ISOFRAX~R MAGNESIUM SILICATE FIBRE -- THE RESULT OF A PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP APPROACH

摘要

An important aspect of successful business today is new product development. The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of product quality and product stewardship in the new product development process. In order to gain a proper perspective, you need to go back nearly 100 years ago. If you look at the industrial landscape of the early 20th century there were no international standards or widely defined procedures or quality measurements. Quality was personal - defined by the person who made the product. That person set the arbitrary standard; Also there were no occupational hygiene standards or any concern about personal exposure to dusts or fibres, which is very different from the current industrial environment. In addition, there were no man-made mineral fibres widely available to industry. Naturally occurring fibres such as asbestos were being widely used as high temperature insulation from the 1870's onwards. It was not until well into the 20th century that we saw the development of man-made mineral fibres. These included rock and slag wools, basalt wools and glass fibres and eventually, in the second half of the century, we saw the commercialisation and growth of Refractory Ceramic Fibres (RCFs) and, finally, high temperature bio-soluble fibres.