Define the decision and boundary
State the manufacturing change, product or process, site, baseline period, observation period and intended use of the case study. List the operations and life-cycle stages included and excluded. Identify the functional unit used to compare results.
Blank case-study record
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Change examined | |
| Product/process and site | |
| Baseline and observation periods | |
| Included/excluded operations | |
| Production volume and functional unit | |
| Data sources and calculation | |
| Quality/safety checks | |
| Result and uncertainty | |
| Transfers or unintended effects | |
| Limits on applying the result elsewhere |
Illustrative calculation
A hypothetical process uses 1,000 MWh to make 500,000 acceptable units in the baseline and 920 MWh to make 430,000 acceptable units after a change.
Total energy falls by 8%, but energy per acceptable unit rises from 2.00 kWh to about 2.14 kWh. The example shows why a case study should report total and normalised values, yield and product quality together. It is not an IAHPM or member performance result.
Check the product context
Record whether material, specification, yield, rework, safety controls, product life, packaging or transport changed. A reduction inside one boundary may shift demand or impact elsewhere. Explain the transfer instead of presenting the selected indicator as the complete result.
Write the conclusion
State what changed within the defined boundary and period, the uncertainty and the conditions that limit transfer to another site or product. Avoid broad environmental claims that the data set does not support.
Sources and review
Identify the measurement records, conversion factors and calculation method. Retain enough information for another reviewer to reproduce the calculation.