In seeking to maintain its market position as one of Australia’s major suppliers of commercial furniture, Zenith Interiors is seeking in this pilot Business Immersion to further improve their environmental performance and differentiate itself from competitors in the market.
The process Zenith used when building and designing the Options© workstation culminated in a design that was environmentally efficient. The design also enabled the company to stay true to its overall manufacturing strategy, which was to do more with less. Options© used significantly less materials than Zenith’s other workstations. Zenith used no toxics, reduced its use of glues, aluminium and steel by as much as possible while its partition and leg assemblies consisted of simple fastening methods. But Zenith wanted to go further.
A facilitator was appointed by the Victorian government to help Zenith make decisions about a suitable designer, ensure that expectations were understood and managed throughout the process and provide a mechanism for problems to be addressed. The facilitator’s main function was to help ensure that each party asked the `right’ questions at different parts of the project.
The project involved a new design decision support tool developed by RMIT University’s Centre for Design. The RAT© assesses the environmental impact from the start of the product’s life (extraction of raw materials for manufacture), through to its use in a workplace and the ‘end of its life’ (i.e. whether it is recycled or dumped in landfill). While the RAT© is not a replacement for, or as accurate as, a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which may cost $A 20,000 – $A 60,000 each to undertake, it is proving extremely useful in modeling potential impact during design and before products go into production.
RMIT designer Nick Johns investigated the workstation, met with Zenith staff from a range of areas, and following a nine week design process, produced a report explaining where the main environmental impacts were occurring and what (if any) strategies would enable those impacts to be reduced.
Johns tested a range of different design concepts, his work highlighting the complexity in making truly sustainable design decisions.
Facts at a glance
Challenge
Assess the impact of an office workstation on the environment to demonstrate how design can improve the manufacturer’s environmental performance.
Solution
A report card on environmental impact of the workstation including suggestions for improvements to its design and construction.
Outcome
Company likely to implement blueprint for a re-designed and superior eco-workstation.
Click here to read the full case study.
Related Links
Zenith Interiors — www.zenithinteriors.com.au
RMIT Centre for Design — www.cfd.rmit.edu.au
18 December 2007