| Financial analysis: |  |
| Environmental impact analysis: | --- |
| Waste management/P2: | |
| Environmental cost listing/database: | --- |
| Cost estimation: | --- |
| Alternative product/process comparison: | --- |
| Financial analysis: | |
| Environmental impact analysis: | --- |
| Waste management/P2: | |
| Environmental cost listing/database: | --- |
| Cost estimation: | --- |
| Alternative product/process comparison: | --- |
| Cost control | --- |
| Resource control | --- |
| Estimating control | --- |
| Schedule control | --- |
| Scope control | --- |
| Risk control | --- |
AWARE is marketed for use in private industry and by government facilities for meeting their environmental objectives including waste minimization, toxics use reduction, and pollution prevention. The system comprises a series of modules that allow users to document, track, and account for raw material consumption (including energy) and total waste generation as a function of products produced. AWARE interfaces a database of waste characteristics with users' existing raw material and production data (can share data with existing system). Since AWARE can calculate loadings of individual components, users can track and account for where every targeted chemical originates and exists in the operation. The AWARE modules are as follows:
Various reporting requirements of Federal and State regulatory agencies can be met using the system. It includes waste minimization and pollution prevention reporting capabilities (under EPA guidelines), which allow users to relate chemical releases to production activity, raw material usage, and costs. The waste minimization module does not allow users to actually plan projects or interactively facilitate decision-making. It provides a framework to include information on these projects, which can further be analyzed as it progresses using the data gathered in the AWARE system. Each project can be assigned a separate space in the module. Trend charts and other graphics can be utilized to analyze changes in quantities and costs over time.
| Raw material acquisition | --- |
| Manufacturing stage | |
| Use/reuse/maintenance | |
| Recycle/waste management | |
The life-cycle stages covered by the software may vary by module. Most of the modules cover the waste management stage of the life cycle. The raw materials/product directory tracks raw material usage through production. A product-tracking module tracks the movement of products in a facility. All the constituents that make up raw materials and wastes are tracked. This is a unique feature of AWARE. A GIS system uses AWARE data to compute material mass balances. An important feature of AWARE is that chemical releases can be linked to raw material usage, costs, and production activity. That is, actual quantities of waste can be linked to quantities of raw materials used or products. This can be accomplished for all waste products, including scrap. However, no sensitivity analysis can be done to model changes in waste quantities and costs as a function of source reduction.
However, these life-cycle stages are not necessarily covered in the case of each individual chemical, material, or product. For example, if a chemical is not manufactured in the facility, only use and waste disposal stages (for that chemical) would be considered. Also, the products manufactured in the manufacturing stage are not covered in all their life-cycle stages either. The life-cycle stages are not kept distinct within the system.
| Conventional | |
| Potentially hidden | |
| Contingent | --- |
| External | --- |
Users can account for the quantities and costs associated with managing all documented waste. The system also allows users to allocate costs back to the department or source responsible for waste generation. AWARE can represent costing trends for corporations, plants, departments, operations, waste materials, and chemical constituents. It can also manage and track production data including profit and revenue per unit (not calculated). All management costs including storage, labor, equipment, capital costs, transportation, and others are covered. AWARE considers only conventional costs and hidden costs associated with waste management. It does not attempt to put a dollar value on contingent or external costs. Additional fields to cover these costs can be included only by customizing the system through RECRA.
Thus, the full costs of using a material or product in a facility, including all but two of these cost categories can be estimated using AWARE. However, the costs that are entered cannot be collated to form a historical cost library. This would be useful in estimating costs in projects that propose to use those raw materials or for estimating actual savings or waste minimization that could result through source reduction or process changes.
The system is not designed for cost estimation.
| Net present value (NPV) | --- |
| Payback period | --- |
| Internal rate of return (IRR) | --- |
| Benefits cost ratio | --- |
| Other | --- |
AWARE generates reports to suit both the technical and nontechnical audience. It is designed so that it can be used with ease by an inexperienced computer user. Users can add to some information in the system such as the chemical database, but no user-defined fields can be added.
RECRA offers a number of services to AWARE users including waste characterization, in-plant data collection as an input to AWARE, systems integration services, pollution prevention consulting, and personalized training programs. Remote demonstrations of the software are provided by RECRA (with enabling software also provided).
User-defined fields cannot be added in the system. Contingent and less tangible costs cannot be estimated or detailed. There is no feature for maintaining historical cost records, as related to different activities, quantities, and types of materials managed. The system cannot integrate with company accounting systems. This can result in these costs being managed separately, rather than being integrated with other company costs. The system has a module for waste minimization project monitoring. However, it cannot assist as an interactive decision-making or project planning tool. Although the system is primarily designed to facilitate compliance, there is an effort to include cost management as part of the system. If this area is further developed to provide information for capital budgeting (for instance using historical cost trends), pollution prevention and other environmental initiatives would be encouraged as a result of more complete cost information.
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