187 Chapter 8 Integration of Environmental Aspects in Product Design One of the most important aspects of Design for Environment (DFE) is that it can act as a connecting bridge between production planning and develop- ment and the environmental management of the same, two functions that are usually separate. In order to fulfi ll this role, the design activity must have several ineluctable features: a product life cycle orientation; the balancing of a wide range of requirements; and a simultaneous and integrated structure of the design intervention. Only on the basis of these premises is it possible to conceive a process of product development that furthers the sustainability of its life cycle, with the ideal objective of obtaining a product whose manu- facture, use, and disposal have the least possible effects on the environment. This chapter traces the general picture of how an intervention directed at environmental protection can be integrated in the product design and devel- opment process. It will also identify the most appropriate strategies and tools for an integrated design process that considers all the phases of the life cycle, analyzing and reconciling determinant factors such as producibility, requi- sites for use, cost, and environmental aspects. 8.1 Orientation toward Environmental Aspects in the Design Process While the more important issues associated with the environmental aspects of industrial production are the subject of much discussion nowadays, manufac- turing companies still have diffi culty in achieving environmentally sustain- able production. One of the crucial factors in this problem is that the principles and methods of designing for the environmental quality of products have not yet been integrated into design and managerial practice (Gutowski et al., 2005). The result is that the success factors in product design still remain limited to those of quality and development costs (i.e., to those that can be understood as factors associated with the product’s impact on the business environment). 2722_C008_r02.indd 1872722_C008_r02.indd 187 11/30/2005 1:49:42 PM11/30/2005 1:49:42 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC 188 Product Design for the Environment 8.1.1 Premises for the Integration of Environmental Requirements The life cycle approach can provide a qualitative leap in the statement of product development, “making the product fi t its natural environment as much as it fi ts the business environment” (Krishnan and Ulrich, 2001). This affi rmation originates in the recognition that there is a need for a “life cycle thinking approach” to the environmental question. It is confi rmed by certain observations regarding determinant factors obstructing the implementation of environmentally oriented product development (Ries et al., 1999): • Poor understanding of the environmental impacts of products • Cost-oriented approach to the product development process • Lack of a homogenous and effi cient implementation, within the context of the entire development process, of an approach directed at the environmental requirements of products Manufacturing companies’ limited knowledge of the impacts of products on the environment is historically linked to producers needing to address prin- cipally those aspects regarding the impact at production sites (consumption of resources, generation of emissions and waste), not directly attributable to products and limited to the context of the production phase alone. The result has been a lack of primary information that could support a strategy to improve the environmental quality of products—a strategy, as has been repeatedly emphasized in this book, requiring a vision extended over a prod- uct’s entire life cycle. This problem can be resolved by implementing the Particularly LCA in its simplifi ed form (Streamlined LCA) can overcome the disadvantages of an analysis too detailed to be undertaken in the preliminary phases of product development (Section 4.4). Traditional cost-oriented formulations of the development process stem from an outdated, defensive approach to the environmental question that considers the environment a restrictive and generally troublesome constraint, without being able to appreciate its potential positive value. This problem- atic factor becomes particularly signifi cant when one considers the weight that cost planning and marketing functions have in the product development process. The lack of accurate economic analysis and a non-perception of a product’s “environmental value” can seriously hamper eco-compatible design. Also in this case, life cycle–oriented techniques can come to the Environmental Accounting, together with the other techniques integrating The lack of a homogenous, environmentally oriented approach, thoroughly integrated into the entire development process, is one of the crucial factors. It has often been observed that this lack is usually most evident in the preliminary 2722_C008_r02.indd 1882722_C008_r02.indd 188 11/30/2005 1:49:42 PM11/30/2005 1:49:42 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC techniques used in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), fully discussed in Chapter 4. rescue, primarily Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA, treated in Chapter 5) and economic and environmental analysis of the life cycle introduced in Chapter 6. Integration of Environmental Aspects in Product Design 189 phases of product development (Bhamra et al., 1999; Ries et al., 1999), where there is a scarcity of methods and tools oriented toward environmental aspects. It should be noted how, more generally, design practice lacks an organic approach to environmental aspects in the entire development process, despite such an approach clearly being desirable at the theoretical level. The life cycle approach, which in the strictly design dimension is represented by Life Cycle Design (LCD), can constitute an effective basis for the integration of environmental aspects into product development. In particular, when LCD is it can become an