Difference between revisions of "System Disposal and Retirement"

Revision as of 21:44, 9 August 2011

Design for product or service disposal and retirement is an important part of system life management. At some point, any deployed system will become uneconomical to maintain or perhaps become obsolete. A comprehensive systems engineering process includes an anticipated equipment phase-out period and includes disposal in the design and life cycle cost impacts. Public focus on sustaining a clean environment encourages contemporary systems engineering design to consider recycling, reuse, and responsible disposal techniques.

Topic Overview

According to INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook, “The purpose of the Disposal Process is to remove a system element from the operation environment with the intent of permanently terminating its use; and to deal with any hazardous or toxic materials or waste products in accordance with the applicable guidance, policy, regulation, and statutes.” (INCOSE 2011)

In addition to technological and economical factors, the system being developed must be compatible, acceptable, and ultimately address the design of a system for the environment, in terms of ecological, political, and social considerations. In particular, the ecological considerations associated with system disposal or retirement is of a prime importance. Of particular concern are the problems dealing with the waste identified below.

Air Pollution and Control
Water Pollution and Control
Noise Pollution and Control
Radiation
Solid Waste

In the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) govern disposal and retirement of commercial systems; equivalent organizations perform this function in other countries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) addresses hazardous materials under 1910-119A List of Highly Hazardous Chemicals, Toxics and Reactives (OSHA 2010). System Disposal and Retirement spans both commercial and government developed products and servicesWhile both the commercial and government sector have common goals, the methods to accomplish disposition of materials associated with military systems are different.

OSD AT&L on-line reference provides theguidance regarding military system disposal. Directive 4160.21-M Defense Material Disposition Manual dated 18 August, 1997 implements the requirements of the federal property management regulation (FPMR) and other laws and regulations as appropriate regarding the disposition of excess, surplus, and foreign excess personal property (FEPP). Military system disposal activities are compliant with EPA and OSHA requirements.

Application to Product Systems

Product system retirement may include system disposal activities or preservation activities (e.g., mothballing) if there is a chance the system may be called upon for use at a later time. OSD AT&L provides guidance for the preservation of military system such as naval ships and aircraft.

Blanchard & Fabrycky’s 5th edition of Systems Engineering and Analysis has several chapters (16, 17) that discuss the topics of design for goals such as “green engineering” reliability, maintainability, logistics, supportability, producibility, disposability, and sustainability. Chapter 16 provides a succinct discussion of “green engineering” considerations and “ecology-based manufacturing.” Ch. 17 also discusses life cycle costing and the inclusion of system disposal and retirement costs, represented in Figure 17.6.

Some disposal of systems components occurs during the system’s operational life. This happens when the components fail and are replaced. As a result, the tasks and resources needed to remove them from the system need to be planned well before the actual demand for disposal occurs. Planning must consider transportation of failed items, handling equipment, special training requirements for personnel, facilities, technical procedures, technical documentation updates, hazardous material (HAZMAT) remediation, all associated costs, and reclamation or salvage value for precious metals or recyclable components. Phase-out and disposal planning addresses what, where, and when disposal should take place, the economic feasibility of the disposal methods used, and what the effects on the inventory and support infrastructure, safety, environmental requirements, and impact to the environment will be (Blanchard 2010). Disposal is the least efficient and least desirable alternative for the processing of waste material (Finlayson and Herdlick 2008).

The EPA collects information regarding the generation, management, and final disposition of hazardous wastes regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA).

EPA waste management regulations are codified at 40 C.F.R. parts 239-282. Regulations regarding management of hazardous wastes begin at 40 C.F.R. part 260. Most states have enacted laws and promulgated regulations that are at least as stringent as the federal regulations. Due to extensive tracking of the life of the hazardous waste, the overall process has become known as the cradle to grave system. Stringent bookkeeping and reporting requirements have been levied on generators, transporters, and operators of treatment, storage, and disposal facilities handling hazardous waste. See the EPA website for a comprehensive list of wastes including resource conservation, hazardous wastes, and non-hazardous wastes.

Unfortunately, disposability has a lower priority compared to other activities associated with the product development. This is due to the fact that, typically, disposal process is viewed as an external activity to the entity that is in custody of the system at the time. Some of the reasons behind this view include:

There is no direct revenue associated with the disposal process, and the majority of the cost associated with the disposal process is initially hidden.
Typically, someone outside of SE performs the disposal activities, causing the attitude of “not my problem.” For example, a car manufacturer may not be concerned about its disposal, nor is the first buyer, since there is a good chance that he or she will sell the car before it is time for the disposal.

The European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation requires manufacturers and importers of chemicals and products to register and disclose substances in products when meeting specific thresholds and criteria (European Parliament 2007). The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) manages the REACH processes. Numerous substances will be added to the list of substances already restricted under European legislation such as the 2003 regulation on the Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment. Requirements for substance use and availability are changing across the globe. Identifying the use of materials in the supply chain that may face restriction is an important system life management consideration. System disposal and retirement requires upfront planning and the development of a disposal plan to manage the activities. An important consideration during system retirement is the proper planning required to update facilities that are required to support the system during retirement, as explained in the California Department of Transportation Systems Engineering Guidebook.

