Design for environment by target life cycle costing

Abstract

Although many methodologies and tools have been developed to design environmentally friendly products, life cycle cost aspects have barely been included and likewise there has been no significant discussion on how to effectively combine different tools. There are specific tools supporting environmentally friendly design such as LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), and tools supporting cost optimisation such as Target Costing and Life Cycle Costing. A combination of these tools is necessary to minimise costs along the whole product life cycle while simultaneously fulfilling environmental requirements. The Target Life Cycle Costing (TLCC) method was developed by the Fraunhofer IPA, concentrating on Design for Environment and on optimising product functionalities by decreasing environmental costs. This paper analyses how designers can optimise costs and conduct product redesign by Target Life Cycle Costing, providing case studies on two products: a medical appliance and a washing machine. The analysis shows that implementing TLCC facilitates cost reduction by product redesign considering functional roles of product components from both an environmental and an economic point of view. This type of combination supports designers effectively, whereas a single tool could not achieve the same results.