THrough life Energy and Resource Modelling (THERM)

我们将开发一种建模工具，帮助合作者和其他制造商：1.了解我们当前的制造系统及其可持续性能水平；2.(从战术数据库中)对潜在的改进策略和技术进行建模；3.选择适当的策略；4.实施策略和技术并监控进度。我们将使用建模工具来支持我们的设施和合作者的改进，然后评估工具的效用，改进它们，并将其提供给其他制造商。我们将向更广泛的制造业社区解释结果和学习。该工具必须在多个级别上运行：例如，流程、设施、本地环境、产品、供应链、产品供应和业务模式。该工具将能够模拟现有的已知策略(例如将一个过程的废能用于另一个过程)以及潜在的未来策略(例如从摇篮到摇篮、工业生态)。该工具将寻求在可能的情况下整合现有的工具(如制造模拟和建筑能源模型)，尽管这些工具目前显然不支持工业系统的材料、能源、废物、生产流程和建筑/地点的综合模型。例如，能量通常可以作为输出，但它的媒介(例如蒸汽与运动和电力)以及它的时机和位置(例如在X区开始移动时)对于在其他地方使用该能量的能力是至关重要的。目前还没有支持此类功能的建模工具。我们的开发合作伙伴是当前建筑能源建模工具的供应商，对扩展这些工具的能力有着至关重要的兴趣。

We will develop a modelling tool that will assist the collaborators and other manufacturers in: 1. Understanding our current manufacturing system and its level of sustainability performance,2. Modelling potential tactics and technologies to improve (from a database of tactics), 3. Selecting appropriate tactics, & 4. Implementing tactics & technologies and monitoring progress.We will use the modelling tool to support improvement in our facilities and in collaborators, then assess the utility of the tools, improve them and make them available to other manufacturers. We will explain the results and learning to the wider manufacturing community. The tool must work at a number of levels: e.g. process, facility, local context, product, supply chain, offering & business model. The tool will be capable of modelling existing, known tactics (such as using waste energy from one process for another process) as well as potential future tactics (e.g. cradle-to-cradle, industrial ecology). The tool will seek to integrate existing tools where possible (such as manufacturing simulation and building energy modelling), though it is clear that such tools do not currently support an integrated model of material, energy, waste, production flow and building/location for an industrial system. For example, energy is often available as an output, but its media (e.g. steam vs motion vs electricity) and its timing and its location (e.g. at start of shift in area 'X') are critical to the ability to use that energy elsewhere. There are no modelling tools that currently support such functionality. Our exploitation partner is a vendor of current energy modelling tools for buildings with a vital interest in expanding their capabilities.