example of a completely environmentally oriented approach to the design process, and provide a reference model to achieve the complete integration of environmental aspects within the development process. As will be further discussed below, the specifi cation of the design objectives and strategies plays a crucial role in this respect. Another vital role can be played by Design for X (DFX), which provides the tools and techniques for a design directed at specifi c product requisites so Section 7.3.2). This issue will be considered in greater detail below. This analysis is summarized in Figure 8.1, showing the instruments with which the life cycle approach can help overcome the factors impeding the implementation of environmentally oriented product development in company practice. The same fi gure shows another important obstructive factor, the cross-functional character of both design practice and environmental aspects. It is linked to the multidisciplinary nature of the competencies required and to the transversal nature of the correlated activities with respect to the principal FIGURE 8.1 Approaches to factors impeding the implementation of environmen- tally oriented product development. 2722_C008_r02.indd 1892722_C008_r02.indd 189 11/30/2005 1:49:42 PM11/30/2005 1:49:42 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC expressly oriented toward environmental requirements (Section 3.2, Chapter 3), that environmental requirements can be included among the others (Chapter 7, already noted in Chapter 3, Section 3.2 and summarized in Figure 3.3, and as 190 Product Design for the Environment company functions (design, production, marketing). This issue was introduced in the previous chapter in relation to the organization and planning of the product design and development process, explaining how Concurrent Engineering (CE) was conceived precisely in order to address these needs in design practice. Environmental aspects can, therefore, be integrated into prod- uct development through implementing the organizational structures of CE. mental aspects in product development must occur at two different and complementary levels: • External integration—Concerns the relation between the product development process and factors external to the design team that must be taken into consideration (i.e., customer and market demands, production constraints, and environmental requirements). This inte- gration, as shown in Figure 8.1, is obtained by adopting the life cycle approach and using its tools. • Internal integration—Concerns the relation between the internal func- tions and competencies of the design team. This integration is neces- sary in order to best manage the cross-functional character of design practice and of the environmental aspects, and is obtained through a simultaneous and concurrent approach to product development. Having achieved the integration on this dual level, it is fi nally possible to speak of Integrated Product Development (IPD), understood in its most complete sense and including environmental aspects. In this regard, it is interesting to note how IPD can assimilate the general concept of improving the design solu- tion in terms of its response to consumer demands and to market opportunities (Wang, 1997). The life cycle approach extends this perspective, addressing the needs of the consumer as well as of all the other actors involved in the various phases of the product’s life cycle (Prudhomme et al., 2003). Further extending the concept underlying IPD to include a response to the needs of the environ- ment thus constitutes the fundamental premise for achieving and integrated product design that also takes into account environmental requirements. 8.1.2 Interventions in the Product Development Process Referring to the vision of the entire product design and development process and homogenous integration of environmental aspects results from a series of interventions, differing according to the different phases of the develop- ment process: • In the preliminary phases (project defi nition, development process planning, problem specifi cation), this integration is achieved through 2722_C008_r02.indd 1902722_C008_r02.indd 190 11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC T o sum up, and again referring to Figure 8.1, the full integration of environ- described in Chapter 7, Figures 7.2 and 7.3, it is possible to say that the full Integration of Environmental Aspects in Product Design 191 the extension of the factors conditioning the preliminary structuring of the project, and the defi nition of product specifi cations and requi- sites. These, together with consumer requirements and market opportunities, will also include environmental necessities; the latter are given their due weight in defi ning company policies and strate- input of the design process a set of information and data, not exclu- sively environmental, regarding the expected life cycle of the product. • The defi nition of the specifi cally design-related phases (i.e., those comprising the product design process, again referring to Figure 7.2) must be guided by appropriate approaches to the environmental aspects of the product’s life cycle. This particular consideration will be analyzed in further detail below. • In the main phases of the design process, beginning from conceptual design and with particular regard to the phases of embodiment and detail design, the defi nition of the design intervention must be directed at harmonizing the ever-wider range of design require- this statement, the various specifi cations can be achieved using the tools of the DFX system, each addressing a specifi c typology of prod- uct requisite, giving appropriate emphasis to those oriented toward • The postdesign planning phase must be integrated with the product design phase, which in the general scheme of the product develop- concurrent design (Section 7.3). This integration must be performed according to the presuppositions already introduced in Section 7.2.4.2 (i.e., extension of postdesign planning to cover the entire life cycle, including the production, distribution, use, and retirement of the product). It is precisely in relation to the planning of the production– consumption–disposal cycle that the most appropriate tools of the DFX system are introduced. 