Disposal needs to take into account environmental and personal risks associated with decommission of the system, and all hazardous material needs to be accounted for. The decommissioning of a nuclear power plant is a prime example of hazardous material control and the need for properly handling and transportation of residual material resulting from the retirement of the plant.

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is the lead military agency responsible for providing guidance for worldwide reuse, recycling, and disposal of military products. A critical responsibility of the military services and defense agencies is demilitarization prior to disposal.

Application to Service Systems

An important consideration during service system retirement or disposal is the proper continuation of services for the consumers of the system. As service systems are retired, it is important to continue to provide the same quality and capacity of services offered by the system. As an existing service system is decommissioned, it is important to plan to bring new systems online operating in parallel of the existing system, so that service interruption is kept to a minimum. This parallel operation can occur over a significant period of time and needs to be carefully scheduled. Examples of parallel operation includes phasing-in new Air Traffic Control (ATC) system (FAA 2006), migration from analog TV to new digital TV modulation (FCC 2009), the transition to Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) of the Internet, water handling systems, and large commercial transportation systems such as rail and shipping vessels. Systems Engineering Guidebook for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), version 1.1, provides planning guidance for the retirement and replacement of large transportation systems. Chapter 4.7 identifies several factors which can shorten the useful life of a transportation system leading to early retirement, such as lack of proper documentation, lack of adequate operations and maintenance budget, and the lack of effective configuration management process.

Application to Enterprises

The disposal and retirement of large enterprise service systems requires a phased approach where capital planning is implemented in stages. As is the case of service systems, enterprise systems disposal and retirements requires parallel operation of the replacement system along with the existing (older) system to prevent loss of functionality for the users of the enterprise.

Practical Considerations

A prime objective is to design a product or service such that its components can be recycled after the system has been retired. The recycling process should not create any detrimental effects on the environment. One of the latest movements in the industry is called green engineering. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), green engineering is the design, commercialization, and use of processes and products that are technically and economically feasible while minimizing:

Generation of pollutant at the source
Risk to human health and the environment

References

Please make sure all references are listed alphabetically and are formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed). See the BKCASE Reference Guidance for additional information.

Citations

Blanchard, B. S. 2010. Logistics engineering and management. 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall: p341-342.

Blanchard, B. S., and W. J. Fabrycky. 2005. Systems engineering and analysis. Prentice-hall international series in industrial and systems engineering. 4th ed. Englwood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall: p 541-565

DLA. Defense logistics agency disposition services [homepage]. in Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)/U.S. Department of Defense [database online]. Battle Creek, MI, USA, 2010 [cited June 19 2010]: p5. Available from http://www.dtc.dla.mil.

EPA. Wastes. in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [database online]. Washington, DC, 2010]. Available from http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/index.htm

ECHA. European chemicals agency ( ECHA ) [home page]. in European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) [database online]. Helsinki, Finland, 2010 Available from http://echa.europa.edu/home_en.asp.

European Parliament. 2007. Regulation (EC) no 1907/2006 of the european parliament and of the council of 18 december 2006 concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH), establishing a european chemicals agency, amending directive 1999/45/EC and repealing council regulation (EEC) no 793/93 and commission regulation (EC) no 1488/94 as well as council directive 76/769/EEC and commission directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC. Official Journal of the European Union 29 (5): 136/3,136/280.

FAA. 2006. Section 4.1. In Systems engineering manual. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

FCC. 2009. Radio and television broadcast rules. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 47 CFR Part 73, FCC Rule 09-19: p 11299-11318.

Finlayson, B., and B. Herdlick. 2008. Systems engineering of deployed systems. Baltimore, MD, USA: Johns Hopkins University: p28.

OSHA. 1996. Hazardous materials: Appendix A: List of highly hazardous chemicals, tocixs and reactives. Washington, D.C.: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/U.S. Department of Labor (DoL), 1910.119(a)

List all references cited in the article. Note: SEBoK 0.5 uses Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed). See the BKCASE Reference Guidance for additional information.

Primary References

Blanchard and Fabrycky. 2006. Systems Engineering and Analysis. 4th edition. Prentice Hall International Series.

Caltrans, and USDOT. 2005. Systems Engineering Guidebook for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), version 1.1. Sacramento, CA, USA: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Division of Reserach & Innovation/U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), SEG for ITS 1.1.

INCOSE. 2011. Systems Engineering Handbook: A Guide for System Life Cycle Processes and Activities. Version 3.2.1. San Diego, CA, USA: International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), INCOSE-TP-2003-002-03.2.1

Jackson. 2007. A Multidisciplinary Framework for Resilience to Disasters and Disruptions. Journal of Integrated Design and Process Science Volume 11 (2), IOS Press

OUSD AT&L. Logistics and Material Readiness. in Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Transportation, and Logistics (USD AT&L)/U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) [database online]. Arlington, VA, USA, 2010Available from http://www.acq.osd.mil/log/ (accessed August 5, 2010)

Seacord, Plakosh, Lewis. 2003. Modernizing Legacy Systems, Addison Wesley, Pearson Education Inc.

