Life Cycle Management and Assessment:

Approaches and Visions Towards Sustainable Manufacturing

(keynote paper)
E. Westkamper (I)*, Alting (I)**, Arndt (I)***

*Institut fur lndustrielle Fertigung und Fabrikbetrieb, Universitat Stuttgart, Germany

**Department of Manufacturing Eng., Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
***Centre for Advanced Manuf. & Industrial Automation, University of Wollongong, Australia

Abstract
Thinking in terms of product life cycles is one of the challenges facing manufacturers today: efforts to
increase efficiency throughout the life cycle do not only lead to an extended responsibility of the
concerned parties. As a result, economically successful business areas can be explored. Whether new
service concepts are required, new regulations have been passed or consumers values are changing, the
differences between business areas are disappearing. “Life Cycle Management” (LCM) considers the
product life cycle as a whole and optimizes the interaction of product design, manufacturing and life cycle
activities. The goal of this approach is to protect resources and maximize the effectiveness during usage
by means of Life Cycle Assessment, Product Data Management, Technical Support and last but not least
by Life Cycle Costing. This paper shows the existing approaches of LCM and discusses their visions and
further development.

Keywords: sustainable industrial production, economy and ecology, assessment.

1 INTRODUCTION 5. an unstoppable worldwide globalization.

The past two hundred years of industrialization
massive growth in prosperity and manufactured Especially the “Mega trend” of globalization is
capital have been achieved. The origins of this accelerated by new technologies such in information
worldview go back centuries, but it took the and communication. Simultaneous they are a
industrial revolution to establish it as the primary chance to maximize the use of technical products.
economic ideology. Human productive capabilities
began to grow exponentially. Using the system dynamics model created by
engineer Dr. Jay Forrester, professor at the Sloan
What took two hundred workers in 1770 could be School of Management at MIT, the authors
done by a single spinner in the British textile predicted that, sometime in the next hundred years,
industry by 1812. With such astonishingly improved if then-current trends in population growth,
productivity, the labor force was able to manufacture industrialization, and resource depletion continued
a vastly larger volume of basic necessities like cloth unchanged, the world would face actual physical
at greatly reduced cost. This in turn rapidly raised limits to growth [I].
standards of living and real wages, increasing
demand for other products in other industries.
Further technological breakthroughs proliferated,
and as industry after industry became mechanized,
leading to even lower prices and higher incomes, all
of these factors fueled a self-sustaining and
increasing demand for transportation, housing,
education, clothing, and other goods, creating the
foundation of modern commerce [I].
Today we’ve confronted with typical five critical
factors:
1. a rising consumption of natural resources,
2. the dramatic increase of world-population,
Figure 1: Demand for Life Cycle Management
3. environmental impacts i.e. limited natural
resources (energy, materials),
Production in our understanding covers all phases in
4. global communication networks based on
standards and the life of technical products: Manufacturing, Usage
and Service and Recycling. To reduce the above
mentioned problems with contributions of the the most frequently discussed anthropogenic effects
production engineering new orientations and (Figure 3). Although the regional impacts of the
paradigms are required, which can support the climate change are not to be anticipated, the
defuse of the defiance’s. This can be on the one predominantly majority of climatologic experts
side the use of New Technologies and on the other confirms that action is needed today to minimize the
side new methods for managing technical products anthropogenic climate change.
in their hole life. This paper shows the existing The Kyoto Protocol commits the Parties to
approaches of Life Cycle Management and individual, legally-binding targets to reduce their
discusses their visions and further development. greenhouse gas emissions by the period 2008-
The goal of this approach is to protect resources 2012, adding up to a total cut of at least 5% from
and maximize the effectiveness during usage of 1990 levels [4].
technical products.

2 CHANGE OF PARADIGMS
2.1 Limits of Natural Resources
In its report “The Limits of Growth” of 1972, the Club
of Rome documented the exponential increase of
the world’s population and subsequently of the
natural resources which they predicted to be running
low [2]. Although part of the forecast was taken back
in their latest report “The New Limits of Growth” of
1992, the problem is still evident [3].
On the assumption that consumption remains
constant, oil is going to run short in about 40 years, Figure 3: Global Temperature Changes (1861 - 1996)
natural gas in 60 years and coal in 185 years (see Source: IPCC, 1995, updated [5].
Figure 2).
The share of carbon dioxide emissions of different
sectors are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 2: Reach of important resources. Source:

Bundesanstalt fur Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe
(BGR), 1998
Figure 4: European Emissions of carbon dioxide in
different sectors. Source: Air Pollution Corinair 1990
The limits of natural resources are related to the inventory, Environmental statistics 1996, European Union
limited ability of the environment to absorb material
streams without being harmed. The latter depends
on the quality and quantity of the material streams However, in comparison to the natural flows of
and on the rate of their immissions. Substances carbon and its substances, the anthropogenic
affecting the global environment as well as amount of carbon dioxide is low. The anthropogenic
persistent substances which accumulate in the flow of industrial materials often exceed their natural
environment are today considered to be the most circulation by far. Comparing the natural flow of
harmful ones to the environment. Nickel, an important technical material, through
environment with its circulation caused by industrial
Primary resources are required to provide for the
processes results in a twenty-fold increase of
input of material needed for the manufacture of
movement. Despite this ratio, the concentration of
technical products. To reduce the impact on the
Nickel used in industry exceeds fifty %, while its
environment, secondary resources including
natural concentration seldom exceeds five %.
refurbished parts and recycled materials can be
used. Therefore its necessary to close the material 2.3 Increasing World Population
cycle. Nearly ten thousand new people arriving on earth
2.2 Influencing the Environment every hour [I].
Global warming, which is caused by the emission of The Population Division of the Department of
carbon dioxide and other relevant gases, is one of Economic and Social Affairs has finalized the 1998
Revision of the official United Nations world To minimize the risks and to secure the maximum
population estimates and projections. These result, all of them should be part of the value adding
population estimates and projections provide the processes depending on the extent of the value they
standard and consistent set of population figures contribute.
that are used throughout the United Nations system The present industrial production and consumption
as the basis for activities requiring population culture will experience changes such as increasing
information. manufacturer responsibility, pollution and waste
Below are some of the highlights of these world problems, and non-renewable resource
population estimates and projections. consumption [8]. The term sustainability is often
- World population currently stands at 5.9 billion used to cover environmental issues. It was first
persons and is growing at 1.33 per cent per defined in the Brundtland report [9]:
year, or an annual net addition of 78 million “Sustainable development meets the needs of the
people. World population in the mid 21st present without compromising the abilities of future
century is expected to be in the range of 7.3 to generations to meet their own needs”.
10.7 billion. The medium-fertility projection, Seamann [lo] concentrates on three
which is usually considered as “most likely”, responsibilities: the economic, social/societal and
indicates that world population will reach 8.9 environmental responsibility. Accordingly, the term
billion in 2050. “sustainable product design” means to reduce
- The world population reached the 6 billion mark environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of
in 1999 [6]. products by maintaining the company‘s position on
Past estimates and medium-, high- and low fertility the market and its place in society.
variants of World population size is shown in Figure Making the entire product life cycle part of the
5. manufacturer’s responsibility or incorporating it into
regulations is part of the development towards
environmental protection. Environmental protection
became part of legislative initiatives when
environmental media as well as different industries
recognized the problem shifting. In Europe and Asia
regulations are becoming legally effective burdening
the manufacturer with the responsibility for the
complete life cycle of a product including the taking
back and recycling of products. To support the
product stewardship and to enforce environment-
friendly product life cycles the automotive, appliance
and electronic industries are forced by law or are
Figure 5: World population size: past estimates and preparing them in advance to take back and recycle
medium-, high- and low fertility variants, 1950-2050 their products. Only recently, the automotive and
(billions). Source: United Nations Population Division, electronic industries in Germany have voluntarily
World Population Prospects: The 1998 Revision, committed themselves to fulfill these obligations.
forthcoming [6].

