By-product synergy (BPS) at military installations: A systems engineering case study at Fort Eustis

Abstract

Waste management is a significant environmental and financial problem for military installations throughout the United States. Each installation functions as a self-contained community and produces large amounts of waste that are often costly and difficult to manage. One way to address this problem is through the implementation of by-product synergies (BPS). A BPS is a network of organizational processes where output products from one process are used as the input materials for another process. BPS's turn a linear material flows, where raw materials are extracted from the earth and disposed of in landfills, into closed loop lifecycles where ¿waste¿ is reused, recycled or remanufactured into new products rather than transported to landfills. This paper presents a four phase methodology for identifying, designing, and implementing BPS opportunities on US military installations. The phases include determining what waste exists on the installation (Phase 1), determining what value lies in the waste (Phase 2), determining how to analyze synergy opportunities (Phase 3) and determining how to move towards forming closed loop material flows (Phase 4). The methodology identifies key metrics for identifying, designing, and implementing BPS systems that satisfy the installation's mission goals. The methodology is currently being evaluated in a case study being conducted at Fort Eustis, VA. The results of the case are reported in this paper.