Sustainability Performance Of Products Research Articles

Manufacturing Process and System Sustainability Analysis Tool: A Proof-of-Concept for Teaching Sustainable Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering

Abstract Decision support methods and tools have been developed to aid in improving product sustainability performance during design. However, these approaches are often developed for domain experts and not well-suited for non-expert decision makers (e.g., engineering students and engineering practitioners), who do not possess specialized knowledge in sustainability analysis of product designs and manufacturing processes. The objective of this research is to facilitate the sustainability performance analysis of manufacturing processes and systems through unit manufacturing process (UMP) modeling within an easy-to-use, publicly-available product design, and manufacturing analysis tool. To achieve this objective, a sustainability assessment framework is developed that considers a cradle-to-gate life cycle scope and has four phases: (1) product development, (2) supply chain configuration, (3) manufacturing process design, and (4) manufacturing process and system (MaPS) sustainability analysis. To implement this framework and to address the identified limitations of existing tools, a proof-of-concept MaPS sustainability analysis tool is developed as a spreadsheet software tool. The tool supports the evaluation of environmental (energy and associated carbon footprint), economic (the cost of goods sold), and social (worker safety) impacts. While this study focuses on the technical aspects of the research, the authors investigate associated educational aspects in a separate study and report tool operational performance evaluation by undergraduate and graduate engineering students. Study participants found the tool easy to use and useful in completing sustainability assessment tasks in product design and manufacturing. To build upon this research, the developed framework and tool can be expanded to consider other phases of the product life cycle. Moreover, key software tool operational characteristics and graphical user interfaces should be investigated to improve efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, and learnability of the MaPS sustainability analysis tool.

Bayesian belief network-based risk likelihood assessment for sustainable product design decision making

Numerous methods can be used during the design stage to ensure that new products are developed to optimize performance with respect to economic, environmental, and societal objectives. When an optimally chosen design is launched, many uncertainties are likely to affect its performance over different lifecycle stages. Such uncertainties give rise to various risks that can potentially lead to deviations between the expected and actual economic, environmental, and societal implications of the product designed. Therefore, it is imperative that sustainable product design alternatives are also assessed to evaluate their robustness against such risks, should they occur, before design decisions are finalized. However, comprehensive quantitative methods for use during the product design stage to evaluate the influence of the likelihood of different risks on expected sustainability performance are lacking. The purpose of this paper is to address these gaps by developing a methodology for risk likelihood assessment. The sequence of risk identification, risk analysis, and risk evaluation for systematic risk assessment, recommended in the ISO 31000 Risk Management Guidelines, is followed to develop a methodology to quantify risks and their effects. For risk identification, a comprehensive taxonomy is used to identify risks that can influence total lifecycle product sustainability performance. For risk analysis, Bayesian Belief Network (BBN)-based approach is used to develop a method to assess the influence of risks on total lifecycle product performance through predictive and diagnostic inference. A new metric, the Operational Risk Index (ORI), is developed to better communicate influence of risk likelihoods. For risk evaluation, methods to evaluate risk mitigation strategies are presented. An industrial case study is used to demonstrate the application of the methods. The proposed BBN-based decision support tool enables assessing and visualizing the effect of risks on product design performance, identifying critical risks, and risk propagation paths. The tools can enable product designers to make risk-informed choices when identifying product designs that are more robust and ensure improved total lifecycle sustainability performance. The new ORI metric is helpful to compare multiple designs with respect to total lifecycle risk assessment. The methods proposed in this research present a comprehensive methodology for total lifecycle risk likelihood assessment in sustainable product design decision making.

THE RIGHT-TO-REPAIR MOVEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IMPLICATIONS: A FOCUS ON THREE INDUSTRIAL SECTORS

AbstractWhile products get more challenging to repair, the right-to-repair movement aims to empower consumers in their ability to “use, modify, and repair” a device “whenever, wherever, and however” they want. Here, the best design practices and remaining challenges of three industrial sectors – namely, consumer electronics, biomedical devices, and clothing industry – are investigated in light of the right-to-repair movement. Based on literature reviews and industrial surveys, a SWOT analysis is provided for each sector, and sustainable implications for product repair readiness are drawn. Concretely, recommendations to design, develop and sell products with right-to-repair in mind are given by sector. Future directions for a more quantitative assessment and implementation of design for product repair are discussed to ensure the augmentation of the circularity and sustainability performance of products.

