Product Life Cycle

Stages of a Product Design Production Distribution Consumption Retirement: end-of-life

Many issues need to be considered at each stage: Design: standards, design time, customer

need, cost, profit, future upgrading, deciding when to launch, energy efficiency

Production: manufacturing cost, energy use, materials use, production time, quality, environmental issues

Distribution: transportation cost, transportation time, inventory, sales network

Consumption: customer training, repair & maintenance, upgrades, lifetime, energy use

Retirement: lifetime, upgrade plan, end of customer support, reuse, recycling, disposal

Environmental Considerations…

Are often important driving influences for the design of a product

Environmental and Energy Use Considerations

Over full life cycle: Design to minimize power consumption

during use and manufacturing Design for disassembly, reuse, recycling Minimizing or eliminating use of CFC (ozone

destroyers) in manufacturing process. Minimizing or eliminating use of heavy

metals in products -- like lead solders Selection of battery type, plastics used,

etc., in products Minimizing or recycling solvents, acids,

etc., in manufacturing process

Disposal Issues

Rapid innovation rapid product obsolescence neglecting env’tal & social impacts of increased production

Average computer lasts a few years… software demands obsolete it quickly, prices decrease rapidly

“Throwaway” easier, cheaper than upgrade

By 2004, U.S. estimated to have 315 million OBSOLETE computers headed for landfills, including hazardous wastes, etc.

Computer Gear Contains:

More than 1,000 materials -- many highly toxic, many difficult to degrade in landfill:

chlorinated and brominated substances toxic gases and toxic metals photo-active and biologically active materials acids plastics and plastic additives lead and cadmium in computer circuit boards lead oxide and barium in CRTs mercury in switches and flat screens brominated flame retardants on printed

circuit boards, cables and plastic casing

Recycling Issue

Electronic equipment is often difficult to “tear apart” into its constituent raw materials.

Manufacturing Issues:

CFCs cannot be used (must use alternative, often less efficient, coolants)

Environmental Reg.’s Vary by Country

Current Concept:

ExtendedProducer Responsibility

ExtendedProducer Responsibility

Aim: encourage producers to prevent pollution & reduce resource & energy use throughout lifecycle by changing product design and process technology.

Calls on producer to bear responsibility for the lifecycle environmental and health impacts of their products.

Lifecycle includes raw material selections, production processes, use and final disposal of product

More on EPR

Product take-back must accompany mandatory phase-out of toxics and design-for-environment changes to foster reuse and recycling

Ideal example of EPR is where a producer takes back a product at end of useful life, either directly or through third party, and assumes responsibility for “green” recycling, proper management or disposal of product

More on EPR

Example: European Union (EU) requires automobile producers to take responsibility for their products when they are scrapped

Such laws being formulated, enacted in the EU for electronic equipment also

Take-Back Programs in Europe

All companies, including U.S., selling computers in Germany must establish take-back programs for their products.

Each Sony monitor sold in Germany has a sticker allowing its return, free of charge, at one of 800 countrywide recycling sites.

Apple Computer, IBM and Sony provide take-back programs only when required by law.

So, for example, IBM provides free take-back programs in Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Taiwan and Sweden.

Contemporary Concept: Reduction or

Elimination of Toxic Chemicals Electronic equipment uses many toxic materials Likely to be more restricted or phased out in future Hazmats targeted for phase-out by EU’s Waste from

Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive—include lead, mercury, brominated flame retardants

Lead: Over one billion pounds of lead in obsolete computers in U.S. Effects of lead on human health are well known Banned from gasoline in the 1970s Lead in circuit boards and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) now a

concern. CRTs are banned from municipal landfills in California and Massachusetts

Reduction of Hazmats (cont.)

Mercury Used in flat panel displays Can cause damage to brain, kidneys, fetuses

Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs) Used in plastic housings and circuit boards to prevent fire spread Potential endocrine disruptors, persistent in environment, stored

in fat of animals and humans

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Soft plastic used in cables and wires Dioxin can form when PVC burned Dioxin is a persistent, bioaccumulative compound, among most

toxic substances, results from the waste incineration of PVC.

Design Responsibility

In addition to legally mandated requirements, the product designer should understand the environmental and energy use impact of his or her design!

General Guidelines for Environ-mentally Responsible Design

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3Rs) (Apply these principles in product design)

Reduce or eliminate use of greenhouse gases, toxic chemicals, lead solders, etc.

Reduce energy consumption -- during manufacturing and use

Recycling considerations -- take-back laws, how much of it needs to be recycled, toxic chemicals in waste product, etc.

       Design for the environment!

Contemporary Concept: ISO 14001 Standard

International Standard on Environmental Management

Demanded by many companies of their suppliers

Contemporary Concept: Energy Use Reduction

Example: Voluntary EPA – ENERGY STAR Program

http://www.epa.gov/nrgystar/about.html Probably have seen ENERGY STAR symbol

on products you buy or use Example is ENERGY STAR Program

Requirements for Telephony:To qualify, an answering machine or cordless phone must use less than 3.3 Watts in standby mode

For reduction in energy utilization -- good design is important.

Environmental Considerationsfor Battery Selection

In addition to other battery selection criteria, should also add consideration of environmental impact/recycling potential of battery selected for a product design.

Material Came from:

1) L. H. Goldberg, Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line, 2000.

2) website: www.svtc.org

3) W. H. Middendorf and R. H. Engelmann, Design of Devices and Systems, 3rd ed,

1998.

ASSIGNMENTfor rest of today’s class

time: Organize into your design groups Generate a list of 4 design considerations

or changes you could implement in your design project to make it more environmentally friendly or to use less energy

Put your team number and the names of the team members in attendance today on the list and hand it in on your way out the door.