The Infrastructure of Working with a Product: From Primary Production to Re-Introduction into the Economy
Preamble
In the 21st century, the responsible and sustainable use of resources is not just a social trend, but an absolute necessity. The community faces the key task of increasing labour and manufacturing productivity, while also enhancing the social responsibility of both producers and consumers. This cannot be accomplished without taking into account the full work cycle with materials and products. We have learned to produce all kinds of goods, but now the question is why do we need such a high volume of low-quality goods that consume resources not only in production, but, more importantly, in their disposal or re-introduction into production?
The main thematic focus of this essay is investments in the environment, but this subject also concerns both the technological framework and connectivity infrastructure, as well as investments in people. As such, this essay will also consider these issues. Why is investment in the environment the main thematic focus of the topic? In one way or another, we are entirely surrounded by products: fr om household items and the building materials used to create spaces, to the general format of cities, including places wh ere people work, manufacturing sites, different spaces, and the waste management system as a whole.
Most of the issues concerning this topic are addressed as part of the Circular Economy concept and related programmes.
The scope of this essay is broader than this concept and includes such issues as increasing labour productivity and automation, as well as changes in the general employment formats of the population.
The main challenges of creating an environment with a full cycle for working with a product are:
• Maintaining the flexibility of the system (representation of actors, competition, and freedom of choice of niches) while increasing the process control and management segment
• Identifying clear rules for the general ‘coexistence’ of actors and adjustment mechanisms
• Establishing a new format of infrastructure for manufacturing
• Attracting investment for long-term and labour-intensive infrastructure projects, while also introducing mechanisms and technologies for small volumes of both production and processing
• Digitalization and automated data collection for analysis
• Harmonizing regional, state, supranational, and global programmes
I would also like to point out that this essay requires some revision, as this is just a rough version with a general idea of the concept.
To make things simple, we will divide the general system of working with a product into four main blocks:
1. Materials
2. Production of goods
3. Waste collection infrastructure
4. Re-introduction infrastructure
Let’s look at each of these blocks. We will pay particular attention to the second block, since it often falls outside the general scope of such studies.
1. The objective of materials science and related fields should gradually begin to adapt to the extension of the technological and economic model and expand the scope of research that explores the feasibility of unifying materials and how they can be re-introduced into the economy. In 2021, the Russian Environmental Operator created the Consortium for Scientific and Methodological Support for the Transition to a Circular Economy to consolidate efforts for the training of personnel and researchers. But this work needs to be expanded, with greater international cooperation where possible. Scientific work and research should seamlessly transition to standards and be integrated into production chains.
2. Production facilities are increasingly being set up within organized manufacturing spaces that offer various types of services for residents. These are often industrial parks, technology parks, and special economic zones. Such sites consist of a territory for industrial production as well as scientific and technical activities with infrastructure (transport, utilities), and also often readymade premises, already in place on the land.
A key feature of an industrial park is that they are developed by specialized management companies based on a unified concept for the development of the territory and the facilities on it.
Having several production facilities in close proximity on a single territory helps industrialists reduce costs by using shared infrastructure and relieves them of having to perform non-core activities related to building and maintaining utility networks.
By 2030, Russia will have some 780 projects that are being created or in operation (assuming the new projects grow at a rate of 8-10% per year, which is lower than the average annual rates of previous years (15-17%), since the market has largely taken shape and the growth rate is gradually decreasing). In 2024, there were a total of 660 industrial parks, industrial production special economic zones, technology development special economic zones, and technology parks in the country, an increase of 460% fr om 2013.
By 2030, total investments in infrastructure and by residents could exceed RUB 4 trillion. Investments in production have been steadily trending upward at a rate of RUB 125 billion per year on average. Since 2013, resident companies have tripled their investment in infrastructure and production with cumulative investment of RUB 2.7 trillion as of 2024.
The total number of sites with even greater functionality around the world has also been increasing. China is clearly leading the way in this indicator (with more than 2,500 sites), followed by other Asian countries and the United States. Russia is among the leaders in terms of the number of such sites.
