The role of DFE in the pollution prevention strategy of an aerospace producer

An organization framework is described to accomplish "pollution prevention" utilizing principals of concurrent engineering and life cycle analysis. This total pollution prevention approach features an alignment of purpose of three teams: an Environmental Design Team, an Environmental Technology Team, and a Waste Minimization Steering Committee. Company wide policy standards, established by this consolidated team, drive pollution prevention. The need is discussed for technology development to eliminate pollution prevention barriers and an algorithm is presented for weighting diverse criteria when establishing technology program priorities. Some Pollution Prevention Alliances within the aerospace industry and between the aerospace industry and the electronics industry are discussed, including a current DFE tools development program. The presentation will particularly focus on approaches taken by "Environmental Design Team" to ensure environmental considerations at the earliest stages of product definition. These approaches include: Environmental Design Guidelines, Blanket Substitution Specifications, Part Family specific Environmental Norms, and a "Walk-The-Process" methodology for identifying pollution prevention opportunities and setting part family specific goals. A CAD system is described which puts, at the fingertips of designers, information required to apply "environmental consideration" at the point of design.<>