Production and consumption of technical products in

the world may follow the worlds population. But
there is a lack in production as a base of welfare
and consumption between the industrialized
countries and the rest of the world. Under the
influence of globalization of the markets for technical
products, the fast exchange of technical knowledge
and economic interests, there may be a strong
growing volume of industrial manufactured products
and the consumption of natural resources as well as
environmental impacts.
2.4 Necessity for a Sustainable Development -
Thinking in Terms of Product Life Cycles Figure 6: Development of initiatives and regulations of
“Life cycle management” organizes the interaction of environmental protection
the life cycle partners to achieve the maximum
benefit from each technical product. The three main The Technical Committee 207 of the International
fields influencing the activities of the partners are Standardization Organization (ISO) has published
environment, regulations and standards, as well as several guidelines and standards for product and
the constraints of economy. To achieve the best production integrated environmental management.
practice, the partners have to cooperate and tap into The guidelines for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) are
the know-how of all parties at all life cycle stages. the first ones to recognize nation-wide the
optimization of the product life cycle as one of
today’s challenging tasks. 3 THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
Applying the life cycle to living creatures is an easy-
to-understand concept which could be described as
from womb to tomb [7]. Applying the same life cycle
concept to man-made artifacts such as material
products gives rise to the question as to what should
be the starting point of the product life and what
should be the end of the life. The most important
stages of the product life cycle are manufacturing,
servicehsage and recyclingheuse. To maximize the
products performance, the life cycle has to be
Figure 7: International standard of environmental managed by use of rational methodologies.
management 3.1 Industrial Manufacturing of sustainable products
On the way to sustainable development sustainable
Life cycle integration tools and regulations help to products are necessary. The power supply area
optimize the ecological effectiveness of products. As shows already a structural change, which will also
these effects are compensated by higher affect manufacturing engineering:
consumption, initiatives like Agenda 21 or eco-taxes - reduction of energy consumption in
try to regulate the life cycle perspective in order to manufacturing, usage and recycling
minimize ecological effects related to every day life. processes
The international standards for environmental - manufacturing technologies and
management are based on a holistic view of systems for new (e.9. power supply)
products life cycle. products
The foresight of all this influencing factors includes There are a lot of new environmental-friendly
unknown future developments in all areas. But “Product-Technologies” in early phases of the s-
based on to days economy and paradigms it is curve (Fig 9), which require industrialization: like the
evident that industrial manufacturers have to change solar energies or fuel cells.
their objectives. They are confronted with political Fuel Cells, in which the hydrogen is provided on a
decisions and increasing regulations on one side. regenerative way, are one of the big future
On the other side there are new potentials for technologies. Fuel cell cars might have a share of
activation of value. The manufacturing industries the US market in 2010 of almost 4% with 608,000
have the potential for change and the responsibility cars. The share can even reach 7.6% (1,215,000
for the development of a sustainable production as it cars). 80% of them will be running on a Proton
is summarized in fig. 8. Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). Already
2003 or 2004 there will be some 10,000 of them
around. These are the key statements of a new
New Paradigm: Optimization of the Product Life Cycle
study by Allied Business Intelligence. The greatest
challenge is to industrialize the manufacturing
processes and decrease the costs to a level suitable
for mass production and lower than competitive
technologies.
For a massive breakthrough of new technologies
entirely new manufacturing technologies will be
necessary to enable cost-effective (mass-)
production. Their powers run of the known s-curve
shown in figure 9.

Figure 8: New Paradigm for industrial Manufacturing

There is the necessity to change the traditional

objectives of manufacturing. Over hundred years
industrial manufacturing was driven by increasing
efficiency of the manufacturing resources (Material,
Machine, Energy, Personal) and reduction of costs.
Even in the future we have to reduce the costs and
to increase the efficiency of resources but we have
to take into account the whole product life cycle and Industrial First Series
the reduction of the consumption of the natural Manufacturing Products with
of Solar Cells fuel cells
resources and impacts on the environment in the
industrial manufacturing, usage and recycling. Figure 9: Effectiveness of new technologies
dependence on time modern products. But this is limited by the fact of
Task of manufacturing engineering in terms of permanent technical innovation.
sustainable development is therefore to push the 3.3 Application of New Technologies due to Product
necessary industrialization. This pertains the Life
processes itself, a high level of automation and the The effectiveness of a technical product is closely
necessary manufacturing technologies for it. linked to the technical progress and also to the use
The relevant industries are on the way to series of specific know-how for operation (choice of tools,
production and in some cases they realized new adjustments, etc.). To enable longevity, the
factories or are in planning the manufacturing for possibility for permanent upgrading has to be
this products. There is a demand for manufacturing ensured including product operation at the limit of
R&D to support this developments by basics. robust processes and system control. The crucial
factors are mainly determined by the possibilities to
It could be a strategy to increase the life time of
technical products. This would be of course in exchange information and apply knowledge, and
less by the mechanical design of the system [ I I ] .
opposite to the technical innovations. Of course the
life time of products is now longer than years before.
It’s the consequence of better understanding of
wear and critical influencing factors and new
technologies.

