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NETWRK
for Electronic Product Design
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CfSD Conferences and Networks page. | NEPD Homepage | Online conference


Workshop 1: A prototype Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) tool for electronics companies

Tim McAloone, Cranfield University
Phillip A Goggin, Goldsmiths' College
Leigh Holloway, Sheffield Hallam University

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INTRODUCTION

Irrespective of the products we are designing, materials selection is an important and integral part of the process. Traditionally, materials selection has been concerned with such properties as strength, stiffness, weight, electrical conductivity, heat resistance etc, but recently environmental concerns have been introduced into the design agenda.

It is possible to view the materials selection process from two angles. Firstly, careful materials selection can be seen as imperative if the many restrictions placed on it by legislation, standards, customers and competition are to be dealt with. (Examples of this are duty of care; standards set by BS7750/ISO14001; rising landfill prices, etc.) On the other hand, the materials selection process could be viewed as an opportunity for the organisation to reduce materials costs, simplify its designs and manufacturing processes, ensure product durability for multiple life-cycles, and so on. It is up to the individual organisation to decide whether this process should be a threat or an opportunity.

However, designers already have to deal with large amounts of data involved with materials selection and the introduction of environmental concerns runs the risk of increasing this workload further still. It is important to remember, though, that this stage of the product development process is in any case quite significant, as the materials chosen for a product will influence its processing, use, re-use, disposal, recycling, etc. Thus there is certainly a need for help with the materials selection process, be it in the form of spreadsheet tools, knowledge-based systems or workbooks.


MATERIALS SELECTION TOOLS

Currently the materials selection tools which do exist are almost exclusively computer-based (spreadsheets, database models, etc) which enable the large amounts of data involved in environmental design to be manipulated quickly and reliably. Strictly speaking, however, existing tools are not true materials selection tools as all they do is perform limited life-cycle analyses of a specific material and are seldom powerful enough to make informed judgements about the choice of one material against the next. None of the packages presently available actually advises the designer on the use of a certain material; at this stage it is still up to the designer to make the final decision.

Materials selection tools will most likely be developed using the technologies of artificial intelligence and expert systems. Such computer techniques allow the inclusion of advice in selection. Designers can then specify the properties that are required of a material (eg: light, stiff, electrically insulating, resistant to acid) and the system will then forward a list of materials suitable for that application in descending order of 'environmental friendliness'.


BARRIERS TO MATERIALS SELECTION

Depending on your company's strategy, the question of the materials you are allowed to choose may be difficult. Certainly there are strategic decisions that need to be made before materials are selected. For example, no materials selection tool can account for the fact that it may advise the designer to use materials which are not being used in other products being manufactured by the same company. When the products are collected at 'end of life' the resulting incompatibility of materials could make it very difficult to recycle the product. Other factors such as cost, etc will also come into the equation and will certainly influence the selection of materials.

On a company-wide basis the use of computerised, environmentally-based selection tools is a very complex matter. Corporate strategy, present infrastructures and many other factors will influence materials selection. Currently, it may be safe to say that the key role of these tools is to raise issues in the minds of the design team, some of which may help in the development of innovative design solutions, while others may influence company strategy.


STRATEGIC ISSUES AFFECTING MATERIALS SELECTION

The company itself must decide its own strategy before tackling the materials selection process. For example, a company that is going to manufacture a product to last over multiple life-cycles, with modules that can be added to upgrade it, would be very likely to use quite different materials from a company which manufactures a short life-time, disposable, easily recyclable product which is constantly being replaced due to the fact that it is becoming more efficient with each product release. In the end, who is to say which is the best solution? Only the company can know, following the use of some simple guidelines and existing tools.

' Trade-offs ' must be made by the organisation between the issues of performance vs aesthetics vs environmental impact vs cost. An antique chair is understood to get better with age, but will not have used the cheapest possible materials at the outset, and may indeed not look as smart as a new, off-the-shelf piece of office furniture, ergonomically designed and tested. So maybe there are lessons to be learned here about the perception of the consumer, and how indeed this perception may be changed so that future products with more environmentally sound materials are seen to be ageing well, rather than becoming tatty and in need of replacement.

The value of the tools currently available must not be overlooked. In most cases consideration of environmental effects (provided that the data and methods use are reasonably accurate) is better than no consideration at all.


SUMMARY

Materials selected for electronic and electrical products depends upon a number of primary concerns: quality; appearance; cost; and, increasingly, environmental criteria. Choosing materials which fulfil these requirements appropriately requires decisions based on trade-offs which are sometimes complex. The process becomes even more difficult when considered in the context of the range of environmental product strategies available to companies.

This introduces other dimensions into the design activity, conditioned by time, user behaviour and perceptions of quality. These dimensions relate to products that may be used over extended periods; or are designed to be recyclable or to incorporate recyclable materials, or are produced from reused or remanufactured components realised in a form that facilitates upgrading; or which are designed for a long life supported by various service agreements or guarantees.

These approaches can all reduce environmental load, but each requires decisions that extend well beyond merely selecting materials with superior environmental performance. A fully resolved ecoproduct strategy is therefore needed to fully inform materials choice.

Companies that become responsible for their products over their entire life - as indicated in the Producer Responsibility Obligation with its associated future costs - need to identify opportunities to reduce liability and recover the greatest financial value. In this regard, moving from 'disposable' to 'recyclable' can reduce waste liability but also introduces a financial burden related to operating a recycling scheme. Recovered costs from recycling materials are relatively small in comparison with the initial retail value of the product in question.

This suggests a need to shift ecoproduct strategies much nearer to the point where the product or its components are in a state closest to their highest value, ie in their complete form, as indicated below.

Figure 1: Whole-cycle ecoproduct strategies



Such a hierarchy of value moves from recycling materials to remanufacturing components; to reusing parts in their returned state; thence to reconditioning complete products; and, ultimately, to realising greatest financial value per product in the field through extended service agreements, with upgrading and visual updating as options. Not only does this fit well with European and UK Waste Management Strategy and alleviate future liabilities, it can also improve long term financial return. Key to the success of this scheme is an understanding of how users perceive materials quality over the lifetime of a product.

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