In Episode 83 of Razorleaf’s Stay Sharp podcast, Sustainability in PLM: A Pathway Forward, co-hosts Jonathan Scott and Juliann Grant are joined by Jos Voskuil, aka the Virtual Dutchman, arguably one of the foremost experts in sustainability and digital engineering. A co-founder of the PLM Green Global Alliance, Jos has spent two decades in the PDM and PLM arena, as a coach and business consultant, most recently focusing on how to explain digital transformation and PLM. Together, they dig into how sustainability relates to product development and digital engineering (DE).
Sustainability in DE and PLM
“I think we’re talking about a lot of subtopics all connected by the need to make better use of the resources that go into our products,” Jonathan says. Jos agrees, noting that sustainability has always meant how to sustain our businesses, to keep them effective and producing goods. But now, he says, “We have to consider the way we build products, the way we design products, in order to be sustainable in our business.”
The drivers of sustainability initiatives in industry are first and foremost regulations for reporting on how products impact the environment. What started as simple reporting on hazardous materials has expanded to encompass the full scope of manufacturing operations, which requires tools to help track and compile the large volume of information. Jonathan also notes that there’s also a part of the sustainability movement that’s market driven. “It’s not that you have to have your product be a certain way,” he says, “but you have to report on it so consumers can decide. So the market can choose.”
One approach that manufacturers are exploring as an answer to sustainability is the idea of product-as-a-service, which in part stems from growing “right to repair” initiatives. “The manufacturer [owns] the equipment, and the farmers would pay for usage,” Jos explains. “For the manufacturer, it’s much more beneficial to have a repairable product … make it repairable, make it modular so they can upgrade and increase the value. The whole concept of circular economy fits very nicely in the product service system.”
How DE/PLM Enable Sustainability
Jonathan points out that part of why it takes DE or PLM to enable a sustainable approach is because it’s not just about managing data, but also about generating it. Jos is clear: “If you want to really analyze what your products do in your design phase, you need to move to virtual product development. You need to have a good understanding of your virtual products … model-based system engineering should be the foundation of all future product development.” What’s more, you need more than just 3D CAD, you also need virtual simulation.
Jos gives an example of a printer manufacturer using virtual models tuned with real-world field data, so that when there’s a problem with a printer in the field, the manufacturer can compare that data to their baseline model and more quickly diagnose where the differences or problems are occurring. He makes an important point about that example: the manufacturer is doing PLM without a specific PLM platform, simply with processes, digital threads, and data-driven information, proving that PLM and digital threads don’t have to exist solely in a single platform. Jos says, “We want to go to a federated environment of connected systems and models to enable a digital thread to enable digital continuity.”
The trio agrees that every organization needs to pay attention to sustainability issues, even software or services companies, because it’s going to become a bigger issue. Juliann notes, “[They] can get started by taking a more serious approach around digitalization and how they design and develop their products. If you’re not taking active steps towards a digital process and how you develop products, you’re going to be in trouble because it’s going to be harder to baseline the products that you’re developing.”
Jos agrees companies should start taking the initial steps now to make sustainable efforts easier later. “You have to start measuring instead of just guessing,” he says. “Start now before you have to, because once you have to, it could be a lot more expensive to get it done quickly. But if you start with estimates, track what you know, improve what you can, you’re going to be on the journey so that as the steps come to you, you’re ready for them instead of having to react.”
Learn More About Sustainability and PLM
The full podcast contains more discussion and details on a variety of topics, including why Jos thinks different global regions have different approaches or uses for sustainability data, how different PLM software vendors are taking different approaches to sustainability, why PLM is the perfect platform for sustainability initiatives, and more.
Be sure to check out Stay Sharp Episode 83: Sustainability in PLM: A Pathway Forward and join us each week for a new podcast.
.
