Joanna Johnson, Author at Transfire

EDI Case Study: Glass Technologies

EDI Case Study: Glass Technologies

Glass Technology Services (GTS) has 53 employees, with some employees contracted by British Glass. Chris Holcroft, Principal Technologist, took us on a tour of the laboratory / research and development area, where we observed how the company conducts routine analysis, tests, assesses quality, and glass product innovation. GTS provides independent advice and support to the global glass manufacturing supply chain, from raw material suppliers to end users. They work with, amongst others, the pharmaceutical industry and glass, homeware and food and drink retailers, for instance on beverage glass failure analysis. GTS also carry out research and development, new product development, technical and environmental consultancy, assessment training and quality assessment. Additionally, the company also does analysis and analytical support for the glass supply chain, from batch to end users, from properties analysis, melting, defects trouble shooting to end-user complaints and failures. Testing includes quality assessment, environmental calculations and analysis, verification [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-05-23T12:46:10+00:00May 23rd, 2023|

EDI Case Study: Sheffield Forgemasters

EDI Case Study: Sheffield Forgemasters

For our latest site visit, the EDI team toured the foundry and heat house of the 66-acre Sheffield Forgemasters site, in Sheffield. Sheffield Forgemasters has 700 employees, and specialises in integrated steel production, from preliminary design and R&D through to melting, casting, forging, finish machining, testing and delivery. Their steel processing produces some of the most complex steel forgings and castings in the world, which are used in the most extreme environments. These include defence & marine, civil nuclear, offshore oil & gas, high pressure reactors, nuclear reactors, power generation, petrochemicals, renewables, construction, ingot & bar sectors. Sheffield Forgemasters was privately owned from inception in the 1800s until 2021, when it was purchased by the Ministry of Defence. The £400M acquisition is being utilised towards a recapitalisation programme, which will see significant investment in defence critical assets. EDI is overseen by the non-executive board that is linked to the [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-05-23T12:34:16+00:00May 23rd, 2023|

Facilitating industrial symbiosis

Facilitating industrial symbiosis

Last month TransFIRe brought together a wide range of industrial partners to offer them a chance to discuss and exchange information on the materials, waste and services that they have within their organisations and how these could potentially be used to supply another company as part of an ongoing agreement. TransFIRe has been helping the foundation industries (paper, cement, ceramics, metals, chemicals and glass) in the UK to collaborate to help tackle CO2 emissions and waste. The way that the products we use on a daily basis are produced tend to rely on established processes that utilise very expensive equipment and assets and often produce large amounts of waste. There is a huge demand for change in the way this is done in order to improve profitability and help become more sustainable. This Industrial Symbiosis Workshop, facilitated by International Synergies and project lead Dr Lampros Litos, enabled companies such [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-05-16T12:15:05+00:00May 16th, 2023|

Key performance indicators in sustainability reporting: what do we need to measure?

Key performance indicators in sustainability reporting: what do we need to measure?

Sustainability reporting is a vital tool to provide information on an organisations’ social, economic, and environmental performance and is an essential way for organisations to demonstrate accountability to their various stakeholders. But how do companies know which metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) they should use? The TransFIRe project through its different Work Streams (WS) is addressing the need of identifying the most suitable metrics for the foundation industries (FI), by looking at different levels for measuring and reporting performance, ranging from the process level to factory level and eventually to the “beyond the fence” level (a system view, looking from the perspective of external stakeholders, including the surrounding community, and the environment). Figure 1 - Schematic representation of the different levels for measuring performance of FIs. Process level metrics At a process level, TransFIRe researchers have created a framework to help the manufacturing industries identify the right [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-06-05T11:02:10+00:00May 16th, 2023|

Investigating alternative uses for Spent Foundry Sand

Investigating alternative uses for Spent Foundry Sand

After an extensive literature review by TransFIRe researchers, a number of potential applications for re-using huge quantities of Spent Foundry Sand (SFS) have been identified. As part of Work Stream 2 of the TransFIRe project, which focusses on creating new materials and process opportunities for the foundation industries, TransFIRe researchers have been undertaking a case study focussing on potential uses of Spent Foundry Sand (SFS), a waste product of UK metals foundries leftover after the production of sand moulds or cores for casting of metals. A literature review, carried out with input from the Cast Metals Federation, John Winter Ltd and Wm Lee Ltd, was undertaken to identify potential opportunities for re-using SFS and several applications were identified within ceramics, glass, cement, fillers in concrete and asphalt; and several others. Although SFS can be successfully recycled and used numerous times, the sand grains eventually degrade and their ability to [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-05-15T08:44:48+00:00May 15th, 2023|

Could a national glass bottle return and refill scheme work in the UK? An industry perspective

Could a national glass bottle return and refill scheme work in the UK? An industry perspective

In 2019, the UK recovered 71% of single-use glass by mass, but only around 36% was used to make new container glass. This low circular rate is partly because the UK has a mixed collection system which requires the glass to be sorted into different colours before remelting and results in less cullet (waste glass for remelting) returned than in separated colour collection. Much of the glass is therefore used in aggregates for roads, resulting in nearly 50% of potential cullet not being used for new container glass bottles. The international nature of glass production and trade also means a large percentage of the bottles manufactured in the UK, particularly clear bottles, are exported for recycling, resulting in a loss of materials over which the industry has control. These and other challenges to circular-loop recycling of container glass raise the question of why there are not large-scale national refill [...]

