What effects do design and manufacturing have on society, the environment and the workforce, and how can a designer reduce the harm?
The impact of design and manufacturing technologies on society, the environment and the workforce: sustainability and the six Rs, resource use and waste, planned obsolescence, and the effects of automation and global manufacture on workers.
An SQA Higher Design and Manufacture answer on the impact of design and manufacturing technologies on society, the environment and the workforce, covering sustainability and the six Rs, resource use and waste, planned obsolescence, and the effects of automation and global manufacture on workers.
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What this key area is asking
The SQA wants you to explain the impact that design and manufacturing technologies have on society, the environment and the workforce, and how a designer can reduce the harm. The headline tool is sustainability and the six Rs, but the topic also covers resource use and waste, planned obsolescence, and the effects of automation and global manufacture on workers. The question paper asks about these for 4 to 6 marks, often built around the six Rs.
Impact on the environment
A product affects the environment at every stage of its life: extracting and processing raw materials, manufacture (energy and waste), transport, use (energy and consumables), and disposal (landfill or recycling). Designers reduce this by using fewer and lower-impact materials, cutting energy use, choosing recyclable or renewable materials, and designing products that last and can be repaired rather than thrown away.
Planned obsolescence - designing a product to wear out, go out of fashion or be uneconomic to repair so the customer buys a replacement - increases waste and resource use. Designing against it (for durability, repairability and timeless form) is a sustainable choice.
The six Rs of sustainability
In practice a designer applies several Rs at once: a drinks bottle might be reduced (thinner walls, less material), made from a single recyclable thermoplastic rather than mixed materials, designed to be reused (refillable), and the packaging refused (sold loose). Each decision cuts the environmental cost.
Impact on society and the workforce
Design and manufacture also shape people's lives and work:
- Society. New products change how people live and work (mobile phones, electric vehicles), can improve access and inclusion (products designed for disabled or older users), and can raise expectations and consumption.
- The workforce. Automation and robotics replace repetitive manual jobs, so some roles disappear while others shift towards setting up, programming and maintaining machines, demanding new skills. Automation also improves consistency and safety and lowers cost. Global manufacture can move work to lower-cost countries, affecting local employment, and raises questions about working conditions in supply chains.
Where this fits in the course
This key area completes the Materials and Manufacture area and links to material choice (recyclability follows from the polymer family), to manufacturing processes and scales (energy and waste), and to the design factors (sustainability is one of them). The question paper examines the impact on society, environment and workforce, often through the six Rs, and your design assignment is stronger when it shows sustainable choices.
Try this
Q1. Explain what is meant by planned obsolescence and why it is a sustainability problem. [3 marks]
- Cue. Designing a product to wear out or date so it is replaced; it increases waste and resource use, working against sustainability.
Q2. Explain three of the six Rs as design decisions for reducing the impact of a packaging design. [6 marks]
- Cue. Reduce material, refuse unnecessary layers, use a single recyclable material and design it to be reused - each cuts waste and resource use.
Q3. Explain one positive and one negative effect of automation on the manufacturing workforce. [4 marks]
- Cue. Positive: safer, consistent, lower cost. Negative: repetitive jobs lost and remaining roles need new programming and maintenance skills.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher6 marksExplain how a designer can reduce the environmental impact of a product, referring to the six Rs of sustainability.Show worked answer →
Worth about 6 marks, so the marker wants several of the six Rs explained
as design decisions. The mark scheme rewards the Rs applied to reducing
impact, not just listed.
Reduce. Use less material and energy, for example by designing a thinner
wall or fewer parts, which cuts resource use and waste.
Reuse and Refuse. Design so parts or the whole product can be used again
(a refillable bottle), and refuse unnecessary materials such as excess
packaging.
Recycle and Repair. Choose materials that can be recycled (a single
thermoplastic rather than mixed materials) and design so the product can be
opened and repaired rather than thrown away, extending its life.
Rethink. Rethink the whole approach, for example a product as a service or
a different material altogether. A strong answer applies several Rs to one
product and states that this lowers resource use, waste and pollution
across the product's life.
SQA Higher4 marksExplain how the increased use of automation in manufacturing affects the workforce.Show worked answer →
Worth about 4 marks. The markers want both positive and negative effects
on workers.
Job losses and changed roles. Automation and robots replace repetitive
manual jobs, so some workers lose their roles, while the jobs that remain
shift towards setting up, programming and maintaining machines, needing
new skills.
Consistency, safety and cost. Automation produces consistent quality and
can do dangerous or heavy tasks, improving safety and lowering cost, which
can keep a business competitive and protect other jobs.
A strong answer balances the two: automation can cut jobs and demand
retraining, but it also improves safety, quality and cost, and notes that
global manufacture can move work to lower-cost countries, affecting local
workforces.
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