Digitalization as driver to achieve circularity in the agroindustry: A SWOT-ANP-ADAM approach

In the last decades, the agroindustry is facing environmental issues due particularly to food loss and waste, requiring a strong orientation towards sustainability and the circular economy (CE) paradigm. This study carries out an investigation of the role of digitalization in serving as a driver to achieve circularity in the agroindustry.A SWOT analysis was performed to assess the strengths and weaknesses (internal factors) and opportunities and threats (external factors) of digitalization in boosting circularity within agroindustry systems and identifying critical factors (CFs). Through the Analytical Network Process (ANP), an evaluation of these CFs was provided, while the Axial-Distance-Based Aggregated Measurement (ADAM) method allowed for the ranking of the strategic alternatives to better inform management decisions.This study provides valuable results that reveal the crucial role of digitalization in boosting circularity within agroindustry, highlighting the most impactful strategies driving the transition towards a circular economy. Linking the high sustainability performance of products to incentives and increasing consumer inclusion and awareness in business dynamics were found to be the most relevant strategies for making agro-industrial supply chains more circular.This study provides recommendations to lead managers' and practitioners' decisions towards the adoption of strategies, aimed at making the agro-industrial sector more adherent to the principles of circular economy and sustainability.

Metrics-based dynamic product sustainability performance evaluation for advancing the circular economy

Creating products that support the circular economy (CE) requires evaluating product sustainability performance (PSP) and planning the production process during the design stage. Evaluating PSP disregarding demand and production variations over the time a product is produced can lead to significant calculation errors, and therefore, misinformed design decisions. This has severe consequences in the CE-focused closed-loop productions. However, current literature on product sustainability and circularity evaluation methods is largely design-specific and explicitly or implicitly assumes a steady-state production. Thus, there exists a gap in the literature concerning PSP forecasting over multi-period productions with closed-loop flows. Therefore, this paper proposes a metrics-based framework that quantifies, simulates, and forecasts the PSP, considering the dynamic variations in demand forecast, closed-loop resource constraints, and end-of-use resource allocations. Accordingly, based on the literature on PSP evaluation as well as production planning, and input from industry experts, a new methodology was formulated to synthesize and develop this framework. A numerical application demonstrates that the PSP significantly varies with the demand curve profile (up to 25% change in certain metrics), even when the product design is constant. Most importantly, this paper introduces the concept of PSP as a “dynamic” measure over the temporal dimension, providing a framework to evaluate it comprehensively and with greater accuracy. Thereupon, this concept transforms how sustainability and circularity are viewed conventionally. When adopted, the concept will offer the designers greater insights that significantly improve the product design and planning process to advance the CE.

Optimizing sustainability performance through component commonality for multi-generational products

Increasing frequency of new product introduction reduces the potential to implement closed-loops and repurpose serviceable end-of-use resources, causing sub-optimal resource utilization. Furthermore, it hinders the transition to sustainable manufacturing and circular economy. Although careful planning of inter-generational design compatibility allows implementing sustainable closed-loops even in fast-paced multi-generation systems, designers currently lack the product sustainability performance (PSP) forecasting methods required for such planning. Thus, this paper presents a new design methodology that forecasts and maximizes the closed-loop dynamic PSP by identifying the optimal component-level commonality between successive design generations. The proposed method employs the Norton-Bass diffusion model to forecast multi-generation demand and utilizes the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II to identify the optimal design configurations. The representative PSP objectives used in this work are: maximization of manufacturer gross profit, minimization of total greenhouse gas emissions, and maximization of product's functional value (for customer). The optimized inter-generational component commonality significantly improved all three objectives considered. The results further demonstrate the potential PSP improvements by optimizing the market introduction timing of successive product generations to increase closed-loop resource management effectiveness.

