engineers can more easily ferret
out a product’s potential for failure and then design to prevent it.
The growing importance of software to mechanical systems is placing
other burdens on design engineers. Far too many programs exhibit
unexpected bugs, lockups, memory errors, out-of-bounds errors, even
excessive test errors or failures. Hence, effective software reviews should
begin early enough in the development and design process so that errors
can be fixed, including those difficult-to-find-and-solve design safety
problems that often emerge much later. Extended field-testing, not just
bench testing, is needed to head off design safety problems before the
customer has to experience them.
It’s no longer enough to satisfy national regulations and standards. In
order to tap into international markets, businesses must broaden the
design process to take into account the global regulatory landscape as
well as the forces driving overseas consumer-products markets. For their
part, engineers must stay abreast of safety requirements abroad to
determine the design and manufacturing impact on their work.
If you supply or manufacture products you need to make sure
only safe products are marketed, by:
 providing clear instructions for use, including warnings
against possible misuse
 being aware of and meeting industry and mandatory
standards
 developing product recall plans and procedures including
effective communication strategies to the public (eg
advertising)
 incorporating safety into product design
 developing appropriate safety standards through product
improvement
 implementing a quality assurance program which includes
consumer feedback
 responding quickly to safety concerns that arise.
 Safety
standards – goods must comply with
particular performance, composition,
contents, methods of manufacture or
processing, design, construction, finish or
packaging rules.
 Information standards – prescribed
information must be given to consumers
when they purchase specified goods (e.g.
labelling for cosmetics, tobacco products
and care labelling for clothing and textile
products).
Designers and manufacturers make
products based on how they think people
will use them. To create a product that is
safe and easy to use, you need to find out
information about the users and their
behaviour with the product. This
information might be about:
- The product user
- The product environment
- The product itself
The product user
 Anthropometric data can make sure that the product is the right size for the intended
user or range of users.
 If the product is intended for elderly people or children, it will need to be designed to
deal with a limited range of reach or movement. Elderly people often have stiff joints that
make it difficult for them to get up from seats which are too low, or to hold awkward
objects properly.
 Gaps and clearances should suit the user. For example, bars on cots and playpens
should be close enough to each other so that a child cannot get their head caught
between them.
 Designing a product using male body dimensions might mean that is it not suitable for
use by females (and vice versa). Ideally a product should be suitable for use by small
(5th percentile) women as well as by large (95th percentile) men (the smallest to the
largest user).
 The product should not involve users in excessive physical effort, which might, for
example, raise their heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature.
 Children are not good at understanding safety issues. They tend to be involved in many
more than their share of accidents in the home, ranging from swallowing household
chemicals and medicines (often pleasantly scented and coloured, and not always in
child-resistant containers) to scalding caused pulling on the lead of a boiling kettle.
Suitable precautions for safer design are needed even if the product is not directly
intended to be used by children.
The product environment
 The product should be evaluated under the same conditions as it
will be used in. Some products, such as gardening tools are
obviously intended for use out of doors and so must allow for
users wearing gloves when it is cold, or for being used in the wet.
 Other products, such as bleach, may be used in a steamy
atmosphere like a bathroom, and users may have trouble reading
instructions and warnings if they are too small, as they may not be
able to wear their glasses.
The product itself
 The product should be comfortable and easy to use. This can be
checked during trials by asking users what they think about
products through a structured experiment or questionnaire.
Checklists can be used to ensure that all aspects of design and use
are assessed.



Quality is the most effective factor a company can use in the
battle for customers.
To be competitive, we must satisfy the customer. In order to
be more competitive, we must delight the customer. Quality
is defined here as the measure of customer delightment.
Note that customer satisfaction is a region on the scale of
customer delightment. To delight the customer, we must
design for quality.
Kaizen provides the philosophy and driving force for
designing for quality. Total quality control provides the
implementation. The concepts are elegant. If quality is made
the global driving force, then the customers will obtain the
best value possible and use your product. This maximizes
profit by focusing on increased revenue.




Understand past quality problems. Thoroughly understand the root
causes of quality problems on current and past products to prevent new
product development from repeating past mistakes. This includes part
selection, design aspects, processing, supplier selection, and so forth. It
may be useful to have Manufacturing, Quality, and Field Service people
make presentations to newly formed product development teams
showing, hopefully with some real life examples, some of the past
problems that can avoided in new designs.
Raise and resolve issues early by: learning from past quality problems;
early research, experiments, and models; generate plan-B contingency
plans; and proactively devising and implementing plans to resolve all
issues early.
Use Multi-functional teamwork. Break down the walls between
departments with multi-functional design teams (Deming's 9th point) to
ensure that all quality issues are raised and resolved early and that quality
is indeed treated as a primary design goal.
Utilize Quality function deployment (QFD) to define products to
capture the voice of the customer the first time without the cost and risk of
changing the design. QFD is one of the techniques in the collection of
tools known as A Design for Six Sigma.









