Structuring your model in Mobius is key to maintaining a clear Product inventory. This can be done using templates or through custom structures. Whether working with simple items or complex components, organizing your model with logical hierarchies helps streamline navigation and improve your analysis. This article answers the following questions:
Why structure your model?
How to structure your model?
Feel like you're missing information? This article builds upon the following articles, check them out if you want to learn more:
On creating a product: Mobius - How to: Create your first product
Templates: Mobius: Templates
Using import: Mobius - How to: Import data
Why structure your model?
Structuring your model in Mobius is essential for keeping your Product inventory clear and manageable. When your product consists of multiple items or components, organizing these elements in a logical hierarchy makes it easier to understand and navigate. Without a clear structure, your inventory quickly becomes a cluttered list of objects, making it harder to pinpoint and analyze individual components. By introducing subitems and arranging them in levels, you enhance the clarity of your model, enabling smoother navigation and more efficient environmental impact assessments.
You otherwise may be obliged to structure your model a certain way if you want it to follow a specific standard (e.g., EN15804). Read more on that here.
How to structure your model?
Note - Structuring your model: There is no right or wrong way of structuring your LCA in Mobius, as long as you include all relevant inputs related to your defined scope/system boundaries. Which structure you use ultimately depends on the quality, amount, and structure of your primary data, as well as the complexity of the production process. Consider using a structure that resembles how data is stored in your (ERP) systems, to avoid processing and manipulating primary data. Typically we see that structuring a product based on the final product (option 2B) works well for most users, but it is not a ‘one size fits all’ template.
Option 1: Use templates
Templates in Mobius offer a starting point for structuring your model. The templates provide already-built model structures for several products (find one that best fits your product!). There is also an open or ‘skeleton’ template (i.e., ‘Product structure (General)’) that is more of a general structure to customize to your product (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Using the ‘Product Structure (General) template in Mobius.
Note - ‘Product Structure (General)’ Template: This template offers a general structure with prefilled commonly used units and some datasets. For instance:
Transport: unit: tkm; dataset: lorry unspecified
Processes: unit: kWh; dataset: electricity
Packaging (unit: kg).
Use this template as is to get a feel for the modeling process, and/or make adjustments as needed.
Option 2: Build your model
You may want to build your model from a ‘blank slate’- to learn about key steps in Mobius (i.e., adding items, sub-items, etc.), tailor your structure to the uniqueness of your product, etc. Below we provide a (non-exhaustive) list of ways to structure your model.
Option 2A: Based on standards
Are you following a specific standard? Standards (e.g., EN15804) often prescribe guidelines (e.g., what components to include and how to group them) that affect how you should structure your Product inventory in Mobius. Be sure to review your standard’s guidelines before building your model!
Pro tip - Model according to EN15804: Want to follow EN15804? The life cycle feature in Mobius automatically structures your model according to EN15804 guidelines. If this applies to you, build your model using this feature rather than in the Product inventory!
Option 2B: Based on the final product
The most common way to structure your Product inventory in Mobius is by basing it on your final product (Figure 2). This method is perfect for when the (data for the) main elements of your model can easily be separated into raw materials and transport (of those materials), and production utilities and waste.
Classification of items:
Top-level items - structure elements. Examples:
Raw materials & transport
Production
Intermediate items - model building blocks. Examples:
Raw material 1, 2, 3,
Utilities, Production waste
Lowest level impact items - items with a unit and impact attached. Examples:
Raw material item 1…
Transport item 1…
Figure 2: Example Product inventory structure based on the final product.
Option 2C: Based on processes
Another way to structure your Product inventory is according to processes or intermediate products (Figure 3). This method is useful if your product undergoes multiple processes with material inputs that are essential to your end product (e.g., chemical products).
Classification of items
Level 1 items: Processes that produce the product. Example:
1 kg of Chlorine from electrolysis
Level 2 items: Activities needed for or resulting from each process. Examples:
Materials and transport (of those materials) for the electrolysis process
Energy items needed for the electrolysis process
Waste items produced from the electrolysis
Level 3 items: Actual objects with a unit and impact associated with them
Figure 3: Example Product inventory structure based on processes for a chemical product undergoing electrolysis.
Option 3: Import data in a structure
You may want to quickstart your LCA modeling by importing data, in diverse formats - depending on your end goal. In the following article we dive into various ways you can structure your import file in order to add (bulk) data in a specific format.
Next steps
Implementing a clear structure in your Mobius model simplifies the organization and analysis of your product's lifecycle. Whether you use pre-built templates or create a custom structure, proper organization ensures easier navigation and more effective insights, enhancing the overall efficiency of your environmental assessments.