Integrating lean design and eco-design to improve product design: From literature review to an operational framework

Lean manufacturing accomplishments have led researchers and practitioners to consider extending lean to different engineering enterprise parts, including product and process development. However, in the early phases of product development, it is important to both reduce costs and improve a product's sustainability performance. This paper develops a framework to guide designers and manufacturing managers to design products that better meet customer needs and requirements for sustainable products and services. To achieve this, a critical review of the existing literature in the field of lean design, and eco-design was conducted to fill the research gap and then develop the proposed methodological framework. The integration aimed to create synergies to extend the integration benefits and promote rational use of resources and time to create value for customers by eliminating waste and unnecessary actions in the product development process. The main objective is to ensure the development of products with minimal negative impacts on the natural environment. To our knowledge, this is the first time in the literature that an integrated framework is bringing together lean design and eco-design principles, practices, guidelines, drivers, barriers, and success factors. The framework can potentially serve product designers, manufacturing engineers, sales/marketing personnel, in fact, anyone who has a vested interest in designing environmentally friendly products.

Addressing environmental sustainability of biochemicals

Producing biochemicals from renewable resources is a key driver for moving towards sustainable societies. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a standardized tool to measure related progress by quantifying environmental sustainability performance of chemical products along their life cycles. We analysed LCA studies applied to commercialized commodity biochemicals produced through microbial fermentation. The few available studies show inconsistencies in coverage of environmental impacts and life cycle stages, with varying conclusions. Claims of better sustainability performance of biochemicals over fossil-based chemicals are often based on comparing global warming impacts, while ignoring other impacts from bio-feedstock production. To boost sustainable biochemicals, we recommend that LCA practitioners include the broader range of impact indicators and entire life cycles, follow standards and guidance, and address missing data. The biochemical industry should systematically use LCA to direct research, identify impact hotspots, and develop methods to estimate full-scale process performance. This will promote biotechnology as important contributor to solving existing sustainability challenges. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to quantify the environmental sustainability performance of products. This Perspective analyses LCA studies of commercialized biochemicals produced through microbial fermentation to highlight gaps in coverage of environmental impacts and life cycle stages.

Modular architecture principles – MAPs: a key factor in the development of sustainable open architecture products

ABSTRACTModularity is one of the most useful tools employed in the product development process. Regarding functionality, the use of modules is common to generate flexible platforms to manufacture products and product families that require functional variations. In the current globalized market, the mass individualization or personalization is the preferred production model that delivers cost-effectiveness and satisfaction at the level of the market of one. In this model, the modularity is employed as a powerful concept applied not only for the manufacture but also for the use and final disposal stages, in which the design of modules provides functionalities and features that satisfy a variety of specifications for different market segments. Despite the existence of approaches in modularity and its usefulness in product development, it is possible to identify a lack of analysis of modular and open architecture to enhance the sustainability performance of products regarding strategies to diminish adverse impacts during their lifecycle. This paper provides an analysis of the influence and potential of Modular Architecture Principles – MAPs in the sustainable design of open architecture products. Additionally, lifecycle considerations are analysed to identify and propose strategies that enforce the sustainability performance of products concerning personalization from early design stagesAbbreviations: MAPs: Modular Architecture Principles; FMS: Flexible Manufacturing System; RMS: Reconfigurable Manufacturing System; EOL: End Of Life; LCA: Life Cycle Assessment; QFD: Quality Function Deployment; DFMA: Design For Manufacturing And Assembly

A questionnaire-based methodology to assist non-experts in selecting sustainable engineering analysis methods and software tools

