Value Retention - Insight from Rachel Waugh
As part of our communications on the topic of Value Retention, we decided it would be incredibly useful to share input from the experts on our team. In this article, the knowledge transfer is from one of our Senior Consultants, Rachel Waugh. With 7 years consulting experience at Oakdene Hollins, a background in Manufacturing Engineering and expertise in both steel and remanufacturing - Rachel has a wealth of material and product value retention knowledge to draw on. The following questions, and (crucially) responses, draw out her background, expertise and inform us on the origin and application of Value Retention.
Why did you initially gravitate towards sustainability?
I’d always felt I wanted to make a positive impact on the world through my work, but discovered at a young age that following in my Dad’s medical footsteps wasn’t for me! Naturally, I decided to pursue engineering instead. I’d chosen a university course that allowed you to defer choosing your specialism until third year, by which time I discovered the manufacturing engineering course, which had a strong sustainability focus and was the perfect fit for me.
How long have you been in the circular economy?
It wasn’t until I joined Oakdene Hollins after completing my PhD in 2013 that I really became aware of the term and started using it in my work. While I was doing my PhD, I had focused more on the concept of “material efficiency”- providing the same service with lower (virgin) material consumption, which while related, is perhaps a more engineering-focused term.
What is your expertise?
I think my expertise is primarily built upon my academic research experience: modelling global mass flows and CO2 emissions for the steel and aluminium industries to 2050. Starting from large, complex problems and systems, how can you break them down into manageable chunks? What data do you have and how can you model, approximate, extrapolate to get the information you need? And when the results are in, what do they really mean, do they make sense? I like to think I approach problems, whatever they may be, in a methodological way, using sound engineering principles, and where appropriate, engineering approximations! I am also keen on improving visual and written communication, whether it is a punchy infographic or a snappy presentation. Since working at Oakdene Hollins, I have had the opportunity to really develop my technical and strategic expertise in remanufacturing. I’ve been fortunate to visit lots of remanufacturing companies, including in Malaysia.
What’s the history behind the term ‘Value Retention’ from your perspective? When did you first hear the term ‘Value Retention’ and in what context?
As for a number of us at Oakdene Hollins, I first heard the term through the work of Professor Nabil Nasr and the International Resource Panel (IRP). What particularly struck me was the connection between the spectrum of different value retention activities and the impact on total product life – through value retention, we are enabling product life extension, which is a much more tangible concept to grasp than say, remanufacturing.
What does ‘Value Retention’ mean to you?
To me, value retention means recognising that a product is much more than the physical material you see in front of you – it is hours of labour, it is kgs, or even tonnes, of CO2, it is energy, water…and so on – all invested to make a physical product to provide a service, whether that’s shelter, entertainment, sustenance etc. And once the product either can’t provide that service, or we don’t want it anymore, we can chose to discard or destroy that investment, or we can find ways to preserve as much of it as we can – to lessen our impact on our already overburdened world.
How have you put the framework into practice?
The framework very clearly shows how remanufacturing is the most effective value retention process in terms of product life extension and now much of our remanufacturing work is framed within the value retention narrative. Not long after the IRP report was released, I helped to run the European Remanufacturing Council’s annual meeting in Berlin and the main theme of the event was illustrating how the value retention framework supported remanufacturing. For some attendees who had previously struggled with internal support for their remanufacturing activities, this new, positive, business-centric framework proved to be an invaluable communication tool at both the board and employee level, and resulted in a renewed enthusiasm for their work – a great success!
With the role of steel being ever more critical in numerous products and sectors, better understanding how we can retain and extend the life of steel (and other) products is essential. Rachel’s expertise on the topic, particularly in the area of remanufacturing, is incredibly valuable in the context of modern times. To discuss how Rachel’s knowledge could help support your business operations, get in touch directly by emailing rachel.waugh@oakdenehollins.com, or call 01296 423915 ext. 114.