FESTivE: an information system method to improve product designers and environmental experts information exchanges

Effective collaboration between product designers and environmental experts is an important driver for the ecodesign practice in industry. This paper investigates the principal functions required for such an e ective collaboration and aims at facilitating them. Product designers should be able to integrate the environmental parameters into their activities, and to exchange information dynamically with the environmental expert whenever needed during the design process. Therefore, the IT system should be in itself dynamic and exible to the integration of new concepts (knowledge, software). Recent developments in Model Driven Engineering (MDE) are showing some interesting results to gain exibility and dynamism in the IT system. Combining software interoperability using model federation based on MDE with the speci city of ecodesign practice in industry this paper proposes the FESTivE method for Federate EcodeSign Tool modEls. Experimented in two different industrial contexts the practical feasibility of FESTivE has been validated with practitioners. Results on the e ects of using FESTivE in industry shows that product designers and environmental experts are more equipped to anticipate and to respond to each other's needs at each stage of the design process of product or service

Linking Use Stage Life Cycle Inventories with Product Design Models of Usage

International audienceUsage can have a significant environmental impact on the product life cycle. A precise evaluation and understanding of this impact during design is crucial to support early and adapted feedbacks to design experts to encourage the eco-design practice. Information on usage is spread across different field of expertise, and involves explicit and tacit knowledge. This research aims at improving the link between the available usage information, and the environmental expert’s explicit knowledge on usage. A five steps method is proposed and exemplified in this paper to formalize this link. The paper finally raises the question of how to deal with conflicting usage information during design in industry

Exploring design to environment methods though grassroots initiatives

Targeting sustainability in our industrial society requires integrating specific criteria in the design process of products and processes. A paradigm shift is necessary in the economical, social and political systems to ensure the natural ecosystems preservation on the planet while fulfilling society needs. Various research methods have therefore emerged to change the way products and services are designed, developed, used and discarded considering territorial contexts. Design for Sustainability, Design for Sustainable Transition, Socially Responsible Design, post-growth design, etc. provide several methods integrating the sustainable principles in the design process. However those approaches remain mainly experimental and are limited to the industrial context. In parallel to those approaches a wide variety of grassroots initiatives have emerged in territories. They propose alternative ways to design systems and they integrate new constraints in a practical manner. This research therefore aims to confront the diversity of Design to Environment (DtE) approaches with 'grassroots' initiatives in order to understand the possible evolution of the integration of sustainability into the design process of products and services used in industry. This paper presents the first literature review results of a started project in 2020. An original research protocol is proposed in this paper, based on specific focus groups with grassroots initiatives practitioners and eco-design experts from research and industry. The presentation of four DtE frameworks are analysed in this paper. This research finally discusses the opportunity of integrating the grassroots enriched DtE frameworks by non-officialdesigners in life cycle engineering. This bottom-up process may drive an expression of sustainability in industry aligned with some emerging local socio-technical systems

Dynamic eco-design strategic options for electric-electronic industry

National audienceToday industries from the electric and electronic sector are facing the challenge of improving the environmental performance of the product (eco-design). Various corporate attitudes and their related policy conduct industries to launch different solutions for eco-designing their product and services. Various strategic needs for environmental improvements therefore emerge. In addition important amount of eco-design methods are available. The challenge of planning which eco-design method to be used for a specific need is thus considerably increasing over time. This research therefore aims at providing a mechanism to generate some relevant eco-design options or some sets of methods for answering to the specific corporate orientations chosen. Existing eco-design methods used in the electric-electronic sector have been carefully analyzed and various ‘interactions’ between the actions followed in those methods have been identified. From this analysis, this research provides a new network of eco-design actions allowing company to explore different solutions and roadmaps for reaching concrete eco-design requirements. The company is able to select the solutions that best follow its eco-design needs depending on its specified strategic constraints and their dynamic operational context. Meanwhile, a framework was proposed to guide the company to consider these different eco-design options within its specific context. This method has been used on a case study, which has demonstrated that its ability to efficiently support the company in reaching eco-design goals

Toward proactive eco-design based on engineer and eco-designer's software interface modeling

Lien vers la version éditeur: http://www.designsociety.org/publication/30585/toward_proactive_eco-design_based_on_engineer_and_eco-designers_software_interface_modelingIntegrating environmental concerns as well as other constrains (cost, quality, etc.) in the design process, requires to organize the process as a system. Specific software for each design expertise are created to embrace new demands and are supporting the design activity in such complexity that the interoperability between software is crucial. The approach presented in this paper proposes a specific organization of the design process composed of local and global activities. The article focuses on the importance of modeling the data input and output exchanged between activities. It points out the necessity to define rules of transformation that are needed to link models together. The system modeled allows an infinite number of interactions and notably the integration of environmental concerns. This paper illustrates the method by studying a part of the design process of a simple product in a DTE approach. This case study involves software of material choice, CAD, LCA and focuses on transformation rules needed to give interoperable models. The results of the case study finally bring designers to adopt a new design of the product, which reduces initial environmental impacts