8.2 Environmental Strategies for the Life Cycle Approach Design strategies play an essential role in the life cycle approach. They allow the environmental requisites demanded of the product to be translated into design practice. It should, therefore, be emphasized that the environmental strategies most appropriate and effective for a specifi c design problem must be carefully chosen only after the objectives of the project have been accu- rately translated into product requirements (Keoleian and Menerey, 1993). 2722_C008_r02.indd 1912722_C008_r02.indd 191 11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC environmental requirements (Chapter 7, Section 7.3.2). gies. Referring to Figure 7.2, this involves adding to the information ment process precedes it (Figures 7.1 and 7.3), as is established in ments, as envisaged by LCD (Chapter 3, Figure 3.2). On the basis of 192 Product Design for the Environment In general, strategies oriented toward the environmental effi ciency of the life cycle can be defi ned on the basis of the product’s primary impact(s) on the envi- ronment, ascribable to exchanges with the ecosphere of the physical–chemical fl ows involved in the technological processes making up the life cycle: • Consumption of material resources and saturation of waste disposal sites • Consumption of energy resources and loss of the energy content of dumped products • Total direct and indirect emissions of the entire product–system Thus, for a complete environmental analysis (where it is opportune to refer only the fl ows of materials in the life cycle but also those of energy and emis- sions, in both their explicit and implicit forms. There are numerous environ- mental strategies directed at reducing this wide spectrum of impacts (Keoleian and Menerey, 1993; Hanssen, 1995; Fiksel, 1996; Bhander et al., 2003). They can be distinguished on the basis of the phase of the life cycle on which they important environmental strategies are reported. 8.2.1 Environmental Strategies in Product Design Given that the environmental effi ciency of a product is directly dependent on its design, it is of fundamental importance that any strategy to be followed be put in relation to the main design parameters (Whitmer et al., 1995). However, not all the strategies reported in Table 8.1 can be likened to true and proper design strategies. In fact, some of them consist of interventions not directly linked to design choices. Summarizing the various strategies presented in the table, it is possible to conclude that a design intervention intended to take account of a product’s behavior, in environmental terms, during its life cycle must, in general, have the aim of optimizing the distribution of the fl ows of resources and emissions by: • Reducing the volumes of materials used and extending their life span • Closing the cycles of resource fl ows through recovery interventions • Minimizing the emissions and energy consumption in production, use, and disposal To fully achieve these conditions it is necessary to intervene in the two separate areas of product design and process design. Although process design is of primary importance and (following the principles of Concurrent 2722_C008_r02.indd 1922722_C008_r02.indd 192 11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC to the activity model represented in Figure 2.3), it is necessary to identify not are intended to intervene, as shown in Table 8.1 where some of the more Integration of Environmental Aspects in Product Design 193 Engineering) more frequently considered to be intimately linked to the product development process, it is not directly relevant to the objectives of this book. Here, attention is focused more on the design of the product understood as a material object—a set of material components designed in such a way that they constitute a functional system that satisfi es certain requisites demanded of it. This is the product–entity dimension directly linked to the choices made in the specifi cally design-related phases of the development process (conceptual, embodiment, detail design), whose parameters are ascribable to precisely the product’s physical dimension: materials, component form and dimensions, system architecture, intercon- nections, and junctions. TABLE 8.1 Environmental strategies and life cycle phases LIFE CYCLE PHASES ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES Preproduction Reducing the use of raw materials Choosing plentiful raw materials Reducing toxic substances Increasing the energy effi ciency of processes Reducing discards and waste Increasing fl ows of recovery and recycling Production Reducing the intensive use of materials Using materials with low impact Reducing the use of toxic materials Using recycled and recyclable materials Using materials on the basis of their required duration Selecting processes with low impact and high energy effi ciency Selecting processes with high technological effi ciency Reducing discards and waste Distribution Planning the most energy-effi cient shipping Reducing the emissions of transport Using containment systems for toxic or dangerous materials Reducing packaging Using packaging with low environmental impact Reusing packaging Use Using products under the intended conditions Planning and execution of servicing interventions (diagnostics, maintenance, repair) Reducing energy consumption and emissions during use Retirement Facilitating product disassembly at end-of-life Analyzing the condition of materials and their residual life Planning the recovery of components at end of use Planning material recycling at end of use Reducing volumes for disposal 2722_C008_r02.indd 1932722_C008_r02.indd 193 11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC 194 Product Design for the Environment This physical dimension of