Currently, there are limited techniques for non-experts to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of different methods and software tools developed by industry and academia for assessing each aspect of product sustainability performance. Moreover, the variety of available methods and software tools makes it challenging for non-experts to identify the most appropriate analysis option. This research aims to assist non-experts in selecting the most appropriate set of analysis methods and software tools prior to conducting sustainable engineering analysis (SEA) based on life cycle data accessible to them. A questionnaire-based ranking methodology is developed for non-experts, which reduces their time investment in examining the myriad SEA methods and tools and avoids non-value added effort. The questionnaire uses an interaction matrix within a general mathematical modeling approach to map a given set of methods and tools to user responses. Relevance weights are integrated within the matrix to rank available environmental, economic, and social assessment methods and tools for user consideration. To demonstrate the application of the methodology, a pilot project was conducted to improve the design of a hexacopter. Results were compared using lower- and higher-fidelity software tools to demonstrate the effectiveness of the relevance weights assigned to each tool. Assigned weights were determined to enable differentiation between low and high fidelity methods and tools, but as new methods and tools enter into use, these weights must be updated. The process of selecting SEA methods and software gives insight into the utility of the interaction matrix implemented within the tool developed in this research. Moreover, non-experts can compare various design alternatives using the selected analysis methods and software tools to arrive at a solution with improved sustainability performance.

Understanding the effects of retailer- and manufacturer-provided sustainability labels on product evaluations and purchase-related outcomes

Little research has explicitly considered the influence of retailer-provided sustainability disclosure at points of purchase for brands within specific product categories. Thus, this paper examines the conditions wherein sustainability labels with scale ratings assist consumers in determining the sustainability performance of products. Study 1 findings demonstrate that, when concerned with social desirability, consumers' product evaluations are greater for products with high (vs. low) sustainability levels. When not concerned with social desirability, this pattern exists so long as the levels are consistent with category-based expectations. Extending these findings, Study 2 results show that evaluations and purchase-related outcomes are greater for products with high levels within (vs. outside) expectations for low-efficacy consumers not concerned with social desirability. Yet, these effects are mitigated for low-efficacy consumers concerned with social desirability. Further, Study 3 suggests that the effect is attenuated for low-efficacy consumers at low levels and for high-efficacy consumers irrespective of sustainability level.

Visual Communication Methods and Tools for Sustainability Performance Assessment: Linking Academic and Industry Perspectives

Effective decision-making based on quantitative analysis is limited by analysts’ abilities to visualize and interpret data and information, a critical challenge in sustainability performance assessment. Non-experts, including students and marketing/finance professionals, often lack experience in interpreting complex data and results, increasing the difficulty of evaluating product sustainability performance. A lack of robust and clear visualization frameworks represents a barrier in advancing the efficacy of sustainability analyses, the tools used for such analyses, and the decisions based on them, exacerbated by the gap between research and industry practice. Emerging and ongoing efforts are investigated by reviewing the research literature on the visual communication of quantitative sustainability performance information and by collecting direct input from sustainability assessment practitioners. While the communication of complicated and uncertain results is an active area of research, prior visualization tool development efforts in support of sustainable product, process, and supply chain design decision-making have found little commercial application. Viewed as a thorny challenge by practitioners, our analysis did not find universal guidance for visualization, but it did uncover best practices for presenting actionable sustainability analysis results that could provide a starting point. Based on the intersection of the literature analysis and primary source interviews, we provide a snapshot of the current state in the field and present potential research avenues.

Synergizing Product Design Information and Unit Manufacturing Process Analysis to Support Sustainable Engineering Education

Promoting excellence in sustainable manufacturing has emerged as a strategic mission in academia and industry. In particular, universities must prepare the next generation of engineers to contribute to the task of sustaining and improving manufacturing by providing appropriate types of sustainability education and training. However, engineering curricula are challenged in delivering educational training for assessing technical solutions from the three domains that define sustainability: economic, environmental, and social. In the research presented here, an educational framework is developed with an aim to improve student understanding of sustainable product design (PD) and manufacturing. The framework is founded on the analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate (ADDIE) model for instructional design. The developed framework is demonstrated using an example of a sustainable PD activity. This instructional design case study illustrates how engineering students would be able to investigate the impacts of raw materials, unit manufacturing processes, manufacturing locations, and design changes on product sustainability performance by integrating PD information and manufacturing analysis methods during the PD phase.

