Eco-footprint Requirements

An eco-footprint requirement is a list of regulated substances with defined threshold w/w values, prohibited to exceed for the parts included in the analysis. It is possible to perform an analysis based on all parts or a selection of parts. The analysis can be performed for both released part revisions and revisions which are phased out (obsolete). This is an option since the conditions could be changed or updated over time. There might be new government regulations for some substances which makes it necessary to also analyze the old revisions of a part already released to the market.

It is possible to work with revisions of a requirement. Many parts could have a very long lifecycle which results in a direct need of creating revisions of the requirement for different revisions of the part. The characteristic for the part could also be changed several times during its lifecycle and/or government regulations might be changed or updated as well. To handle this kind of change over time and to be able to follow up, it is recommended to create and work with revisions of a specific requirement.

The analysis is performed based on regulated substances and their defined threshold values composed of the selection of parts. If a top part, with a tree structure, is included in the analysis, then the entire tree structure will be analyzed. Parts with a calculated w/w exceeding the defined threshold w/w for a regulated substance are defined as non-conforming.

After performing the analysis the result can be evaluated. It is possible to distinguish which parts in the tree structure exceeds any of the defined threshold w/w for the regulated substances. The distribution of the different material declaration qualities for the top part and its sub-assemblies can also be evaluated to form an opinion of whether the result can be considered as accurate or not.

Requirements for Eco-footprint Header

A requirements for eco-footprint header is where the requirement id, revision, and status are identified.

The state of the requirement indicates how the analysis information can be used. The ability to change the requirement depends upon the state of the requirement id, defined in the header. Possible states are:

State Description
Planned A requirement is created in Planned state, this is the default value. This state indicates that the requirement is not yet usable, and the requirement data should hence not be used as a foundation for decisions taking. The requirement may be changed/updated in this state.
Active A requirement promoted to Active state can be used to perform reliable analysis, and it can be used for decisions taking and for as input when creating environmental reports. The requirement may be changed/updated in this state.
Obsolete The requirement has been obsolete and will not be available for use when generating reliable analysis information. You can change to this state at any time; however, once done, only the state may be changed.

Regulated Substances

Regulated substances are substances which it is necessary to keep track of due to existing or future regulations, internal and/or government. This is done by listing the substance together with its threshold W/W value. The threshold W/W value is defined as the acceptable level of a substance in a part, as stated by the requirement, measured as a percentage of the product's weight. It is possible to enter substances with threshold W/W values zero. This is possible since the material declaration quality could be blank and hence is the weight of the substance probably unknown or very unreliable, but it is still of interest to know if the substance exists in the part to any extent.

The list of regulated substances can also be generated based on criteria when the knowledge about the substances is limited. This gives a certain level of flexibility since it is possible to start the analysis based on just some specific criteria instead of substance. If the analysis is started based on criteria then will then substances recorded receive a threshold W/W value of zero. All substance matching the selected criteria will be listed and it is possible to review and/or updated the related information before executing the analysis.

Analyze Parts

After performed analysis can the result be appraised. Parts with a calculated W/W value that exceeds the defined threshold W/W (%) is classified as non-conforming parts. Parts with a tree structure are also classified as non-conforming top parts. The reliability of the analysis result can also be evaluated in relation to the material declaration quality for the parts constituting the analyzed non-conforming top part. Depending on the analysis result, the material declaration quality and the nature of the requirement could different type of proactive activities be compulsory.

Journal

All events executed in the past for a requirement revision is possible to follow up. A Journal exists which can log all actions taken. By studying the journal is it easy to determine, what’s been done, when it is done, who has done it and what’s the different. The Journal can if required both be turned on an off and possible to clear a journal in order to free disk space.