Design for Environment (PAPERBACK)

Author: Joseph Fiksel
ISBN: 9780071776226 / 0071776222
©2012 | 2nd Edition | 432 pages | Paperback
Pub Date: AUG-11
Price: US$ 40.00
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A practical guide to designing products with the environment and sustainability in mind

Now in paperback, Design for Environment, Second Edition sets forth the motivation and accepted methods for a business practice called Design for Environment (DFE), drawing upon the experiences of dozens of major U.S. corporations. Because of rising concerns about corporate environmental responsibility, DFE has become a key element of new product development. This book provides a unifying framework, based on sound management principles, whereby companies can simultaneously improve their financial performance and benefit the global environment. At the heart of this approach is the concept of “eco-efficiency,” a measurable characteristic of products and processes that quantifies how companies generate more value with less adverse environmental impact.

The purpose of the book is to provide both an informative introduction and a useful primary reference to those who wish to understand and practice DFE. It contains many concrete techniques, guidelines, and examples that will help to educate product development teams, both veterans and novices, about the practical aspects of DFE. It emphasizes a life-cycle approach, which considers the “cradle-to-cradle” costs and benefits associated with material acquisition, transportation, production, product use, and recovery for recycling or remanufacture. At the same time and for the benefit of senior managers, the book provides a sweeping overview of the cultural, political and economic changes that are transforming the role of environmental management in the business world.

Design for Environment, Second Edition

• Includes anecdotal examples and graphical illustrations
• Presents industry-based implementation examples
• Shows how companies can redesign value delivery systems, including products and processes, to achieve both environmental excellence and economic prosperity
• Includes insights on how DFE methods can be seamlessly integrated into existing business practices, including innovation, product development, marketing, and life cycle management.
• Contains examples of leading companies that have put DFE into practice across a range of industries

About the Author

Dr. Joseph Fiksel (Columbus, OH)is Executive Director of the Center for Resilience at The Ohio State University, an interdisciplinary research center that is developing a unified approach for modeling risk, resilience, and sustainability in complex systems. As Senior Research Scientist for Integrated Systems Engineering, he engages in collaboration with companies, government agencies, non-profits, and other research organizations to develop new methods and tools for understanding the interdependence among social, environmental, and economic interests.

Joseph is also Principal and Co-Founder of the consulting firm Eco-Nomics LLC, and is an internationally recognized authority on sustainable business practices. He has over 20 years of management consulting experience, specializing in environmental risk management, product stewardship, design for environment, sustainability, and enterprise resilience.

The author also recently took on a part-time position with the EPA, working on their sustainability strategy.

Other books you might be interested:

1. 9780071600309     Strategies for the Green Economy
2. 9780071605564      Design for Environment (Hardback)

Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals
Simple Steps to Fast, Affordable, and Flawless Healthcare

Author: Jay Arthur
ISBN: 9780071753258 / 0071753257
©2011 | 1st Edition | 368 pages | Paperback
Pub Date: FEB-11
Price: US$ 40.00
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Proven strategies for applying Lean Six Sigma to the healthcare industry—and getting practical, sustainable results in as few as five days

Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals explains how to use tested LSS methods and tools to achieve the goals of better, faster, and cheaper healthcare. These strategies follow the patient from the front door of the hospital or emergency room all the way through discharge—examining key aspects of patient flow and quality—and also follow the trail of billing and collections to discover major leaks in cash flow. The book emphasizes both the clinical and operational sides, so the “three demons of healthcare”—delay, defects, and deviation—can be reduced.

Using Lean Six Sigma, the healthcare system could cut the annual tab for healthcare in half, and return every hospital to profitability. Industry leaders like Virginia Mason and the Mayo Clinic have already shown that it’s possible to get better, faster, and cheaper healthcare using the tools of Six Sigma. Their stories are included in this book. A companion website features practical, free downloads of Lean Six Sigma reference cards, action plans, and Excel macros for quick and easy implementation of the concepts.

Lean Six Sigma for Hospitals shows how to:

• Reduce preventable patient harm by 50% or more
• Reduce patient time in the Emergency Department by 50% or more
• Reduce or eliminate the need for ambulance “diversions”
• Reduce turnaround time in hospital labs by 50% or more
• Optimize bed management in the hospital
• Reduce rejected, appealed and denied claims by 50% or more
• Increase revenues by 10% or more by being better, faster, and cheaper

About the Author

Jay Arthur (Denver, CO), The KnowWare Man, works with companies that want to fire up their profits using Lean Six Sigma. He is the author of Lean Six Sigma Demystified and the QI Macros SPC software for Excel. The QI Macros is used by over 3,000 hospitals to meet the accreditation needs of the Joint Commission.

Jay has worked with Tenet Healthcare, Kindred Healthcare, Centura Healthcare, and Christus Healthcare on projects to improve patient flow and to reduce clinical and operational errors.