3.2 Life time

A different point of view is needed today to evaluate
a product’s life, making the length of product life the
most important factor. The product life span
compared to the technical progress has to be
suitably and correctly interpreted. To this end the
resources have to be used more effectively and the
processes need to be optimized. Figure 11: Duration of product life versus technical
progress.
After the start of usage wear and attrition reduces
the effectiveness of technical products as illustrated
in the lower part of Fig.11. Technical development
and innovations as well as new technologies
increase the lack of effectiveness between used and
new products. This conflict of loosing costs of
opportunity has to be solved by the live cycle
management taking into account possibilities for
upcycling and changing the utilization and based on
a permanent supervision of the efectiveness.

3.4 Modeling the Product Life Cycle

Figure 10: Phases of life cycle of some typical products There have been defined different Models for the
Product Life Cycle. In the industrialized view of
The Figure presents the life cycles of typical technical products the main processes are:
products. The four examples show the differences in engineering, production with regard to the market
the duration of life time of single life cycle stages. A requirements. Usage and the phases of
manufacturing system can be operated up to twenty deproduction, repair and maintenance, reuse and
years if the technical possibilities for the remanufacturing are to develop.
compensation of attrition are applied. Accordingly,
one fact becomes clear: the duration of life cycle
stages, in particular the usage and the end stages of
life, is determined by the product structure and
particularly by the management of the life cycle
activities.
The increasing quality of products allowed
substantial higher utilization of technical products.
Automobiles usage time is increasing in fact. Even
manufacturing systems allow much higher life
utilization than years before. Own investigations on
the life time utilization of machining centers had the
result of nearly doubling hours of effective use. This Figure 12: Cycles of material and information flow
may be an indicator for economic potentials of
When reviewing the requirements for a life cycle Companies expand their “After Sales Business” to
management, the needs of the analyst may vary activate potentials in the manufacturer-customer
somewhat depending on the specific phase in the relation with benefits for both:
life cycle of the products. - the user has the professional
To day we are able to model different processes in support by the customer
- the manufacturer has a close
the life cycle of products
relationship for customer demands
- Engineering: Analysis of technical functions
and profit for his service
- Manufacturing: Optimization of processes and
logistics The offers of companies and especially in the area
- Usage: Technical behavior and utilization rates of machines are driven by so called “user models”
In the last few years the environmental focus in in which the manufacturer offers not the machine or
industry and legislation has shifted from production the technical product but only the functional usage
processes to products and their life cycles. The based on his technological know how.
Added Value of Technical Products
demands regarding efficiency, quality and
environmentally sound manufacturing, usage and Value Added Value
disposal of modern products are further increasing. /

The responsibility of the producer to support the *

*
New Technologies
Service
usage of robust processes and to observe *Technical Support
environmental regulations and restrictions during the
life cycle stages of manufacturing, usage and
disposal are intensifying [7], [13], [14]. A classic
example being the requirements of waste
management, which have become influencing _._
-. L
factors in the design of products and processes. T” TI T, T,
r
Time
manu recycllngl
use and support
facbmg reuse

3.5 Added Value in the Life Cycle

Figure 13: The stages of value creation in the product life
For the above-mentioned reasons, a change of cycle
interest occurs regarding the optimization of costs
The physical products are in this models owned by
and revenues in the product life cycle. Tasks
the manufacturer. There are between the fully
deriving from this change are the assessment and
operation by the customer and the manufacturer
accounting of the life cycle costs and benefits on the
many different solutions like Teleservice or service
basis of the allocation of costs within the three
consutancy which offer benefits and added value for
stages “manufacturing”, “usage and service” and
both. Of course many question in the adding value
“recycling and reuse”.
are open. But Manufacturers have learned to
The manufacturing phase includes costs for calculate cost and benefit. The aim must be an
engineering, material, manufacturing, sales and economic product life cycle with an effective use of
procurement as well as a benefit determined by the resources regarding material, knowledge and
purchase price. It is evident that the value of capacity for work. This optimization inevitably
products during the manufacturing phase is follows the rules of a sustainable industrial
increasing on the starting point of cost for materials. production and is based on the life cycle of
A first evaluation is made by fixing the price. After products.
starting the usage phase there is a first strong loss
for wear and attrition. During this phase the total
value can be summarized as illustrated in fig. 13. 3.6 Taking Environmental Aspects into Account
Losses in wear and attrition are to reactivate by The entire industrial ecosystem will be covered, if
means of upgrading and service. The normal usage every material and energy source used in the
and has to be supported by knowledge to activate product’s life cycle is to be considered, including the
more utilization potentials. product’s reuse, remanufacturing and recovery of
materials and energy. Moreover, the harmful effects
of emissions and waste dumped into nature due to
The product life cycle offers a number of the manufacturing process, use and disposal of
opportunities to reduce costs or even to increase products have to be assessed.
utilization and effectiveness of products during their
usage phase. The producer participates in activities
during both usage and support phases. Due to the
latter, the accompanying follow-up costs caused by
usage, service and disposal or recycling activities,
etc. are increasing. At the same time, however, new
and potentially successful economic business areas
can be explored. Accordingly, it is getting more and
more important to increase the benefit in life cycle.
 Figure 15: Application of LCM methodologies

The purpose of LCE is to design products in

compliance with the key issues of sustainable
development. The most efficient use of modern
technical products demands the knowledge and
Figurel4: Phases, processes and criteria of the product know-how of the manufacturer while making use of
life cycle [I21 “Technical Support” i.e. modern communication
networks, teleservice and teleoperations. To
To ensure their future survival, industrial companies discover the potentials for ecological improvement,
must understand the value criteria of different LCA uses data of the physical product life cycle for
interest groups (share holders, customers, evaluation. The life cycle assessment provides
suppliers, employees, local community, national, quantitative basic data for a sustainable product and
international) and learn to communicate accordingly process management in accordance with public
[7]. In the last few years, the environmental focus in pressure and, last but not least, economical
industry and legislation has shifted from production constraints [5]. All these activities must follow the
processes to products in their life cycle. This is due law of maximum economy. LCC assesses not only
to the fact that minimizing environmental effects in a the life time but also the costs of operation and other
life cycle phase may increase pollution in another costs more efficiently but also leads to higher
and lead to the necessity of minimizing the overall economic effects. According to the current common
environmental effects of our “product consumption”. agreement, cost-efficient solutions should also be
environmentally sound. Nevertheless, LCC and LCA
are still used independently. The main reason being
4 LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT AS AN APPROACH the history and the different dimensions of the two
TO ORGANIZE THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE concepts. However, their integrated application
“Life Cycle Management” (LCM) considers the would lead to a great reduction of cost and required
product life cycle in a holistic way with the aim of time.
achieving the product’s maximum performance. Life Precise data of high evidence are the prerequisite
Cycle Engineering (LCE), Technical Support, Life for life cycle activities and for assessing ecological
Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), and economical aspects. PDM throughout the whole
and last but not least Product Data Management life cycle supports short access time and less
(PDM) are means to accomplish the protection of redundancy if a well organized and structured field
resources and maximize the effectiveness of usage. of data provision is realized.
As researchers of the University of Stuttgart has
shown, Life Cycle Management must be divided in
four spheres of activities as depicted in Figure .