Joanna Johnson2024-04-29T14:46:58+00:00May 12th, 2023|

EDI Case Study: Elevating Wellbeing and Mental Health Awareness at Hanson

EDI Case Study: Elevating Wellbeing and Mental Health Awareness at Hanson

In Brief Company Hanson Industry Cement and quarry products Location Nationwide Company Size 3,500 employees Intervention Introduction of a comprehensive Wellbeing and Mental Health programme Specific challenges Mental health became an increasing issue during the COVID-19 pandemic, but had previously been little discussed. Reaching all employees posed a challenge, as Hanson has many sites nationwide and many employees who do not have email access at work. Outcomes Over 220 Mental Health First Aiders, and a culture of support in place for all colleagues Photo credit: Hanson About Hanson Hanson UK is a British-based building materials company, headquartered in Maidenhead. The company has been a subsidiary of the German company Heidelberg Materials since August 2007. Hanson UK is a leading supplier of low carbon heavy building materials to the construction industry. Hanson’s principal markets are the major conurbations in England and Wales and the central belt of Scotland. [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-05-16T08:44:59+00:00May 2nd, 2023|

Key intervention points for implementing a circular economy in UK’s Foundation Industries

Key intervention points for implementing a circular economy in UK’s Foundation Industries

Insights from the Master’s thesis of Saikiran Medam Circular economy is an alternative to the linear take-make-waste economy and strives to minimise resource usage, extend the lifetimes of products, and close energy and material loops, thereby promoting sustainable development. It helps to reduce carbon footprints in the foundation industries by following circular business processes such as lean manufacturing, industrial symbiosis, remanufacturing, and recycling. In order to gain insight into this subject, I performed analysis on a range of factors that act as drivers and barriers for the implementation of a circular economy in foundation industries and identified a priority list of key intervention points. This was achieved by using a context analysis to identify an initial 91 potential factors which were consolidated via an online survey to 12 factors. These were then further examined and analysed, with input from experts from industry, government and academia. My study found that [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-05-16T08:45:36+00:00May 2nd, 2023|

EDI case study: The Materials Processing Institute

EDI case study: The Materials Processing Institute

This case study highlights proactive leadership, the importance of incorporating the lived experiences and voices of employees in transforming workplace culture and how policies, aligned to corporate values embeds diversity and inclusion as a strategic imperative. ABOUT THE MATERIALS PROCESSING INSTITUTE The Materials Processing Institute is the UK’s national innovation centre for metals and is a globally recognised centre for the innovation, development, and commercialisation of technology for advanced materials, industrial decarbonisation, digital technologies, and the circular economy. These innovations are delivered by scientists, engineers, and project teams with expertise in materials science and advanced processing, utilising state-of-the-art equipment, laboratories, workshops, demonstration, scale-up and production facilities to develop technology, enhance materials and improve processes. The Institute is a not-for-profit organisation, with an 80-year track record and a strong societal and ethical mission. The core value of the Materials Processing Institute is ’Integrity’ and its message, “come as you [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-09-12T12:59:48+00:00April 21st, 2023|

TransFIRe attends the launch of The Manufacturer MX Awards 2023

TransFIRe attends the launch of The Manufacturer MX Awards 2023

Representatives from TransFIRe joined the great and the good of the manufacturing sector at the House of Lords this week to celebrate the official launch of this year’s “The Manufacturer MX Awards”. Professor Mark Jolly (Director), Prof Konstantinos Salonitis (Deputy Director) and Dr Sanjoo Paddea (Business Development & Hub Manager), all attended the gathering which has a combined heritage of over 50 years and is widely regarded as the gold standard in industry awards. Delivered by The Manufacturer in partnership with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), TMMX Awards exist to encourage, benchmark and celebrate manufacturing excellence, with every stage of the programme providing value for participants, whatever their maturity. With a keynote from Lord Karan Bilimoria and contributions from across the sector, including current TMMX Awards Manufacturer of the Year, Gripple, the event marked the official opening for entries for this year’s awards, which will take place on [...]

Joanna Johnson2023-03-21T14:25:27+00:00March 20th, 2023|

About Joanna Johnson