From the Problem to a Technical System Proposal
In a neighborhood in Puebla, PET bottles pile up in the ravine and clog the storm drains when it rains. A group of neighbors thinks: "What if we used those bottles to make benches for the community garden?" A good idea is not yet a business. To make it one, you have to decide how it will be produced, with what, who does what, and how many pieces must be sold so that no money is lost. That is what designing a technical system means.
Craft or factory-based
Every business that makes something follows a technical process. Depending on how it is produced, it falls into one of two main types.
The line between them is not always clear: a bakery with an electric oven and a dough mixer can combine both. To classify a process, ask yourself what predominates: manual work and the person's skill, or the machine and mass production.
Classify each venture as artisanal or factory-based and justify your answer: the alebrijes carved and painted by hand in San Martín Tilcajete; a plant that makes…
Classify each venture as artisanal or factory-based and justify your answer: the alebrijes carved and painted by hand in San Martín Tilcajete; a plant that makes thousands of concrete blocks a day; the jams a cooperative produces in batches during fruit season; a bottled soft drink factory.
The six elements of the technical system
A technical system is the set of elements that combine to produce something or solve a need. To describe a business without forgetting anything, six elements are reviewed.
| Element | What it answers | Example: bread workshop |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | Who does what, when, and how are decisions made? | Shifts for kneading, baking, and sales; weekly meeting |
| Means | With what tools, machines, and space? | Oven, dough mixer, trays, shop |
| Materials | What is transformed and what is consumed? | Flour, yeast, sugar, bags |
| Energy | What source makes the process work? | Oven gas, electricity, hand power |
| Knowledge | Technical and scientific know-how | Fermentation, temperatures, hygiene, accounting |
| Traditional wisdom | Traditional and community know-how | Grandma's recipe, shapes of conchas, timing "by eye" |
A cooperative wants to make eco-bricks by stuffing PET bottles with clean, dry plastic waste, to build benches and walls for the community garden. Complete the six…
A cooperative wants to make eco-bricks by stuffing PET bottles with clean, dry plastic waste, to build benches and walls for the community garden. Complete the six elements of the venture's technical system with a concrete example of each one: organization, means, materials, energy, knowledge and know-how.
One sustainable decision per element
A business is sustainable if it meets the need without harming the environment, without excluding anyone, and with profits that allow it to continue. A single "green" decision is not enough: each element is reviewed.
| Element | Question for deciding | Example decision |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | Does the whole community take part and benefit? | Rotate tasks and share the profits fairly |
| Means | Can they be repaired and shared? | Repairable tools, a workshop shared with another cooperative |
| Materials | Where do they come from and where will they go? | Bottles collected in the neighborhood; leftovers go to recycling |
| Energy | Is there a cleaner option? | Work during the day with natural light; solar dryer |
| Knowledge | Is it shared and kept up to date? | Workshops for young people on waste management |
| Traditional wisdom | Is it respected and valued? | Invite the elders to teach their techniques |
For the eco-brick venture to be sustainable, reusing bottles is not enough. Propose one sustainable decision for each element of the technical system (organization,…
For the eco-brick venture to be sustainable, reusing bottles is not enough. Propose one sustainable decision for each element of the technical system (organization, means, materials, energy, knowledge and know-how) and explain in one sentence what makes it sustainable.
How many pieces must be sold: break-even point
A sustainable proposal must also be able to sustain itself with money. To know when a business stops losing money, we calculate the break-even point.
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Fixed costs: they are paid whether or not you sell (rent, electricity, transportation).
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Variable cost per piece: what it costs to make each one (materials and labor).
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Profit per piece = selling price − variable cost.
Why it works: each piece sold "contributes" its profit toward paying the fixed costs; the break-even point is the number of contributions needed to reach zero.
The cooperative sells each eco-brick for $\$9.50$. Making it costs $\$6.20$ between materials and labor, and the workshop's fixed costs (rent, electricity and transport)…
The cooperative sells each eco-brick for $\$9.50$. Making it costs $\$6.20$ between materials and labor, and the workshop's fixed costs (rent, electricity and transport) add up to $\$4,300.00$ per month. Calculate how many eco-bricks it must sell per month just to cover the fixed costs (round up: you cannot sell a fraction of a brick) and explain what happens if in one month it sells 100 fewer pieces than that number.
Go back to the beginning: the PET bottles from the neighborhood in Puebla become a business when it is described with its six elements, made sustainable in each one, and shown, with the break-even point, to be able to sustain itself.