Do thorough up-front work (a key element of Concurrent Engineering) so product
development teams can optimize quality starting with the concept/architecture phase
and avoid later quality and ramp problems.
Minimize the exponential cumulative effect of part quality and quantity by
specifying high-quality parts and simplifying the design with fewer parts.
Select the highest quality processing. Automated processing produces better and
more consistent quality than manual labor.
Optimize tolerances for a robust design using Taguchi MethodsTM to ensure the high
quality by design.
Utilize Poka-Yoke principles applied to product design to prevent mistakes by design
in addition to traditional manufacturing techniques to prevent incorrect assembly or
fabrication.
Proactively minimizing all types of risk, not just functionality. For critical applications,
use Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA), which is one of the techniques in the
collection of tools known as A Design for Six Sigma.
Reusing proven designs, parts, modules, software objects, and processes to minimize
risk and assure quality, especially on critical aspects of the design.
Document thoroughly and completely. In the rush to develop products, many
designers fail to document every aspect of the design thoroughly. Drawings,
manufacturing instructions, and bills-of-material sent to the manufacturing or vendors
need to convey the design unambiguously for manufacture, tooling, and inspection.
Designing for quality is what gets quality from 5 sigma to 6 sigma.
 Serviceability
refers to the inherent
characteristics of design and installation
that enable the effective and efficient
maintenance and support of the system
throughout the life cycle.








Maintenance personnel: Installation, checkout, and sustaining
support and maintenance.
Training and training support : For system operator and
maintenance personnel for Life cycle.
Supply Support: Spares, repairable, non-repairable, consumables,
special supplies etc.
Support Equipment: Tools, condition monitoring, diagnostic,
checkout, special test, calibration equipments etc.
Computer Resources: Software necessary to support scheduled
and unscheduled maintenance.
Packaging, handling, storage, and transportation: Special
provisions, containers and supplies necessary.
Maintenance Facilities : Includes facilities to support all the
scheduled and unscheduled maintenance actions at all the levels.
Technical data, information systems, database structure:
Includes system installations, checkout procedure, operating and
maintenance instructions, modification instructions etc.
System Requirements Analysis
Operational requirements
Maintenance and support requirements
Technical performance measures
Functional analysis and allocation (system level)
Development of design criteria
Identification of specific design considerations and designdependent parameters
Development of design review and evaluation checklist
Prepare review questions
prioritize questions in terms of degree of importance
develop design checklists
Implement the use of
checklist for evaluation
1.
A sibling of fire
Rises up to the sky
Mars the beauty of cities
Acts as an effective tool
To send away unwanted guests
Who’s that?
1. Smoke
1. You and a friend decide to have an egg
spinning contest. What can you do to
make sure that your egg spins the
longest?
1. Boil your egg first
“Designing is a matter of concentration. You go
deep into what you want to do. It's about intensive
research, really. The concentration is warm and
intimate and like the fire inside the earth intense but not distorted. You can go to a place,
really feel it in your heart. It's actually a beautiful
feeling.”
- Peter Zumthor
What is reliability and how do you design
for reliability?
Prof. G. Surender Reddy
Director, EDC



In the conceptual phase of designing, important decisions are made for
the investment and the extent of downstream efforts and activities. These
decisions are important for the overall costs of a product and finally for
the success of the product. Although, virtual concept modeling is
available, the application of physical models can be justified by the fact
that these models supply a base for communication, support and
improvement of the creativity of a designer.
In design, models are produced to answer specific designers' questions.
When the conceptual model provides the answer to that question and the
analysis is completed the model is wasted and the remaining value is
maybe a capture of a part of the design process or the procedure. In order
to minimize the effort of fabrication, in general a model must be created
to meet as close as possible the necessary requirements. The conceptual
model must be tailored for that purpose.
In the conceptual design stage, far-reaching decisions are made about the
final product and product realization. It should be advisable to have
supporting tools like easy to produce physical models for reasoning and
verification of the design actions. But at the same time, the acceptance of
these facilities by the designer is important for a sound implementation of
rapid prototyping technology in a conceptual stage of design.
Visualization
 Models are used for presentations and shape (details). They can support reasoning
about shape geometry, curvature and accuracy, texture, color, finishing, and graphics.
Shapes become tangible, local curvature and product appearance can be judged
Functionality-testing
 Depending on the tested functions, the model representation is not too precise at those
regions where no testing is performed. However, the degrees of freedom for optimal
testing must be guaranteed and testing regions, e.g., ergonomic verification, must be
represented accurately.
Physical-testing
 A materialized model must be fabricated consisting of the same material of the final
product. Accuracy and exclusion of strength variations related to the fabrication
technology are important issues.
Marketing
 A marketing model or presentation model will express the added design value of the
product to outsiders of the design process. The finishing quality and being a look-alike
of the final product are crucial for this type of models.
Proof-of-concept
 A very detailed model made in the final stage of design to qualify the product design
against the requirements.
Editing
 Editable models are assembled or composed models and, when needed, decomposed
again and rebuild with different (shape) components to create an adapted version of the
same model.
Communication
 A communication model is applicable for communication with the inside of the design
process or for explanation to the related authorities to provide them with a better
understanding what is going on in the design process. Models for the usage of
designer's own design verification will have various styles. In fact the model reflects to
be a kind of ‘information database’ for concurrent and simultaneous engineering.
Process
 A process model is a kind of proto-model or proto-shape like a CAD design or a physical
model, which is treated in a reverse engineering way. In those models the progress of a
design is captured and the shape of a model can be change manually.