the product–entity is expressed in its life cycle by the fl ows of material resources. This, therefore, leads back to the fi rst of the three main aspects of a product’s impact on the environment, that of the employment and consumption of material resources. This was shown in the overview of the product life cycle and of the resource fl ows characterizing it, This partial view of the environmental problem may seem limited, but in reality it is very wide-ranging; the only aspect completely ignored is that of intervening on the various technological processes constituting the life cycle. This view does not exclude the possibility of taking into account the other two aspects of impact (energy consumption and product–system emissions) in environmental evaluations. With regard to how the energy and emission content of the materials in play contribute to the environmen- tal impact, these are clearly ascribable to the volumes of the material fl ows. Regarding how the energy fueling the process and the direct emissions from it contribute to the environmental impact, these can also be generally ascribed to the volumes being processed or to specifi c process parameters dependent on the physical properties of the materials or on the geometries. These can all be managed through the choices of product design; the defi ni- tion of the materials and of the main geometric parameters condition the choice of the processes and how these are performed. Focusing on the material fl ows, and therefore on the physical dimension of the product-entity, the environmental performance of the life cycle can be improved through the application of two main types of strategies • Useful Life Extension Strategies, directed at extending the product’s useful life and so conferring increased value on the materials used and on all the other resources employed in its manufacture—Product maintenance, repair, upgrading, and adaptation • End-of-Life Strategies, directed at recovering material at the end of the product’s useful life, closing the cycle of materials and recover- ing, at least in part, the other resources used in its manufacture— Reusing systems and components, recycling materials in the primary production cycle or in external cycles Although these strategies must already be taken into consideration during the design phase, in order to facilitate their application if this is considered appropriate, clearly they do not have an effect until after the product has been manufactured. As shown in Figure 8.2, however, a third important type of environmental strategy, known as Resource Reduction Strategies, becomes operational before the production phase. Again associated with the product’s material dimension, these strategies are directed at reducing the resources 2722_C008_r02.indd 1942722_C008_r02.indd 194 11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM11/30/2005 1:49:43 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC in Figure 2.9. (Giudice et al., 2002a; Giudice et al., 2002b), as summarized in Figure 8.2: Integration of Environmental Aspects in Product Design 195 used in its manufacture and include all the interventions and choices that favor a reduction in the use of material and energy resources. Thus, in general terms, they are referable to a wide spectrum of expedients that regard not only product design but also production process planning. They may also include radical strategies, such as “dematerialization” (i.e., the reduction of the quantity of materials necessary to achieve an economic function) (Wernick et al., 1997), promoting the evolution from the sale of products to the sale of services (Tomiyama, 1997), and therefore more properly allocated to the realm of business strategies. In the sections that follow, attention will be focused on the fi rst two types of design strategies, together with some of the tools available to the designer wishing to implement them. Subsequently, it will be shown how these strate- gies can be incorporated in a methodological framework for product design, outlining the full integration of environmental aspects. A more detailed description of these environmental strategies, and of the design tools and 8.2.2 Useful Life Extension Strategies With reference to the product’s useful life (i.e., the period of time over which the product is used while ensuring that it meets the required operating stan- dards), extending this life results in a saving of energy and material resources upstream and a reduction in waste downstream of the use phase. With this FIGURE 8.2 Environmental strategies for the life cycle of products. 2722_C008_r02.indd 1952722_C008_r02.indd 195 11/30/2005 1:49:44 PM11/30/2005 1:49:44 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC techniques available to attain them, will be proposed in Chapter 9. 196 Product Design for the Environment intervention, in fact, it is possible to satisfy the same demand with fewer product units. The extension of a product’s useful life may be obtained through four inter- vention typologies: • Maintenance—Includes periodic and preventive checking opera- tions. As well as monitoring and diagnostic interventions for the programmed substitution of parts subject to wear, maintenance also includes ordinary cleaning operations. • Repair—Essentially consists of the removal and substitution of damaged parts in order to reestablish the operational condition and level of performance required of the product. • Upgrade and adaptation—Similar interventions, in that both are motivated by technological and cultural obsolescence, and by changes in the conditions of the working environment and in the exigencies of the user. They differ in intervention typology, since upgrading provides for the substitution or addition of components, while adaptation involves a reconfi guration of the main components of the product. 