Figure 16: Fields of activities in Life Cycle Management

The fields “Design for Life Cycle” (DFL), “Life Cycle system took place in the USA, focusing on
Evaluation” (LCE), “Life Time Management” (LTM) environmental impacts from different types of
and “Product Cycle Management” (PCM) result from beverage containers [15]. The name used for the
the evaluation of existing Life Cycle Management assessment technique then was Resource and
methods and tools and depend on their contribution Environmental Profile Analysis (REPA).
as well as their moment of use in the product life Environmental awareness at that time was heavily
cycle. Industry today shows an increasing interest in influenced by the strong focus on resource depletion
this classification and especially in the development presented a few years earlier by the report: Limits to
of methods and tools which can be implemented in growth to the Club of Rome [2] and by the
their business activities. Thus, the four topics will be experience of the first global oil crisis in 1973.
discussed in detail as relevant high-potential fields Furthermore, the knowledge of the environmental
for research activities in the following paragraphs. consequences of anthropogenic activities was still
The Benefit of a Life Cycle Management too rudimentary to allow a quantitative assessment
Today, the ecological and economical optimization of the impacts caused by the emissions from the
of products often has different incentives, as the product system. The focus in REPA was thus mainly
perspective of the system “product” is differently on the consumption of energy and other resources.
defined. While ecological optimization includes all The concept of environmental assessment of
life cycle stages of the product, an economical products lead a quiet life throughout most of the
optimization is often limited to the responsibility of 1970’s but experienced a revival in the mid 1980’s
the manufacturer. when much public attention in Europe was directed
Life Cycle Management extends the efficiency of at the extensive use of resources for packaging of
products to the entire life cycle. Minimized overall products. Several national studies were performed
cost as well as maximized benefits are congruent of the resource consumption and environmental
with minimized ecological impacts through emissions for different beverage container systems
maximized functionality. This corresponds with the (such as beer cans and milk containers) in various
idea of sustainability. LCM is thus a precondition for European countries [16], [17], [18]. This is a subject
a sustainable development. that still attracts quite some LCA-activity today. In
some of these packaging studies, it proved difficult
Once the appropriate infrastructure has been set up to obtain reproducible results and conclusions. The
and the right strategy has been developed, the same question sometimes received opposite
potential benefits of the Life Cycle Engineering for answers when examined by different researchers.
all partners in the product life cycle, e.g. the The reason was that data and methods applied
manufacturer, the buyer or operator and the varied at crucial points between the different
recycler, are enormous. Life Cycle Management studies. This was unsatisfactory, and it spurred a
offers the advantage of reduced expenses through more systematic development of the methodological
the avoidance of unnecessary processes. At the basis for the environmental assessment of products.
same time, the processes are more life cycle
oriented and more flexible and the performance of From the end of the 1980s up till today, interest and
the product increases. activity in life cycle assessment has grown very
strongly, and an increasing number of different and
The development of life cycle management will often very complex products and systems have
focus on the reduction of time needed and of costs been assessed. The last decade of the 20th century
for tools. Thus, decisions during the product has thus seen the emergence of a strong interest in
development and the usage can be made quicker. the environmental impacts associated with the
Having this in mind, the integrated application of products that surround us and by which we obtain
tools such as life cycle cost accountings and life the many services that our civilization relies upon.
cycle assessments can essentially contribute to the This interest has been accompanied by the
minimization of expenses and, thus, facilitate the development of methods for environmental
development of sustainable products. assessment of products [19], [20], [21], [22], [23].
4.1 Life Cycle Assessment Overviews and summaries of published LCA studies
Life cycle assessment is a methodology for may be found in [24], [25], [26].
assessing the environmental impacts and resource
consumption associated with the existence of International development and harmonization of
products throughout their entire life cycle - from LCA methodology
cradle to grave, from the extraction of resources
over production, distribution and use to disposal and Accompanying the growing activity within the field of
recycling. life cycle assessment, much attention has been paid
to the development and harmonization of a sound
History of life cycle assessmeni
methodological basis. The international scientific
At the onset of environmental assessment of society of environmental chemists, SETAC (Society
products back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) started
the life cycle assessment methodology was work on life cycle assessments in 1990, and has
developed with strong inspiration from the already since then been the international forum for
existing substance flow analysis. The first studies discussion of the methodological basis of the LCA.
applying a life cycle perspective on a process
Although the discipline was still young and under environmental impacts attributed to the product will
development, the development of international thus often be aggregated over both time and space.
standards for life cycle assessment was initiated in Holistic in environmental impacts covered
1993 under the auspices of the International
The holistic nature of LCA is also extended to its
Standards Organisation (ISO). A general standard
environmental assessment element. In principle, it
for the LCA area with IS0 number 14040 was
attempts to cover the product or service’s
issued in 1997, and more detailed standards for the
contributions to all environmental impacts which are
different phases of the LCA are in a process of
recognized as being of significance today. In
adoption these years. The standards deal with:
addition, impacts on the resources and sometimes
also the working environment are included as
- 14040: Principles and framework - issued 1997 assessment parameters.
- 14041: Goal and scope definition, inventory Potential impacts rather than effects
analysis - issued 1998 It follows from the characteristics of LCA presented
- 14042: Life cycle impact assessment - draft in previous sections, that the impacts on
international standard (end 1999) environment, resource base and working
- 14043: Life cycle interpretation - draft environment that are calculated for the product
international standard (end 1999) system are potential impacts. Whether they result in
actual impacts and effects depends on if, how,
where and when the individual processes of the
Characteristic features of LCA product system are drawn upon in the life course of
Life cycle assessment is distinct from other the product.
environmental analytical techniques in various LCA is for comparisons
aspects. The most prominent characteristic features
of LCA are listed below. The focus on the product and its somewhat fictitious
product system and the aggregation of impacts over
Focus on functions time and space makes the results of an LCA difficult
The object of a life cycle assessment is the to interpret in absolute terms. LCA is developed and
fulfillment of a certain function and the product that used for comparative analysis of alternatives - is
is studied is defined by what is needed to fulfill this there any environmental difference between A and
function. In practice, life cycle assessment is most B and how large is it?
often environmental assessment of products and as Phases of LCA
such its object is all the processes that are needed
In accordance with the present consensus within
for the product to run through its life cycle from
SETAC and in agreement with the current I S 0
cradle to grave. Here lies an important difference
14040 standard, the life cycle assessment consists
from other environmental assessment schemes like
of the following phases:
environmental risk assessment of chemicals (ERA)
or environmental impact assessment of major
human activities like construction works (EIA) which Application
focus on individual processes or groups of . Identification o f
improvement
processes confined in space and time. potentials for
products and processe