Definition: A prototype is a physical representation used to
illustrate and verify aspects of a conceptual design as part of
the development process for a new product or technology.
Essentially, it brings an idea into being. A prototype can be
anything from a simple, hand-made model used to help
explain a new notion to colleagues or investors, to a highly
detailed, fully operational representation of how an intricate
design concept will look, feel and work in the real world.
Prototyping is the design verification phase of Product
Development -- used to demonstrate or prove aspects of a
design. Prototyping is simply taking the design from the
virtual, imaginary realm into the physical world.


Depending on the product, a prototype may or may not be
necessary -- or perhaps more importantly, it may be that
only portions of the design need prototyping. This is not to
say that prototypes should not be built, just to emphasize
that prototyping is costly in both time and money so the
need should be evaluated.
In many industries the products are quite complex and
require several iterations of design, prototyping and
testing. The auto industry, for instance, uses several
variations of prototypes to evaluate the design and to find
areas of improvement. In the case of automobiles, the
complexity of the design and the amount learned in testing
from each version easily justify the time and cost.
There are many levels of Prototypes:
 Some are simple duct-tape and bailing wire
types to visualize how something might work;
 Some are highly polished, fragile representations
for show and tell;
 Still others are functional representations that
work, but may not look perfect;
 And some are complete representations of the
final product.
The type of prototype chosen should fit the
specific needs of the project or tests -- especially
since there is often a significant cost involved.


Typical prototyping methods include mock-ups (clay, wood or
other), fabrication, and rapid prototyping. Mock-ups are typically
done very early in the design for visualization, feel, and to allow
adjustments or fiddling with shape and size. Fabricated
prototypes are typically functional versions that may or may not
look like the final product but give the opportunity to test function
or prove something works.
The term "Rapid Prototyping" encompasses a large group of
technologies that create 3D physical parts directly from the
computer. This is becoming very popular because of the speed
and accuracy available. These can be done in almost any shape
and can be finished to look exactly like a production part -though usually much more fragile. A whole host of service
bureaus have sprung up to meet this need, so for more
information, a quick web search will usually yield an overload of
information.
Before diving into the prototyping phase,
there are few questions to ask:
 Is a prototype desirable or necessary?
 Is there a need for design verification?
 Is testing needed for design
improvement?
 Has the design been done to the best
knowledge before prototyping?
 What kind of prototyping will fill the
needs best?
A parallel process to be done with prototyping is
Production Quotation. This is where
manufacturer input is requested -- both for cost
to produce as well as for ways the product can
be made cheaper, easier, lighter, faster, stronger
and better. This is especially valuable if the
design is to be iterated, and can influence your
needs in prototyping.
 In practice, most products require at least one
prototyping phase. Typically, the flow is from the
design phase to prototype and testing then back
to design for (hopefully) minor changes before
going to production.





It enables you to test and refine the functionality of your design. Sure, your idea
works perfectly in theory. It's not until you start physically creating it that you'll encounter
flaws in your thinking. That's why another great reason to develop a prototype is to test
the functionality of your idea. You'll never know the design issues and challenges until
you begin actually taking your idea from theory to reality.
It makes it possible to test the performance of various materials. For example, your
heart may be set on using metal--until you test it and realize that, say, plastic performs
better at a lower cost for your particular application. The prototype stage will help you
determine the best materials.
It'll help you describe your product more effectively with your team, including your
attorney, packaging or marketing expert, engineers and potential business partners.
It will encourage others to take you more seriously. When you arrive with a prototype
in hand to meet any professional--from your own attorney to a potential licensing
company--you separate yourself from the dozens of others who've approached them with
only vague ideas in mind. Instead, you'll be viewed as a professional with a purpose, as
opposed to just an inventor with a potentially good idea.
1. What is bigger than you but does not
weigh anything?
1. Your shadow
1. What goes black and white, black and
white, black and white . . .?
1. A penguin rolling down a hill
“If you are truly innovating, you don't have
a prototype you can refer to.”
- Jonathan Ive
1. Classify physical models.
And/or
2. Describe the prototyping methods.