Design methods: University of Strathclyde

1. Marc Gómez
Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management
November 2010
University of
Strathclyde

2. Design for environment
Why DfE?
Population
Natural Resources
Environmental damage
Need of conscious
sustainable design

3. • Improve environmental
performance
• Focus on the entire product life-
cycle and its derived activities
• Reduce amount of overall product
energy consumption
•Reduce the amount of non-
reusable waste
Why DfE?

4. DfE practices
 Strategies: focus on specific activity
 Design for manufacture: input/output emissions
 Design for disassembly/recycling: ease to segregate product parts
 Design for transportation: packaging, weight
 Design for cradle to cradle: 100% of raw material reutilisation
 Methods: way to achieve DfE strategies
 Qualitative
- Implemented in all stages of product design
- Complementing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
 Quantitative:
- Covers full LCA
- Procedures from ISO 14040

5. Qualitative methods + tools associated
Method Description Tool
Checklist Questionnaire concerning from
raw material to disposal
Eco-design Checklist
Environmental Effect Analysis
(EEA)
relationship between product
and environmental
consequences
EEA-Form.
Product Design Matrix Relationship product
operations and environment
MET, MECO Matrix
Quality Function Deployment
for Environment (QFDE)
Relation of Voice of Costumer,
Engineering metrics, and its
eco-impact
Weight of importance tables,
Environment House of Quality

6. Quantitative method
Method Stage Description
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Goal and Scope Type of information needed
How data is organized
How results will be displayed
Life-cycle Inventory Inputs/Outputs data collection
Life-cycle impact assessment Impact Calculation
Interpretation Results interpretation
Data Deduction

7. Qualitative vs. Quantitative
Method Advantages Disadvantages
Qualitative Easy to implement Subjective results
Application at several
design stages
Too general
Fast identification Misinterpretation
No high environmental
education needed
Quantitative Accurate Time-consumption
Objective Expensive
No misiterpretation Based on empirical data

8. DfE Examples
Dyson AirbladeTM
• 80% energy saving
• 64% faster
• removes 99.9 % air bacteria
Ford U Model cradle-to-cradle concept car
• Hybrid electrical transmission
• 45 miles/galon
• 300 miles near 0 emissions
• 99% reduction in carbon dioxide
• 0% waste disposal (recycling or
decompose parts)