8.2.3 End-of-Life Strategies Recovery interventions at the end of the product’s useful life allow the life consequent environmental benefi ts: decrease in the raw materials entering the cycle because they are partly substituted by recovered resources; recov- ery of energy and material resources used in production, and therefore a better exploitation of their use; and decrease in the waste fl ows. Some preliminary considerations regarding recovery fl ows of material of these premises, as suggested by several authors (Dowie, 1994; Ishii et al., 1994; Navin-Chandra, 1994), the strategies for the recovery of resources at the end-of-life can be grouped according to their different recovery levels. In general, the three main recovery levels are direct reuse, reuse of parts, and recycling of materials. A different potential of environmental benefi t corresponds to each of these, depending on the level of the recovery fl ows in • Direct reuse—At the end of use, the product can be directly reused, possibly after having been checked and repaired, with consequent savings in energy consumption, any possible emissions, costs relative 2722_C008_r02.indd 1962722_C008_r02.indd 196 11/30/2005 1:49:44 PM11/30/2005 1:49:44 PM © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC resources have already been drawn in Chapter 2, Section 2.5. On the basis cycle to become closed, as shown in a simplifi ed manner in Figure 8.2, with the life cycle (as is evident in the reference model of Figure 2.9): [...]... STRATEGIES DESIGN PARAMETERS DESIGN STRATEGIES System LAYOUT Reduce number of connections Reduce variety of connecting elements Increase ease of disassembly MATERIALS Reduce unsustainable and hazardous materials Increase biodegradable and low-impact materials Reduce material variety Increase material compatibility and recyclability Specify and label materials FORM Optimize performance, resistance, and... units and layout) and of detail design (operating on the shape of components, dimensions, and materials) The influence these can have on the preceding conceptual design phase is limited to the application of fundamental criteria that can aid the designer in choosing among the initial ideas This particular phase, by its very nature, offers the greatest opportunity for creativity, and therefore induces the. .. requisites and characteristics for specific phases of the life cycle, spanning the entire cycle Of these, Design for Manufacturing and Design for Assembly (concerning the necessities of the production phase) and Design for Reliability, Design for Maintainability, and Design for Quality (concerning the correct functioning and quality of products during their use) have now © 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group,... specification, together with all the other product requisites, the application of the product- oriented approach, above all in the early design phases, can ensure the attainment of the conventional requirements precisely through the exercise of experience and established rules The application of environmental strategies that require a problem-oriented approach can be conditioned by the weight given to the. .. product design, International Journal of Production Economics, 38, 15–22, 1995 Kuo, T.-C., Huang, S.H., and Zhang, H.-C., Design for manufacture and design for ‘X’: Concepts, applications, and perspectives, Computers and Industrial Engineering, 41, 241–260, 2001 Kusiak, A and Lee, G., Design of parts and manufacturing systems for reliability and maintainability, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing... relation to the main design parameters The latter are categorized according to whether they concern the system design (characteristics of the architecture, particularly layout, and relationships between components) or the detailed design of components (materials, shape, geometric parameters) This table also shows the direct correlations between each design strategy proposed and the environmental strategies... Serviceability usually also encompasses Design for Maintainability • Those oriented at the planning of processes at the end-of -life, in that they are directed at the reduction of the impact of disposal and at the recovery of resources In this case, one speaks in general terms of Design for Product Retirement/Recovery (Ishii et al., 1994; Navin-Chandra, 1994; Zhang et al., 1997; Gungor and Gupta, 1999), or,... performance from the perspective of the entire life cycle • Production and market launch—Release of documentation regarding the environmental aspects of the product, together with suggestions for its efficient use and disposal • Product review—Analysis and evaluation of environmental aspects and of impacts associated with the product s real life cycle Finally, the entire process of product design and development... Research and Applications, 1(1), 61– 68, 1993 ISO/TR 14062, Environmental Management—Integrating Environmental Aspects into Product Design and Development, ISO/TR 14062:2002(E), International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, 2002 Jackson, P et al., An analytical method for integrating environmental and traditional design considerations, Annals of the CIRP, 46(1), 355–360, 1997 Jovane, F et al.,... appropriate to consider it as a design approach It is not, therefore, an actual operational design tool but, rather, a design philosophy implying a profound change in the way in which industry relates to the environmental question (Allenby, 1994) As a design approach, it requires operational tools that embody its premises and objectives Some of the DFX system tools can perform this role effectively (Chapter . introduced. 8. 2 Environmental Strategies for the Life Cycle Approach Design strategies play an essential role in the life cycle approach. They allow the environmental requisites demanded of the product. manufacture Product maintenance, repair, upgrading, and adaptation • End-of -Life Strategies, directed at recovering material at the end of the product s useful life, closing the cycle of materials and. cation, together with all the other product requisites, the application of the product- oriented approach, above all in the early design phases, can ensure the attainment of the conventional requirements