Design For Environment Tools Research Articles

A Compilation of Design for Environment Guidelines

Policymakers, consumers, and industry leaders are increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of modern products. In response, product designers seek simple and effective methods for lowering the environmental footprints of their concepts. Design for environment (DfE) is a field of product design methodology that includes tools, methods, and principles to help designers reduce environmental impact. The most powerful and well-known tool for DfE is life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA requires a fully specified design, however, which makes it applicable primarily at the end of the design process. Because the decisions with the greatest environmental impact are made during early design stages when data for a comprehensive LCA are not yet available, it is important to develop DfE tools that can be implemented in the early conceptual and embodiment design stages. Based on a broad critical review of DfE literature and best practices, a set of 76 DfE guidelines are compiled and reconciled for use in early stage design of products with minimal environmental impact. Select guidelines are illustrated through examples, and several strategies for using the guidelines are introduced.

Fuzzy QFD integrated CAD/CAE and DFE framework: enabler of sustainable product design practices

Quality function deployment (QFD) is effective and a very useful analysing tool in product design and development process. The determination of the fulfilment levels of customer needs and engineering characteristics is an important issue during QFD process for development of new product concept. To solve the uncertainty in QFD as well as to tackle the vague nature of product development processes, numerous researchers have applied the fuzzy set theory to QFD. This paper describes an approach where computer aided design and engineering (CAD/CAE) and design for environment (DFE) integration was deployed and using fuzzy QFD tool, product sustainable actions were prioritised. The feasibility of deploying CAD/CAE and DFE tools for achieving effectiveness in the product development process through a real case has been ensured. Finally, application of the fuzzy QFD logic is considered to be highly valuable to translate linguistic judgements required for relationships and correlations matrixes into numerical values.

Structure and output mechanisms in Design for Environment (DfE) tools

Abstract This paper advocates that a paradigm shift is required in order to improve the performance of the next generation Design for Environment (DfE) tools. Four output mechanisms were identified during the analysis of 22 DfE tools. Further analysis of these mechanisms revealed that the output was focused in one of two ways. In the majority of tools, strategies are prioritised to initiate the output mechanisms, resulting in guidance that is strategy focused and of limited use to the designer. The alternative is to focus on the product under development to initiate the output mechanism. This has the potential to deliver output and guidance that is directly relevant to the product. This paper identifies and discusses the types of guidance provided by DfE tools. The performance of each tool at assisting the user towards a better understanding of environmental issues and improving their ability to generate viable solutions is fully discussed. In summary, this paper explains the background to the study, outlining the research method, and discusses the importance of the findings relative to the future design of DfE tools.

A Conceptual Design Tool for Resolving Conflicts Between Product Functionality and Environmental Impact

Product development organizations are unwilling to compromise product functionality, unit cost, or time to market in order to create products that have less environmental impact than that required by regulations. Thus, designers may face a conflict between improving product functionality and reducing environmental impact. The design for environment (DfE) tools currently available are inadequate with respect to helping designers determine how to resolve this conflict during the conceptual design phase. Design-by-analogy is a promising conceptual design approach for this problem. Examples of products that simultaneously reduce environmental impact and improve product functionality can inspire designers to do likewise. The challenges are to generate the relevant knowledge and to organize it in an accessible DfE tool. This paper describes an approach for generating and organizing this knowledge, an analysis of successful products, and a table of successful designs.

Beyond Tools: A Design for Environment Process

The greatest opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of a new product occurs during the design phase of its life cycle. Design for Environment (DfE) tools, when implemented, become part of the product development process. Often, however, the DfE tools are isolated from the other activities that comprise the product development process. To avoid this problem, tools must be situated in a DfE process that describes how the DfE tools will be used and links DfE activities with the rest of the product development process. This paper presents an innovative DfE process that is being incorporated into an existing product development process at a leading power tool manufacturing company, The Black & Decker Corporation. The DfE process includes DfE tools and activities that are specifically designed to help Black & Decker achieve their environmental objectives.

Engineering designers' experience of design for environment methods and tools – Requirement definitions from an interview study

Despite an increasing number of Design for Environment (DfE) methods and tools, industrial utilization is still limited. Identifying Engineering Designers' requirements is a useful way to increase the utilization of DfE methods and tools. This paper is based on existing literature and a semi-structured interview study at an industrial equipment company. Different reasons why engineering designers utilize methods and tools are presented, as well what makes a method or tool actively utilized. Several engineering designer requirements for methods and tools are identified and described. Several identified requirements that a DfE method ought to fulfill are listed and described.

From Life Cycle Assessment to Sustainable Production: Status and Perspectives

The paper reviews the current state of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) introducing the central elements of the methodology and the latest developments in assessment of the environmental, economic and social impacts along the product chain. The central role of LCA in Integrated Product Policy (IPP) is substantiated describing the different tools of the IPP. An overview is given on Design for Environment (DFE), presenting central findings from the latest decade of research and reviewing different DFE tools which have been developed. Describing the DFX's of Design for environment, a specific focus is devoted to the tools for design for disassembly. Life Cycle Engineering is defined, and a systematic hierarchy is presented for the different levels at which environmental impacts from industry can be addressed by the engineer in order to improve the eco-efficiency of the industry. The role of industry in meeting the sustainability challenge to our societies is discussed, and it is concluded that industry must include not only the eco-efficiency but also the product's environmental justification and the company ethics in a life cycle perspective in order to become sustainable. In the outlook it is concluded that current drivers seem insufficient to create a strong move of particularly the small and medium-sized enterprises in the direction of sustainability, and a need for stronger legislation and for education and attitude building among future citizens and engineers is identified.

Design for Environment — Do We Get the Focus Right?

Sometimes, products resulting from design for environment (DFE) endeavours are sub-optimisations from an environmental perspective, because the tool determines the process and not vice versa. For a more systematic way of getting the focus right a hierarchy of focusing is introduced: 1. What is the function provided and what is the optimal way of providing it while making a business out of it? Which product should the company then produce? 2. Where are the “environmental hot spots” in the life cycle of this product? 3. Which DFE tool supports optimisation of the product by reducing these hot spots?

Integrating environmental concerns into the design process: the gap between theory and practice

This paper focuses on the product design process and integration of environmental performance criteria during this critical stage. Specifically, the authors explore environmentally responsible manufacturing (ERM) as perceived and acted on by two critical groups within this design process. The first consists of the champions and supporters of ERM, who either formally or informally act as advocates of ERM within the organization. The second consists of the users of design for environment (DfE) tools and procedures. Typically, these people consist of product designers and design engineers. The authors study these two groups through in-depth interviews with managers and engineers in a sample of ten firms drawn from the "best-in-class" environmental leaders. They found that a large gap exists between the ERM supporters and the users of ERM tools in terms of expectations, perceptions and orientations toward ERM principles, practices and tools. To overcome some of the many obstacles preventing effective integration of environmental criteria into the design process, they conclude with a process map that proposes the following steps: (1) enlisting support of a corporate champion; (2) defining environmental goals; (3) selecting a pilot project; (4) setting product launch goals and evaluation system; (5) enlisting support of team members; (6) providing DfE tools and training; (7) monitoring the project; and (8) celebrating successes.