Additional References

Blanchard, B. S. 2010. Logistics engineering and management. 5th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall: p341-342.

Casetta, E. 2001. Transportation systems engineering: Theory and methods. New York, NY: Kluwer Publishers Academic, Springer.

DAU. Acquisition community connection (ACC): Where the DoD AT&L workforce meets to share knowledge. in Defense Acquisition University (DAU)/US Department of Defense (DoD) [database online]. Ft. Belvoir, VA, USA, 2010 Available from https://acc.dau.mil/ (accessed August 5, 2010).

DLA. Defense logistics agency disposition services [homepage]. in Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)/U.S. Department of Defense [database online]. Battle Creek, MI, USA, 2010 [cited June 19 2010]: p5. Available from http://www.dtc.dla.mil.

ECHA. European chemicals agency ( ECHA ) [home page]. in European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) [database online]. Helsinki, Finland, 2010 Available from http://echa.europa.edu/home_en.asp.

Elliot, T., K. Chen, and R. C. Swanekamp. 1998. Standard handbook of powerplant engineering. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, section 6.5.

EPA. Wastes. in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [database online]. Washington, DC, 20102010]. Available from http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/index.htm.

European Parliament. 2007. Regulation (EC) no 1907/2006 of the european parliament and of the council of 18 december 2006 concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH), establishing a european chemicals agency, amending directive 1999/45/EC and repealing council regulation (EEC) no 793/93 and commission regulation (EC) no 1488/94 as well as council directive 76/769/EEC and commission directives 91/155/EEC, 93/67/EEC, 93/105/EC and 2000/21/EC. Official Journal of the European Union 29 (5): 136/3,136/280.

FAA. 2006. Section 4.1. In Systems engineering manual. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

FCC. 2009. Radio and television broadcast rules. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 47 CFR Part 73, FCC Rule 09-19: p 11299-11318.

Finlayson, B., and B. Herdlick. 2008. Systems engineering of deployed systems. Baltimore, MD, USA: Johns Hopkins University: p28.

FSA. Template for 'system retirement plan' and 'system disposal plan'. in Federal Student Aid (FSA)/U.S. Department of Eduation (DoEd) [database online]. Washington, DC, 2010Available from http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/business/lcm.html (accessed August 5, 2010).

IEEE 2005. IEEE Standard for Software Configuration Management Plans. New York, NY: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IEEE STD 828.

Ihii, K., C. F. Eubanks, and P. Di Marco. 1994. Design for product retirement and material life-cycle. Materials & Design 15 (4): 225-33.

INCOSE. 2010. In-service systems working group. San Diego, CA, USA: International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).

INCOSE UK Chapter. 2010. Applying systems engineering to in-service systems: Supplementary guidance to the INCOSE systems engineering handbook, version 3.2, issue 1.0. Foresgate, UK: International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) UK Chapter, p10, 13, 23.

Institute of Engineers Singapore. 2009. Systems engineering body of knowledge, provisional version 2.0. Singapore.

Mays, L., ed. 2000. Water distribution systems handbook. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company: Chapter 3.

MDIT. 2008. System maintenance guidebook (SMG), version 1.1: A companion to the systems engineering methdology (SEM) of the state unified information technology environment (SUITE). MI, USA: Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT), DOE G 200: p38.

Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter. 2003. Systems engineering in systems deployment and retirement, presented to INCOSE. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, USA: International Society of Logistics (SOLE), Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter.

NAS. 2006. Natioanl airspace system (NAS) system engineering manual, version 3.1 (volumes 1-3). Washington, DC: Air Traffic Organization (ATO)/U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NAS SEM 3.1.

NASA. December 2007. Systems engineering handbook. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NASA/SP-2007-6105.

OSHA. 1996. Hazardous materials: Appendix A: List of highly hazardous chemicals, tocixs and reactives. Washington, D.C.: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)/U.S. Department of Labor (DoL), 1910.119(a).

Ryen, E. 2008. Overview of hte systems engineering process. Bismarck, ND, USA: North Dakota Department of Transpofration (NDDOT).

SAE International. 2010. Standards: Automotive--maintenance and aftermarket. Warrendale, PA, USA: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International.

Schafer, D.L. 2003. Keeping Pace With Technology Advances When Funding Resources Are Diminished. Paper presented at AUTOTESTCON 2003. IEEE Systems Readiness Technology Conference, Anaheim, CA :p 584.

SOLE. Applications divisons. in The International Society of Logistics (SOLE) [database online]. Hyattsville, MD, USA, 2009Available from http://www.sole.org/appdiv.asp (accessed August 5, 2010).

All additional references should be listed in alphabetical order.