Raw W
. Support o f the
decision making
A A
materials m
4 in the purchasing
. Creation o f
environment ratios
. Ecology-oriented
communication
. Maketing

Figure 17: Life cycle of a product. Transportation Figure 17: The general framework of life cycle
processes are shown by a circumscribed “T”, waste assessment according to I S 0 14040.
treatment processes are shown by a circumscribed “ W .
Iterative procedure
Holistic in time and space Although described as consisting of four
This agglomeration of processes, often separated consecutive phases, life cycle assessment is an
from each other in time as well as in space, is iterative procedure where experience gathered in a
referred to as the product system. A product system later phase may serve as feedback leading to
will often be global in the sense that it includes modification of one or more earlier phases.
processes, typically in the use or disposal stage, Normally, a screening LCA is performed first to
that can take place in any part of the world. It may identify the most important elements of the product
also span over decades or even centuries from the system, the main environmental impacts and the
onset of the first resource extraction processes to most decisive assumptions in the scope definition.
last emissions from the land filling of waste. The
The screening is followed by more detailed analysis - Classification where the impact categories are
of the identified key figures of the LCA. defined and the exchanges from the inventory are
Goal and scope definition assigned to impact categories reflecting their ability
to contribute to different problem areas (“what is the
For the later interpretation of the LCA results, it is
problem for this environmental exchange?”).
essential that the decisions which determine what
kind of LCA is performed, defining the scope of the - Characterization where the contribution(s) of
study, be explicitly stated in the assessment report. each exchange is modeled quantitatively and the
Any LCA report should start with an explicit contributions aggregated within each impact
declaration of the goal and scope of the study. category converting the classified inventory into a
profile of environmental impact potentials, resource
The goal definition describes the purpose of the
consumptions and possibly working environment
study and the decision process to which it shall
impact potentials (“how big is the problem?”).
provide input of environmental information. The
definition of the goal serves in the later interpretation - Normalization where the different impact
to qualify what types of questions the results of the potentials and resource consumptions are
LCA can be used for answering and, inherently, expressed on a common scale through relating
what types of questions it cannot answer. The scope them to a common reference, in order to facilitate
of the study must also be defined as regards the comparisons across impact categories (“is that
object of the study - the functional unit, the product much?’?
system, the criteria on which the assessment shall - Weighting where weights are assigned to the
be based, the time scale of the study, the different impact categories and resource
technological scope and principles for allocation of consumptions reflecting the relative importance they
dividing environmental impacts from processes with are assigned in this study in accordance with the
multiple outputs goal of the study (“is it important?”)
Inventory analysis Interpretation
For each of the processes that have been identified In the interpretation phase of life cycle assessment
as pertaining to the product system during scope the results are interpreted along the lines of the
definition, information is collected on the input and defined goal and in accordance with the limitations
output (environmental exchanges) and possibly on defined by the scope of the study. Sensitivity
the internal interactions with an operator if working analyses are performed and the outcome of the
environment is to be included in the impact interpretation serves as recommendation to the
assessment. In general, the collection of data is decision makers, who will normally weigh it against
based on mass balances for the process over a other decision criteria (like economic and social
longer period of time. It is important to ensure in this aspects).
way that the data is representative of the average Reporting and critical review
functioning of the process and that irregularities in
Product systems are often very complex systems
the service like start-up and closure, cleaning of
and apart from this complexity, life cycle
equipment etc. are included. The data is reported as
assessment involves a series of choices and
the process’ environmental exchanges per
assumptions that may render the outcome dubious
functional unit. In the reporting of the inventory, the
or at least intransparent to people outside the study.
exchanges are generally aggregated and presented
It is therefore a requirement from both SETAC and
for the different life cycle stages as well as for the
I S 0 that there shall be a transparent and sufficiently
entire life cycle.
detailed presentation of results, data, methods used,
Life cycle impact assessment assumptions made and inherent limitations of the
For the life cycle assessment to be able to support study to allow the reader to understand the
decisions, the data in the inventory must be complexities and trade-offs inherent in the study.
interpreted. The interpretation must be based on the Apart from this it is recommended, and for some
available background knowledge of the applications required, that a critical review of the
environment, resources and working environment, study be performed by an independent third party.
and it must show which of the exchanges are The review can be performed either after the study
significant through their impacts and potential is finalized or during the study in interaction with the
effects on the protection areas, and how great their group doing the LCA study. The review report must
contributions can be. It is the task of the impact be included in the reporting of the life cycle
assessment phase to interpret the inventory results assessment.
into potential impacts on what is referred to as the Industrial applications (elements of life cycle
“protection areas” of the LCA, i.e. the entities that management)
we want to protect by performing and using the Throughout the history of LCA and up till today,
LCA, i.e. human health, ecosystem health and the industry’s principal application of LCA has been as a
resource base. decision support tool in the development of new
The impact assessment phase of LCA normally products [27], [28], [29], [30], [31]. The use of the
proceeds through four steps: tool in product development serves the purpose on
the one side of creating an overview of the
environmental impacts from the existing product or
product range and identifying the environmental Like other tools, LCA must be adapted according to
hotspots - those processes or activities that cause the resources and requirements for the application,
the main impacts in a life cycle perspective. On the it serves in the industry. A number of researchers
other side LCA is used for comparing alternative within manufacturing engineering have developed
solutions in the development of the new product and different adaptations of the tool for materials and
for making "what-if" simulations to help decide which processes. Good examples are [37], [38], [39]. At
product changes are preferred from an the Technical University of Denmark, three different
environmental point of view. approaches to the use of LCA in product
As one of the largest projects of its kind, the EDlP development have been developed.
project (Environmental Design of Industrial EDlP -the detailed interactive approach
products) was performed at the Technical University The necessity of the dual expertise when integrating
of Denmark in collaboration with five major Danish environmental considerations into new products
industrial companies, the Confederation of Danish resulted in deliverables of the EDlP program aimed
Industries and the Environmental Protection Agency at two different target groups: the environmental
from 1991-1996. The EDlP project combined the specialist [23], [34] and the product developer [40].
development of LCA methodology with the In EDIP, generalized paradigms and schemes were
adaptation for use in product development within the developed for the interaction between the two
electromechanical field [33], [34], [35]. A general groups at different points of the product
conclusion based is that success in integrating development process supplemented by a collection
environmental considerations in product of case studies covering a range of
development requires participation of two types of electromechanical products to serve as examples
qualifications: and inspiration [23].
- product development expertise managing the Before the onset of the development project a
product development process and integrating the detailed life cycle assessment is performed for one
environmental priorities among the other priorities or more reference products - existing products
- life cycle assessment expertise identifying and chosen to represent processes (technologies and
quantifying the environmental impacts throughout materials) in the life cycle of the new product. A
the life cycle of the product and assessing the database covering the major part of the life cycle of
improvements obtained through different design the new product is thus compiled in advance giving
solutions. the environmental specialist of the development
These skills may be working interactively together or team a good understanding of the environmental
the work of the environmental specialist may be aspects potentially involved in the new product. The
done off-line in relation to the development process life cycle assessment of the reference products
depending on the scope and the ambitions of the helps the development team to focus on the
project. The conclusion is supported by similar work environmental hot spots of the product life - those
at other departments [36], [37]. characteristics of the product that cause the most
significant contributions to the overall environmental
Another important point is that the integration of
loading from the product. Obviously, this is vital
environmental considerations must find its place knowledge in the specification of a new and more
among the many other priorities considered in the environmentally friendly version of the product. The
development of a new product.
database developed on the reference products is
Design built into the EDlP PC-tool which also contained a
Durability I Safety modeling- and an impact assessment module [41].
With this tool the environmental specialist can model

