Flexible design in water and wastewater engineering – Definitions, literature and decision guide

Spiller, Marc; Vreeburg, J.H.G.; Leusbrock, Ingo; Zeeman, G.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.031

Cited by 64 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 80 publications

(144 reference statements)

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“…However, the general application of the concept of flexibility in the domain is still lacking. There are already a variety of case studies on the application of the concept in other domains, such as design of aerospace systems (Saleh et al ., ), supply chains (Nembhard et al ., ), transportation and logistics (Naim et al ., ), waste‐to‐energy systems (Hu and Cardin, ), water management systems (Deng et al ., ; Spiller et al ., ) and renewable energy systems (Saarinen et al ., ). Therefore, with the aim of improving system performance in the face of uncertainties, this paper contributes to the existing body of works by proposing a methodological framework as a tool for helping system engineers apply the concept of flexibility to the design of remanufacturing systems.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the Economic Performance of Remanufacturing Systems through Flexible Design Strategies: A Case Study Based on Remanufacturing Laptop Computers for the Cambodian Market

Low

2018

Bus Strat Env

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Although numerous studies have highlighted the contributions of remanufacturing to sustainable development and the circular economy, the decision for a company to take up this strategy is riddled with uncertainties, especially when significant capital investment is involved. To improve the economic performance of a remanufacturing system in the face of uncertainties, we propose a methodological framework for flexible design of remanufacturing systems. Its application is demonstrated using a case study based on remanufacturing laptop computers for the Cambodian market. Through the case study, we show how one can explore the opportunity of setting up a remanufacturing system, study its economic feasibility and design flexible strategies to improve its economic performance in the face of uncertainties. More interestingly, we demonstrate how Monte Carlo simulation can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of different flexible design strategies in dealing with the uncertainties. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the Economic Performance of Remanufacturing Systems through Flexible Design Strategies: A Case Study Based on Remanufacturing Laptop Computers for the Cambodian Market

Low

2018

Bus Strat Env

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“…A trends and scenario analysis at sector level by Smits et al (2011b) confirms this latter perspective and depicts the urban water sector as being highly conservative, which is perhaps a consequence of the long lifetime of water-related infrastructure. Also, even though modularity is proposed as an important characteristic of water technology in the 21st century, it is a rather old engineering solution, and there is no clear indication that it supports fundamental change (Spiller et al 2015).…”

Section: Principlementioning

confidence: 99%

What does resilience mean for urban water services?

Johannessen¹,

Wamsler²

2017

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Disasters and climate change impacts, as well as increased water demand, pose serious risks to the provision of sustainable urban water services, e.g., drinking water, sanitation, and safe drainage, especially in cities. These challenges call for a transition toward improved water management, including considerations of "resilience." However, because the resilience concept has multidisciplinary origins it is open to multiple interpretations, which poses a challenge to understanding and operationalizing the concept. We explore how resilience thinking can be translated into urban water practice to develop the conceptual understanding of transitions toward sustainability. The study is based on a literature review, interviews with water experts, as well as four case studies in South Africa, India, Sweden, and the Philippines. We identify seven key principles or attributes of urban water resilience and the related transition process. We find that resilience building needs to discern between and manage three levels (i.e., socioeconomic, external hazard considerations, and larger social-ecological systems) to be sustainable. In addition, we find that human agency is a strong driver of transition processes, with a certain level of risk awareness and risk perception providing one threshold and a certain capacity for action to implement measures and reorganize in response to risks being another. The difficulty of achieving "knowledge to action" derives from the multiple challenges of crossing these two types of identified thresholds. To address long-term trends or stressors, we find an important role for social learning to ensure that the carrying capacity of urban water services is not exceeded or unwanted consequences are created (e.g., long-term trends like salinization and water depletion). We conclude that the resilience term and related concepts add value to understanding and addressing the dynamic dimension of urban water transitions if the key principles identified in this study are considered.

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“…This could be achieved by altering the system configuration to enhance its flexibility and redundancy properties. Flexibility is defined as inbuilt system capability to adjust or reconfigure so as to maintain acceptable performance levels when subject to multiple (varying) loading conditions (Spiller et al, 2015;Vugrin et al, 2010). Flexibility can be increased in a given system through intentional one-off or phased interventions that enhance 3 inbuilt system attributes such as flatness (less system hierarchy), buffering capacity (head room), homeostasis (feedbacks) and omnivory (diversification) (Butler et al, 2014;Hassler and Kohler, 2014;Watt and Craig, 1986;Wildavsky, 1988).…”

Section: Strategies For Enhancing Resilience In Urban Water Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sitzenfrei et al, 2013), modular systems (e.g. Spiller et al, 2015) or through provision of back-up capacity (e.g. Ahern, 2011;Cabinet Office, 2011).…”

Section: Strategies For Enhancing Resilience In Urban Water Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing resilience in urban water systems for future cities

et al. 2015

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Abstract:In future cities, urban water systems (UWSs) should be designed not only for safe provision of services but should also be resilient to emerging or unexpected threats that lead to catastrophic system failure impacts and consequences. Resilience can potentially be built into UWSs by implementing a range of strategies, for example by embedding redundancy and flexibility in system design or rehabilitation to increase their ability to maintain acceptable customer service levels during unexpected system failures. In this work, a new resilience analysis is carried out to investigate the performance of a water distribution system (WDS) and an urban drainage system (UDS) during pipe failure scenarios. Using simplified synthetic networks, the effect of implementing adaptation (resilient design) strategies on minimising the loss of system functionality and cost of UWSs is investigated. Study results for the WDS case study show that the design strategy in which flexibility is enhanced ensures that all customers are served during single pipe failure scenarios. The results of the UDS case study indicate that the design strategy incorporating upstream distributed storage tanks minimizes flood volume and mean duration of nodal flooding by 50.1% and 46.7% respectively even when system functionality is significantly degraded. When costs associated with failure are considered, resilient design strategies could prove to be more cost effective over the design life of UWSs.

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Flexible design in water and wastewater engineering – Definitions, literature and decision guide

Cited by 64 publications

References 80 publications

Improving the Economic Performance of Remanufacturing Systems through Flexible Design Strategies: A Case Study Based on Remanufacturing Laptop Computers for the Cambodian Market

Improving the Economic Performance of Remanufacturing Systems through Flexible Design Strategies: A Case Study Based on Remanufacturing Laptop Computers for the Cambodian Market

What does resilience mean for urban water services?

Enhancing resilience in urban water systems for future cities

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