Relative Assessment of Indicators in Sustainability Enhancement (RAISE): a first approach in the manufacturing stage of products

ABSTRACTThe estimation of the sustainability performance of products requires tools to provide systematic approaches to the definition of impacts, indicators and comparative scenarios from early design stages. This paper illustrates the Relative Assessment of Indicators in Sustainability Enhancement (RAISE) methodology that is based on the measure of negative impacts generated during any product life cycle stage. This approach includes a systematic process for the definition and evaluation of indicators to compare the sustainability performance of products considering each indicator individually and using a holistic index of sustainability to entail an overall comparison between products from manufacturing scenarios. The RAISE method is developed with the aim of assessing sustainability performance of product life cycle stages and incorporating this assessment into the decision-making process when comparing different manufacturing scenarios. A guitar capo manufactured in polymeric material is used as case study to demonstrate the use of the method. In this paper, only the manufacturing stage is considered; however, the method can also be employed in other stages of the life cycle.

Developing a set of sustainability indicators for product families based on the circular economy model

Abstract Currently, design for sustainability is a necessary issue in any product development process. This situation is due to the existing and increasing pressure under industrial activities that follow a linear economy model based on design, manufacture, use and final disposal. As a feasible solution, Circular Economy (CE) model is considered a key strategy to enhance the overall sustainability performance of products, including strategies to improve the useful life of products and close flows of material in a circular path. In the measurement of circularity, existing sustainability indicators are oriented solely to single products and do not consider the product family approach, which involves the use of a common product platform comprised by constructive components or modules able to generate different product variants to satisfy a variety of customer requirements. Consequently, this paper proposes six indicators regarding material flow, reusability, reconfiguration, and functional performance. Such indicators are focused on measuring the circularity of product families respect the circularity of components among their product variants. A case study based on a family of prosthetic fingers is developed to demonstrate the implementation and usefulness of the proposed set of indicators.

Metrics-based approach to evaluate sustainable manufacturing performance at the production line and plant levels

Abstract Promoting sustainability in manufacturing is becoming increasingly important due to the scarce natural resources, stricter regulations and increasing customer demand for more sustainable products. In order to meet this demand for sustainable products, manufacturing companies have to adopt numerous strategies for sustainable manufacturing through the use of more sustainable processes and systems. To improve performance of any domain, it must first be measured comprehensively. Approaches for evaluating sustainability performance of products and processes have been investigated in previous work where comprehensive product/process sustainability indices are proposed. While numerous studies address the topic, no comprehensive methods are available for sustainable manufacturing performance evaluation at the system level, particularly at the production line and plant levels. To address this gap, this paper presents an index-based method for comprehensively evaluating sustainable manufacturing performance at the production line and plant levels. First, existing literature have been studied and reviewed thoroughly. Then a set of comprehensive sustainability metrics have been identified and proposed for production line and plant levels, respectively, where the three pillars of sustainability, total life-cycle stage emphasis, and 6R concepts are concurrently addressed. These proposed metrics are organized into five-level hierarchy (metric, sub-cluster, cluster, sub-index, index) where lower level items are consolidated to the higher level. Then index-based methods are proposed to evaluate sustainable manufacturing performance at the production line (LiSI) and plant (PlaSI) levels. Finally, the application of the proposed method is illustrated for a satellite television dish manufacturing company at the production line level.

Sustainability Performance of an Italian Textile Product

Companies are more and more interested in the improvement of sustainability performance of products, services and processes. For this reason, appropriate and suitable assessment tools supporting the transition to a green economy are highly necessary. Currently, there are a number of methods and approaches for assessing products’ environmental impact and improving their performances; among these, the Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) approach has emerged as the most comprehensive and effective to achieve sustainability goals. Indeed, the LCT approach aims to reduce the use of resources and emissions to the environment associated with a product’s life cycle. It can be used as well to improve socio-economic performance through the entire life cycle of a product. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) are undoubtedly the most relevant methodologies to support product-related decision-making activities for the extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and final disposal. While LCA is an internationally standardized tool (ISO 14040 2006), LCC (except for the ISO related to the building sector) and S-LCA have yet to attain international standardization (even if guidelines and general frameworks are available). The S-LCA is still in its experimental phase for many aspects of the methodological structure and practical implementation. This study presents the application of LCA and S-LCA to a textile product. The LCA and S-LCA are implemented following the ISO 14040-44:2006 and the guidelines from UNEP/SETAC (2009), respectively. The functional unit of the study is a cape knitted in a soft blend of wool and cashmere produced by a textile company located in Sicily (Italy). The system boundary of the study includes all phases from cradle-to-gate, from raw material production through fabric/accessory production to the manufacturing process of the product itself at the Sicilian Company. Background and foreground processes are taken into account using primary and secondary data. The analysis evaluates the environmental and social performances related to the specific textile product, but also outlines the general behaviour of the company. The case study also highlights pro and cons of a combined LCA and S-LCA to a textile product in a regional context.