-
the product life cycle and simulate the

/u
environmental consequences of changes. These
Product development tools enabled the environmental specialist to provide
Technology
quick answers to most of the questions emerging
costs from the product development process - mainly
2 questions regarding improvement potentials:
f t
Standards
Legislation
Environment
- entire life cycle
- all relevant impacts
-

-
which solution is the best here, A, B or C?
how much better is it? Is the improvement
Figure 18: The environmental performance of the product significant in an overall product perspective?
must find its place among many other priorities in the
product development process . how much is it theoretically possible to attain (how
far are we from the theoretical limits)?
Even from an environmental point of view, the
environmental performance of the product should An example of the use of the EDlP PC-tool is shown
not be weighted more strongly than to the extent in Figure.
that it contributes to the competitive ability of the The thorough life cycle assessment allows very
product. After all, no reduction in the stress on the detailed changes to be assessed and when the
environment is obtained unless the product sells product is ready for the market it provides
and replaces other, less environmentally sound documentation of the environmental improvements
products in the market. that have been obtained. This information is useful
for claims in marketing, for environmental However, often there are trade-offs i.e. situations
declarations and for obtaining ecolabels for the new where alternative A seems better in some aspects
product. or life cycle stages and alternative B seems better in
other. When this is the case no decision can be
made from the MECO results alone but the analysis
has helped identify those parts of the life cycle
where differences occur. This knowledge can be
used in two different ways:
It identifies those aspects where alternative 6 is
environmentally inferior to alternative A. If other
arguments favor alternative B, the design team may focus
their attention on the identified aspects of the life cycle to
see whether alternative B can be improved here to match
alternative A also in the environmental performance.
A more detailed environmental assessment as
described under Section 2.1 is required to support the
Figure 19: Environmental impact profile comparing two decision but it can now be limited to those parts of the life
alternative ways of producing the same component by the cycle where differences occur and the total work load thus
EDlP PC-tool. Also working environment and resource reduced considerably.
profiles are generated for the comparison.