An Innovative Approach to Teaching Sustainable Design and Management

International audienceFor many years the market leadership was driven by offering better price on more product functions and services. The world is currently shifting towards social responsibility thinking. This changes the market behaviour, and leads to more innovations, such as designing new product/service/system using re-usable parts, new electric motor concepts, or inventing new chemical production procedures generating less waste, and many more opportunities. This paper introduces a research valorisation activity that aims at developing a program of training and coaching to prepare students and industry partners to this emerging innovation wave. The most outstanding particularity of this program is that it combines management and engineering aspects of sustainability in a form that empowers trainees to deploy sustainable approaches in practice. The particular target group of design engineers get equipped with fundamentally important sustainability knowledge enabling them to include sustainability considerations in their products and systems design. Eco-design is positioned as a key lever towards achieving sustainable product-service systems

The greenhouse gas profile of a “Hungry Planet”:quantifying the impacts of the weekly food purchases including associated packaging and food waste of three families

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have estimated that 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted across the supply chain, while food security emerges as one of the leading challenges facing a growing global population. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can illustrate the environmental implications of food production, consumption and waste. In 2005, Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio presented a photographic study in “Hungry Planet – What the World Eats” documenting what thirty families across twenty-four countries ate during the course of one week. The weekly food purchasing inventories of three of these families have been combined with LCA data to report the greenhouse gas intensity of these food purchases. The greenhouse gas emission profile including those of 128 varieties of fresh food, along with data on packaging material production and household food waste, have been used in the calculations. The paper will present the findings illustrating the contribution each component has: food, packaging and food waste; and will also discuss the implications for food packaging desig

Enhancing Sustainability in Power Electronics through Regulations and Standards: A Literature Review

Considering sustainability in Power Electronics (PE) is a relatively recent topic of interest. However, the existing regulatory and normative frameworks supposed to guide designers and industries in this direction have not been combined in an exhaustive way. This article aims to bridge the gap by conducting a literature review of the regulative and normative constraints for sustainability in PE. This study primarily addresses the framework at the European level, with a focus on French regulations and standards. In this study, a total of 63 relevant documents are collected and analyzed. A framework representing the overview of existing legislation and facultative guidelines for PE ecodesign is established. A collaborative online tool is developed to enable access to the inventory by PE stakeholders. The analysis of the framework outlines the limitations and challenges needing to be addressed, including the absence of constraints on environmental performance, the inadequacy of material efficiency standards for PE products, and the unclear methodology for ecodesign implementation. This work, undertaken at the European level with a detailed examination of the French context, is intended to serve as an inspiring analysis for other countries and for PE designers who are considering the regulatory framework of a European representative country

Disassemblability Assessment of Power Electronic Converters for Improved Circularity

Power Electronics Converters (PEC) play a crucial role in the operation of many modern electrical systems and devices. Despite their widespread use, the lack of an efficient and cost-effective disassembly process can limit their repairability, refurbishability, remanufacturability and, ultimately, recyclability, thus hindering the circularity of products. In order to improve their circularity, it is important to assess their ease of disassembly. Therefore, this paper investigates the applicability of the “ease of Disassembly Metric” (eDiM), which is referenced in the material efficiency standards, Benelux repairability assessment method, and Repair Scoring System (RSS), to analyze the ease of disassembly of energy-related products. After identifying the limitations of the eDiM method, we refined and adapted it to make it more suitable for Printed Circuit Board (PCB)-based PEC, and thus propose a PCB-based disassemblability assessment method allowing the implementation of quantifiable requirements supporting their circularity. This standardized approach, at the PCB level, can improve the circularity of such products by facilitating design enhancements. With this approach, policymakers and designers can contribute more effectively to the transition to a circular economy in PCB electronics, particularly in the field of power electronics

Évaluation de la démontabilité des convertisseurs électroniques de puissance pour une circularité améliorée

Les convertisseurs électroniques de puissance (CEP) jouent un rôle crucial dans le fonctionnement de nombreux systèmes et appareils électriques modernes. Malgré leur utilisation répandue, l'absence d'un processus de démontage efficace et rentable pour ces dispositifs peut limiter leur réutilisation, leur réparabilité, leur remanufacturabilité et, en fin de compte, leur recyclabilité, entravant ainsi la circularité des produits. Afin de comprendre la circularité de ces produits, il est important d’évaluer la difficulté du désassemblage. Par conséquent, cet article étudie l'applicabilité de la facilité de désassemblage (eDiM), qui est référencée dans la norme EN 45554, pour analyser le désassemblage des produits électroniques à base de circuits imprimés (PCB). Après avoir identifié les limites de la méthode eDiM, nous avons affiné et adapté la méthode pour la rendre plus appropriée pour les CEP basés sur les PCB. L'objectif de ce document est d'introduire une méthode d'évaluation de la démontabilité qui est spécifique aux CEP basés sur les cartes de circuits imprimés (PCB) et de permettre la mise en œuvre d'exigences quantifiables pour les produits soutenant l'économie circulaire. La méthode proposée présente une approche normalisée pour évaluer la facilité de démontage au niveau des PCB, facilitant ainsi l'identification des améliorations de conception susceptibles d'améliorer leur circularité. En utilisant cette méthode d'évaluation, les décideurs politiques et les concepteurs peuvent contribuer plus efficacement à la transition vers une économie plus circulaire dans l'électronique des PCB et plus particulièrement dans l'électronique de puissance