Recycling Acoustical Ceiling Tile

Overview

The team was tasked with improving the process of ceiling tile recovery from
renovation & demolition sites. The sponsor, Armstrong World Industries (AWI), who
manufactures the ceiling tiles, has developed the capabilities to recycle old tiles into
new ones and identified other end markets for the material; however, sustainable
tile recovery is only adopted a fraction of the opportunities available.

Objectives

The team was directed to develop a new prototype and/or process that would
make tile recovery some combination of cheaper, easier, and faster. It was
informed by AWI (and confirmed by industry experts) that the labor cost of tile
removal was the most prohibitive factor: the detailed objective was to substantially
reduce the person-hours necessary for tile removal.

Approach

Discuss with sponsor what they hope to achieve and what they know about
the current process
▪ Speak to contractors in the industry (end users) about their experience with
ceiling tiles and recycling
▪ Research of existing patents and processes outside of AWI
▪ Brainstorming potential ideas, selecting vacuum idea to be pursued further
▪ Developing physical alpha prototype (vacuum only), traveled to AWI
headquarters to test and compare to original process
▪ Beta prototype built, tested on ceilings at Penn State
▪ Begin to develop sensor ideas, adjusting for budget capabilities
▪ Final Prototype built, team revisited AWI headquarters to demonstrate,
collect footage comparing new and original processes
▪ Simulated old and new processes in simio to evaluate worker efficiency and
throughput over long periods

Outcomes

Prototype use reduces person-hours by 43% (almost half the labor cost)
▪ Decreased time spent waiting on dependent tasks
▪ Prototype presents significant ergonomic advantages over traditional
process
▪ Team developed proof-of-concept tile bin with sensor to help evaluate tile
contamination upon removal