Developing Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment methodology by applying values-based sustainability weighting - Tested on biomass based and fossil transportation fuels

The production and use of transportation fuels can lead to sustainability impacts. Assessing them simultaneously in a holistic way is a challenge. This paper examines methodology for assessing the sustainability performance of products in a more integrated way, including a broad range of social impacts. Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) methodology is applied for this assessment. LSCA often constitutes of the integration of results from social LCA (S-LCA), environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC). In this study, an S-LCA from an earlier project is extended with a positive social aspect, as well as refined and detailed. E-LCA and LCC results are built from LCA database and literature. Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methodology is applied to integrate the results from the three different assessments into an LCSA. The weighting of key sustainability dimensions in the MCDA is performed in different ways, where the sustainability dimensions are prioritized differently priority based on the assumed values of different stakeholder profiles (Egalitarian, Hierarchist, and Individualist). The developed methodology is tested on selected biomass based and fossil transportation fuels - ethanol produced from Brazilian sugarcane and US corn/maize, and petrol produced from Russian and Nigerian crude oils, where it delineates differences in sustainability performance between products assessed. The outcome in terms of relative ranking of the transportation fuel chains based on sustainability performance differs when applying different decision-maker profiles. This result highlights and supports views that there is no one single answer regarding which of the alternatives that is most sustainable. Rather, it depends strongly upon the worldview and values held by the decision maker. A key conclusion is that sustainability assessments should pay more attention to potential differences in underlying values held by key stakeholders in relevant societal contexts. The LCSA methodology still faces challenges regarding results integration but MCDA in combination with stakeholder profiles appears to be a useful approach to build on further.

Development of a metric to assess the complexity of assembly/disassembly tasks in open architecture products

This paper describes two metrics to measure the complexity involved in assembly and disassembly tasks for open architecture products during its use phase. The approach proposed is based on the summary of all tasks required to assemble and disassemble a predefined set of modules to generate several product variants, which comprise different working levels or functionalities. The aim of the method is to provide a useful tool to designers in the analysis of product complexity regarding use and further phases in which the assembly and disassembly of modules are required. The benefits and usefulness of the metrics are oriented to enhance the sustainability performance of products through the measurement of complexity in modular systems for the decision-making during the design stage. The reduction of complexity involves significant benefits in all lifecycle phases of product, especially when the user or customer is responsible for many related tasks (maintenance, upgrading, reconfiguration and final disposal of modules). The metrics and their calculation process are illustrated using two case study products.

Enabling Non-expert Sustainable Manufacturing Process and Supply Chain Analysis During the Early Product Design Phase

Consumers are pressuring companies to produce products with superior sustainability performance, yet educators are disadvantaged in training students about sustainable engineering and many engineers are often not well-positioned to perform product sustainability assessments. In particular, quantifying environmental impacts is a key aspect of achieving improved product sustainability performance that has garnered much attention over the past two decades, but tools remain deficient to assist manufacturing decision making. In light of efforts undertaken to develop sustainability assessment methodologies, we review recent developments in quantifying a widely adopted environmental performance metric, carbon footprint, in manufacturing processes and supply chain networks. We also present a methodology to address the deficit identified from this review for simple, easy-to-use sustainability assessment methods and tools. We suggest a questionnaire-based methodology to provide non-experts with a better understanding of sustainability performance, specifically during the product design phase. An application of the methodology is demonstrated to quantify and compare environmental impacts for the production of two quadcopter upper shell designs. The review presented can help the sustainable design and manufacturing community in identifying research gaps, while non-expert engineers and engineering students can benefit from application of the presented methodology in learning and in practice.