An Engineer grapples with sustainable manufacturing

Europe grapples with cloning headaches

The growing spectre of human reproductive cloning is putting unprecedented strain on some of the legislative bodies in Europe trying to keep a grip on it and the future of embryonic stem cell research. In Britain, which has gone further than many countries with detailed legislation to permit research on embryonic stem cells, a group of opponents late last year challenged the legislation, saying...

Challenges in Sustainable Manufacturing

Since the release of Brundtland Report in 1987, sustainability practices have received a fair share of attention from researchers and practitioners alike. Sustainable manufacturing practices seek to optimize production efficiency while minimizing environmental impact and maintaining social equity. Research has shown that companies that adopt sustainable practices are able to achieve increased p...

India grapples with its child marriage challenge.

On a July afternoon in Upparapalli village in the state of Andhra Pradesh, southern India, something remarkable was happening. Inside a classroom, a group of teenage school girls trilled a lilting melody in honour of 15-year-old Savitri Pullakunta, whose marriage had been successfully thwarted by their collective eff ort. The young girls who had gathered in this school in the Adoni division of ...

Value System for Sustainable Manufacturing

Are Intelligent Manufacturing Systems Sustainable?

This paper introduces and opens the debate on the place of “productdriven control” and, on a broader level, Intelligent Manufacturing and Services Systems in sustainable development and circular economy. First, IMS concept and perspectives on future industrial and economic systems, as well as their expected advantages and the challenges to be addressed are introduced. Different sustainability i...