FEA Engineer & Trainer Design for Sustainability
Workshop: Sustainability & systems thinking: life cycle analysis as enabler for making your products and systems ‘green’
10:30 – 12:00
Abstract
In this workshop, you will learn how to combine sustainability with systems thinking. The starting point for this is life cycle analysis (LCA), which exposes the ecological footprint of a design. This provides insight into what is important, what is not important, and which choices will matter during your design process.
A comprehensive LCA can be time-consuming, requiring specialized knowledge and detailed information. Often, this is only possible towards the end of a design journey, while the understanding and knowledge are crucial at the beginning. Our LCA quickscan offers a simple solution to this problem.
During the workshop, you will work with a smartphone app: the Idemat LCA tool from TU Delft. It can be found on the play store and app store. It is recommended to install this before the workshop. Ideally, we would like to work with practical cases. We kindly ask participants to bring a case, preferably the project you are currently working on.
Bio Bram Gottgens
Bram Gottgens (1987) studied Mechanical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology and began his career at SPG Prints. In 2015, he transitioned to Blue Engineering.
Bram started as a mechanical designer/engineer and progressed to become with focus on materials an FEA specialist. He has worked on projects across various industries including high-tech, solar, semiconductor, agri-food, and automation.
Throughout his career, Bram focused on translating his passion for sustainability into practical applications within the field of technology. During his studies, he encountered concepts like Cradle to Cradle and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), leading to specialization and a thesis in the field of materials science. This journey from materials science extended his expertise towards FEA (Finite Element Analysis) and LCA, particularly concerning material selection, surface treatments, and production processes in relation to environmental impact.
Over the past 8 years, Bram has contributed to design for sustainability initiatives: a suite of tools and a design methodology aimed at incorporating sustainability into design. Blue Engineering has now established a training program, of which Bram is one of the trainers.