Environment
Design & Technology: AQA GCSE, topic 1.1.6
Environment
New products can have a positive and negative impact on the environment.
Negative impacts
- Time, resources and money are wasted in the design and manufacturing process.
- This waste has a negative impact on the environment.
Continuous improvement
- At every stage of the process people look for ways to improve and small changes are made.
- This process reduces waste and reduces the negative environmental impact.
Factors that improve work efficiency
- Re-organising staff.
- Planning a production line so stages are next to one another to eliminate travel time.
- Locating factories close to the source of the material or where it is sold to reduce travel.
- Ordering the correct amounts of materials so waste is kept to a minimum.
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Pollution
- Products create pollution during their manufacture, use and disposal.
- It is the designer's and manufacturer's responsibility to try and reduce this pollution, wherever possible.
Global warming
- Global warming is the gradual rise in temperature of the Earth, atmosphere and oceans.
- The rise in CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are linked to human activity and industrial manufacture.
Test yourself on Environment
What can employers do to make their work efficient?