Besides consulting with healthcare companies, Jay has been researching what works and what doesn’t work in healthcare for over a decade. He will backup his writing with examples and case studies from all aspects of healthcare.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Simple Steps to a Faster Hospital

Chapter 2. Lean for Accelerated Patient Flow

Chapter 3. Simple Steps to a Better Hospital

Chapter 4. Reducing Defects with Six Sigma

Chapter 5. Simple Steps to a Cheaper (More Profitable) Hospital

Chapter 6. Six Sigma for Hospitals

Chapter 7. Excel Power Tools for Lean Six Sigma

Chapter 8. Is There an Improvement Project in My Data

Chapter 9. Sustaining Improvement

Chapter 10. Laser-Focused Process Innovation

Chapter 11. Statistical Tools for Lean Six Sigma

Chapter 12. Implementing Lean Six Sigma in Hospitals

Bibliography

Index

The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction
Sustainable Construction for Engineers (GreenSource)

Author: Haselbach, Liv
ISBN-13: 978-0-07-174512-3
ISBN-10: 0071745122
©2010 | 2nd Edition | 464 pages , Hardcover
Pub Date: August 2010
Price: US$ 99.95
Sample Chapter 01 | Learn More |  GreenSource Series

Step-by-step details on applying USGBC LEED-NC guidelines to real-world construction projects

Fully up to date, The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction offers practical discussions of the main concepts of sustainability and presents detailed equations and exercises that can be used to perform the calculations outlined in LEED-New Construction. This GreenSource guide presents current, authoritative information on sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy, atmosphere, materials, resources, indoor air quality, innovations in design, and a systematic view of green.

The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction features:

• A practical focus on the LEED-NC rating system and how to apply it
• Details on low-impact development
• Tables comparing the old (version 2.2) and new (2009) versions of LEED-New Construction
• Numerous exercises and equations that can be used to perform the calculations outlined in LEED-NC
• Expert guidance on the main concepts of sustainability

New to This Edition:

• Chapters updated to reflect the USGBC 2009 version of LEED-New Construction
• Chapter 10 updated to include reference to low-impact development
• Tables comparing the old (version 2.2) and new (2009) versions of LEED-New Construction
• New/additional photos of examples of green construction

Review

1. SciTech Book News, April 2011 issue

Haselbach, who is not further identified, updates her 2008 reference and textbook to incorporate version 3.0 (2009) of the US Green Building Council’s widely used standard Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Focusing on aspects of the standard that are relevant to construction, she considers sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in design process and regional priorities, a systematic view of green and minimum program requirements, Department of Defense sustainable construction and indoor quality, and low-impact development and stormwater issues. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

About the Author

Liv Haselbach, Ph.D., P.E., LEED-Accredited Professional, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University. Her teaching and research focus on sustainable construction, pervious concrete, low-impact development, environmental issues with concrete, alternative transportation, and air pollution. Dr. Haselbach serves on many national and international committees, including ASTM E60 (Sustainability), ACI 130 (Sustainability), ASCE LID (Low Impact Development), and ISO TC71/8 Environmental Management of Concrete and Concrete Structures.

Related Title:

9780071489935     The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction (Green Source)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. LEED Sustainable Sites
Chapter 3. LEED Water Efficiency
Chapter 4. LEED Energy and Atmosphere
Chapter 5. LEED Materials and Resources
Chapter 6. LEED Indoor Environmental Quality
Chapter 7. LEED Innovation in Design Process and Regional Priorities
Chapter 8. A Systematic View of Green and Minimum Program Requirements
Chapter 9. Department of Defense (DoD) Sustainable Construction and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Chapter 10. Low-Impact Development and Stormwater Issues

Appendix A: Notation
Appendix B: Definitions
Appendix C: Units

Index

Building for Boomers

Authors: Schriener, Judy
ISBN-13: 978-0-07-159981-8
ISBN-10: 0071599819
©2010 | 1st Edition | 304 pages , Hardcover
Pub Date: March 2010
Price: US$ 59.95

Design and Build Housing for the Boomer Generation

This unique resource provides the latest housing data, options, and trends to help you plan, design, and construct homes and communities to meet the requirements and expectations of aging baby boomers. There are 77 million boomers in the United States alone who continue to set the new, higher standard for product change and innovation as they have been doing for decades. Building for Boomers offers targeted information for architects, builders, engineers, developers, remodelers, and suppliers interested in capitalizing on this exploding market.

LEARN HOW TO:

• Plan neighborhoods based on local and regional factors, including zoning and other regulations
• Understand different types of neighborhoods, such as age-targeted, mixed generations, transit-oriented design (TOD), traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs), cohousing, and others
• Integrate aging in place, universal, and green building design concepts
• Incorporate technology infrastructure into your designs, including communication, entertainment, lighting, environment, protection, and healthcare
• Design single family homes, townhouses, condos, and apartments
• Explore various design options for living spaces, bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and storage
• Stay informed of growing trends such as green construction and smart homes
• Determine and develop your niche

Tables of Contents

Chapter 1. Boomers: Who They Are, What They Want, Why You Should Care;
Chapter 2. Unexpected Challenges;
Chapter 3. Neighborhood Types;
Chapter 4. Aging in Place, Universal Design, Sustainability and Building Green;
Chapter 5. Technology Turns the Tide;
Chapter 6. Single Family Homes and Townhouses;
Chapter 7. Condos and Apartments;
Chapter 8. The Design Process Step by Step;
Chapter 9. Design Options;
Chapter 10. Looking Ahead;
Chapter 11. Determining and Developing Your Niche;
Chapter 12. Dos and Don’ts of Dealing with Boomers;
Appendixes;
Glossary;
Index