The merits of the MECO approach is that

For strategic company purposes, the developed it forces the development team to think through the full
product model also allows very easy simulations of life cycle of the alternatives
changes in some of the conditions of the product’s
it covers all environmental and resource impacts
life cycle:
through the causing agents: material choices, choice of
- what does it mean if the export is re-oriented energy requirements and choice of chemical use along
towards other markets (with different energy the life cycle
generation and disposal systems)? yet it is simple and quick and excellent for creating an
- what will happen if we choose to take the overview.
product back after ended use?
The MECO approach - simplification through Simplifying through generalizing - the product
focusing family approach
The full EDlP approach is time-consuming and Many small and medium sized companies do not
when establishing the environmental basis for have environmental specialists in-house to enter the
design choices it is hence useful to start the product development team. Here, the cost of the
exercise with a one-page qualitative LCA to focus detailed interactive approach may be prohibitive for
the further work. The MECO approach was an environmental effort in product development.
developed in the EDlP program [23] as a tool for For these companies a product-family approach is
simplification and structuring (inspired by other developed in collaboration with the Confederation of
similar approaches e.g.[35]). The four letters in the Danish Industries and the Danish Environmental
MECO acronym are chosen to cover aspects in the Protection Agency applying the detailed EDlP life
product’s life cycle that are directly influenced by cycle assessment method to one or more generic
decisions made by the product developer and that (reference) products representative for the product
together represent all causes of environmental family. A product family, here, is operationally
impacts along the life cycle. M stands for Materials, defined as a group of products which are so similar
E for Energy, C for Chemicals and 0 for Other in their environmental characteristics that those
aspects (like life time of the product and risk of environmental design recommendations that can be
accidents in the working environment). Along the given for the group as a whole are sufficiently
other axis are the stages of the product’s life cycle specific and detailed to be of real value to the
as Extraction of raw materials, Manufacturing, Use product development process. Examples of product
and Disposal. families are ventilation systems, light fittings and
In the comparison of two alternatives, each life cycle vacuum cleaners. The results of the assessment are
stage is analyzed qualitatively for all four aspects to used for identifying the environmental improvement
reveal if any significant differences can be expected potentials and priorities for the products belonging to
between the two alternatives. Anticipated the family.
differences are noted in the relevant cell. Unless the In the product-family approach focus will be on the
alternatives differ widely in choice of technology and most important environmental impacts from the life
materials, most of the cells will normally be empty cycle. The recommendations will in general be less
(i.e. no significant difference is expected). Indeed, specific than in the detailed interactive approach
sometimes the MECO analysis alone will provide described earlier but they will be available for many
sufficient basis for making the decision. Then, the companies that otherwise would be prevented from
environmentally best alternative can be chosen from undertaking an environmental design process.
qualitative knowledge of the life cycles alone.
Though the results for the individual product may be product systems. In this perspective the products
less far-reaching it is thus anticipated that at a are the agents causing many of the diffuse
societal level, application of the product family contributions that sum up to some of the most
approach will create at least as large environmental serious environmental problems which face today’s
improvements as the detailed approach. society [23].
Apart from the product development function, the Several industrial countries including the European
Product family project may also create Union are discussing or have already implemented
recommendations to other actors within the product-oriented environmental policies [46], [47],
product’s life cycle, notably authorities responsible [48], [49], [50] aiming at reducing impacts from the
for the legislation surrounding the product and for products through a range of different measures:
the systems through which the product will Ecolabelling or environmental declarations of products
ultimately be disposed. based on a life cycle assessment and thus reflecting the
Other industrial applications full environmental impact of the product. In Europe there
are several national ecolabelling schemes and a common
With the life cycle perspective on the product it is EU scheme covering a range of different product types
obvious for a company to start looking more at the
Green public procurement guiding public purchasers in
environmental performance of other actors of the taking environmental considerations into account
product chain - the suppliers of components and
Ranking of products according their impacts on the
materials, the actors responsible of the distribution
environment and the resource base with a view to guide
and sale of the product, the customer and user of future regulation
the product and the operators of the waste
Take-back responsibility for certain product types (e.g.
treatment system that will eventually dispose of the
cars and electronics) making manufacturers liable to take
product and possibly recycle parts hereof. In some their products back after ended use thus motivating them
companies, later years have thus seen the to design and construct the products with their disposal in
propagation of the life cycle perspective from mind.
product development to most of the other activities
undertaken by the company and several industries
are now working on an integration of the life cycle A future authority use of LCA may be to introduce a
perspective in their environmental management “green” taxation of products. An environmental tax
system. Examples of environmental reporting on the which reflects the full environmental costs (including
company’s activities and responsibilities in a life externalities) that the product inflicts on society
cycle perspective are given by [42] (moulded paper throughout its life cycle will cause the market to
products), [43] (pharmaceuticals and enzymes), [44] move towards the consumption of more
(insulation products) and [45], (electrical environmentally friendly products [48].
engineering). Authorities can also use the holistic assessment
Administrative applications principle of LCA in the environmental assessment of
Many industrialized countries adopted their first major societal action plans, of legislation or more
environmental legislation in the early 1970’s and for specifically of different ways of providing services
the first two decades the authorities focused most of like transportation, electricity generation, beverage
their attention on the regulation of the problematic packaging or waste treatment [23].
and hazardous chemicals and industrial
installations. Through introduction of first cleaning 4.2 Life Cycle Engineering
technologies and later cleaner technologies in Design for Life Cycle
industry this effort was in many cases successful. Manufacturers are becoming responsible for the
While many local environmental problems were
environmental performance of their products
solved through regulation, the growing flow of throughout their life cycle (product stewardship). Life
materials and energy and the generation of waste cycle engineering (product design) aims to integrate
continued to draw attention to problems like global environmental issues and parameters into product
warming (mainly related to our use of fossil fuels), development throughout the life cycle of a product.
acidification (caused by combustion processes for Manufacturers must greatly reduce the use of raw
energy generation), photochemical ozone formation materials and the impact on the environment, while
(to a large extent caused by fugitive emissions of preserving or improving the functionality of the
volatile organic compounds from our transport and products. The latter must include the possibilities of
energy sector). The causes of these emissions and Life Time Management including Telesupport or the
often also their sources are of a multiple and rather chance to upgrade the product during usage.
diffuse nature which means that they can not be Additionally, construction materials have to be
regulated through focus on the installations causing chosen which bring about a decreased
them. They are created due to our fulfilment of our environmental burden and apart form that, the
needs, and a logic way for the authorities to address operations of the life cycle partners have to undergo
them is therefore to focus the attention on the examination i.e. those of the manufacturer, user or
physical manifestations of this fulfilment - the
recycler. Aspects such as maximized effectiveness,
products that we use. These products can be seen use of renewable materials, use of material-saving
as responsible for their share of the emissions manufacturing processes, improved logistics,
originating in the processes that enter into the
energy consumption or the design disassembly e.g. the useful life of certain products. An efficient
have to be taken into account. computer support is realized in order to properly
When it comes to design and engineering activities support the design world, to fulfill the overall
for products and processes including a better research conditions and to control the high
protection of our environment, “Eco-design” has complexity of the environmental know1edge. The
become a frequently used slogan. Innovative Eco- design environment gives the designer an efficient
design solves the challenge of combined ecological access to the required knowledge. The design
and economic tasks not by finding a more or less environment is based on an open integration
satisfying compromise between conflicting aims but platform, which permits a flexible co-operation of the
by developing new solutions with progress and instruments of the design environment like
advantages on both sides. Manufacturing and use Computer Aided Design (CAD), Simulation and
have already seen considerable progress both in the Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)
past and recently to improve the environmental WI,WI.
behavior of a product during the life cycle stages. The research project “SFB 392” has developed a
On the one hand, the costs of the manufacturer or system-architecture to modeling the product life
user are reduced if waste or too much energy cycle based on the three layers application system,
consumption is avoided. On the other, the costs are communication bus and Product Data Management-
reduced if laws such as those to reduce emissions Systems, which is shown in Figure.
from factories, cars, etc. are observed. Eco-design Kimura et al. propose a methodology for design and
to improve the environmental product behavior management of a closed product life cycle , based
during the third phase of recycling and on the idea of product usage modes and product life
remanufacturing has gained in interest and cycle scenario, where life cycle simulation plays an
importance in the past few years. The designer can important role [54].
improve the suitability of a product for recycling (but
also its environmental features regarding the
manufacturing and use) by using the opportunities
and making the right decisions in three design
areas: selection of materials, designing of product
structure, designing of joinings. Design for
Disassembly and Remanufacturing very often helps
assembly and manufacturing, too.
In this context, “Design for Environment” (DFE)
provides feedback from end of life issues to product
development. DFE solutions described in this article
include requirements from all phases of a product
life cycle. Thus, the designer meets an
interdisciplinary challenge with environmentally
sound material processing, manufacturing,
refurbishing, recycling, disposal and logistics to be
considered. This interdisciplinary approach will
guarantee that DFE will not only support Design for Figure 20: System-Architecture for Modeling the Product
Environment but also Design for Economics. Life Cycle [55].
In the research project “SFB 392: Development of
environmentally sound products” at the Technical Based on simultaneous engineering approaches, an
University of Darmstadt, an information model, an integrated and interactive procedure of designing
allied database and a design system environment products and product life cycles has been
are being developed. The information model is developed at the University of Technology in
divided into the areas of raw material, semi- Aachen [56]. Cooperation between experts of
products, forming, cutting, plastics, use, recycling different departments or enterprises concerned in
and disposal in accordance with the life cycle the product life cycle is supported by an information
phases. The core of this information model contains and communication system.
a product data model covering all development 4.3 Product Cycle Management
phases as developed in IS0 10303.The resulting
information model integrates product and Repair serves to more or less extend the useful life
environmental data within the concept called of a product while remanufacturing is the basis of its
next full life cycle. Regarding ownership, a repaired
“Cooperative Object Modeling Technique” (COOM)
product will return to its original owner, while
and thus is the basis for supporting the designer
with environmental knowledge [51]. Another remanufactured products are anonymous and
ownerless like new products before they enter their
approach at the TH Darmstadt not only records the
generally available environmental knowledge of customer‘s ownership.
processes and products in the life cycle phases but Today and in the future, environmentally responsible
also specific environmental knowledge derived from product recycling starts with careful preparation and
the analysis of exemplary products and companies, disassembly processes to recover most of the
fractions, valuable parts or materials and/or materials are recycled via pyrolysis or by fine
hazardous components and substances, so that grinding of scrap. The recycling of technical
they will not end up in a mixed toxic and non polymers can be done in several ways which lead to
recyclable fraction [57], [53]. different recycling products. An original recycling of
Throughout the whole life cycle of a product the polymers, however, is very demanding, which is why
processes i.e. parts production, product repair, units a manual disassembly and separation of the
remanufacturing, and parts recovery from obsolete polymer scrap is usually required.
products are not just connected by obvious streams Technologies of Remanufacturing
of hardware, but they also add value to each other When a product is defective, i.e. too much worn out
by transferring and sharing technological know-how or damaged to perform properly, and the question is
about manufacturing, repairing and how to put it back into service, repairing or
remanufacturing, and by exchanging experiences remanufacturing are immediately considered. Thus,
among each other and with the design engineers the user avoids the expenses of buying a new
about reasons for product failures, etc. product and of having to dispose of the old one.
Technologies of Recycling Especially in the heavy duty sector, remanufactured
Recycling breaks up the building structure of the engines prove both that they are reliable and
product in order to recover the materials. Complex durable as well as flexible. They have often run for
technical products are characterized by a high hundreds of thousands of miles during their first
percentage of metal materials. Their recycling as service period and after a professional
scrap is often connected to the metallurgical remanufacturing process they are ready for the next
process of the production. The reprocessing of half million miles. Regarding flexibility, an engine
complex technical products aims at the separation returning from its first life cycle in a truck, might well
of metal scrap. The individual processes have to do do its next duty in a compressor or power generator
with the reprocessing of raw materials and are [591.
adjusted to the recycling sphere. The remanufacturing process itself takes place in a
The separation of ferrometals represents a typical factory environment. It is organized as an industrial
process chain, beginning with the crushing in process, so that it can benefit from the advantages
shredder mills. This is due to the fact that cars take of series production. It is carried out in five key-
up a predominant share in used complex technical steps, which are shown in Figure . During each step,
products. Heavy scrap is often crushed by means of especially during reconditioning and reassembly,
scrap cutters or breaker. The separation of light adequate quality assurance measures are applied.
metals and semi-precious metals mainly focuses on
aluminum and copper (see Figure). Copper can be
separated by several technologies, e.g. the manual
separation or eddy current separators. Aluminum
scrap is often separated by swim-sink-technologies
due to its significant density.