The main range of services for residents, in addition to conventional services (access to infrastructure and operational services), are being supplemented by new ones, which is a further step towards their development. The most common services are the inclusion of educational centres and HR training: educational centres are built on the territory of such sites, or the sites themselves are initially connected to scientific and educational centres. A new trend has been the construction of engineering centres and specialized developments centres at such sites. These consolidated spaces could become platforms for the development of automation and robotics and increase labour productivity. Moreover, setting up production facilities within such spaces not only helps to optimize the construction of utility infrastructure and scale it out among residents, but also ensures the sustainable use of such territories. The next step in their development is to digitalize the work of management companies. The concept of using an open ERP system is currently being developed. This will make it truly possible to properly begin collecting information about what materials residents use and how much, as well as the form of waste that is generated from production.
This step towards digitalization and high-quality data collection will help to understand in real time how much waste is being generated, forecast these volumes for several years ahead, and get a clear understanding of the structure of waste. This will provide brand new opportunities to build infrastructure for the collection, processing, and re-introduction of useful materials into production.
This results in the creation of a kind of data nesting doll with the following parts: manufacturer - management company - data management and redistribution centre - scientific community - waste operators - enterprises that work with useful materials. It is a cyclical chain, on the one hand, but it allows for the exchange of data and information between different actors.
Small and medium-sized enterprises have been joining such sites, which is an important trend.
Programmes to improve labour productivity are being actively developed. This is closely connected with robotics, since industrial and technological sites can be localizers of robotics development centres.
It is important to keep in mind that such a solution will, on the one hand, make it directly possible to set up robot production at a site wh ere manufacturers are already concentrated, and on the other hand, provide a centre that other suppliers of systems and their components can link up to. In addition, it would also take over the function of training and onboarding employees, and provide services for the adaptation of workshops and the entire production process.
At present, the profit margins fr om integrating robotic systems begin with the production of more than 10,000 units (parts) of a single item per year.
The payback period is approximately 1.5 years in the United States or Europe, and 3.4 years in Russia. Most training programmes target specialists who will develop and produce robotic systems, but not operate them. The robots must be integrated into the production chain, which is an additional cost. There are is little expertise about how to optimize production. A robot also needs such infrastructure as parts and consumables, not to mention conveyor belts and delivery. This all creates the need to adapt workshops. A robot is a derivative of a machine, and a machine is a derivative of a drive. The pattern is as follows: drive (engine building) - machine (machine building) - robot. More affordable models are gradually being created and introduced, which makes it possible to integrate robots into small production facilities.
We will combine blocks three ‘waste collection infrastructure’ and four ‘re-introduction infrastructure’, which are important aspects of the block. The technological and infrastructural framework largely aims to work with large volumes of waste. Developments are gradually appearing that can work in micro collection, sorting, and recycling. Second, countries have regions wh ere burial is the only way to dispose of waste. They do not even have primary sorting or any other formats of disposal, except for burial. It is crucial to create technologies to handle small amounts of waste in hard-to-reach and sparsely populated areas. This is important for all countries. It is also essential to improve the technology and innovativeness of the processes in this block.
The economic and social effects primarily involve improvements to the quality of people’s living environment. The environment is a symbiosis of the socioeconomic framework. On the one hand, it directly affects the quality of people’s lives, while, on the other, it creates opportunities to establish new economic ties and make the space of human activity more flexible.
When developing infrastructure to work with a product - from primary production to re-introduction into the economy - the following principles should be taken into consideration:
• Flexibility combined with a clear description of standards and the speed of their implementation
• Symbiosis of planning, competition, and flexibility
• Localization (a network in small settlements) of production and processing (due to the fact that the human living environment is becoming more heterogeneous)
• Data and analysis for decision-making
Restructuring the system would be a step towards a new technological redistribution. Modern technologies help us progress towards new formats of life and reformat the environment, as we take the next step towards new technologies and reshape our way of life.
