Environmental Economics in the Aerospace Industry

摘要

The aerospace industry is currently regulated by a plethora of state and federal regulations that can impose significant restrictions on the manufacturing methods employed and/or directly effect the cost competitiveness of the products produced. As in the evolution of "quality management", which saw the development of techniques such as; statistical process control (SPC), Taguchi methods, ISO 9000, and an ever increasing demand from the public for quality products, so evolves "environmental economics." Businesses can no longer merely comply with regulations. A higher awareness has been achieved which calls for products to be designed for the environment. These efforts, due to the ever growing international business climate, require the integration of science and engineering with time proven business concepts of finance and accounting. This paper discusses the impact of current and future regulations on the aerospace industry and how specific waste minimization techniques, when integrated with engineering, quality control, and basic business principles can produce not only environmental benefits, but increase profitability and market competitiveness as well. Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. (BHTI) is successfully implementing waste minimization projects of this nature.