Figure 22: Key-Steps of Remanufacturing

Integration of Assembly and Disassembly

Disassembly is a labor cost intensive process. It is
necessary to separate hazardous substances before
complex technical products are recycled by
recycling technologies [60].

Figure 21 : Cycle of aluminum cast alloys [58]

Growing shares of electronics in complex technical

products have led to the development of special
reprocessing technologies for the recycling of
precious and semi precious metals. Copper
Advantages and which markets? Which parts should be reused and
Potentials which materials should be recycled?
* Disassembly used as time buffer to
raise the f l e n ~ b ~ l of
~Pj
assembly Quality Aspects of Reuse and Recycling (Prof Kimura,
* lob ennchment, Tokyo)
increased responsibiliPj
* Integration of repair and
maintenance
Examining the different process steps of repairing
* Use of worker's know~howfor
and remanufacturing and the characteristics of
assembly, disassembly and repair
products derived form these processes, there are
* Directuseofknow~howfor
designing new products some significant differences regarding overall quality
* Flexible working processes and warranty accompanying a repaired or a
remanufactured product. Quality requirements
Figure 23: Integrated planning system - working systems during recycling are important especially for the
for assembly and disassembly reprocessing of polymers in order to ensure
constant properties of parts made of recycled
Disassembly is an obligatory part of some recycling plastics [67].
processes and of all remanufacturing technologies. Remanufactured products reach the customers with
It has to be carried out, even if parts or the same quality level, performance, endurance and
subassemblies only have to be cleaned and tested. warranty as a new product.
However, the cost intensive disassembly, which also 4.4 Life Time Management
requires assembly, has to be compensated by
Modern manufacturing systems are more complex
adequate returns from fractions, materials or parts
in terms of functionality and structure. Only those
recovered from the product [66], [57].
users able to manage this complexity can operate
The integration of assembly and disassembly in such systems. Using the knowledge and know-how
manufacturing lines is a future-oriented approach in of the manufacturer the product can be used much
order to reduce the costs by using automated more efficiently. "Technical Support" of the
assembly technologies for disassembly. This manufacturer makes use of modern communication
approach requires joinings technologies allowing networks, teleservice and teleoperations. Since the
assembly and disassembly to be carried out by the responsibility for a manufacturing system remains in
same tool set [61], [62], [63], [64]. the hands of the producer for a longer period of
Logistics and Life Cycle time, he/she gets the opportunity to explore new
Product liability and responsibility are getting business areas to make further profit.
important at the end of the life of high tech products, The share of gross value added in future products
especially in one of the fastest growing markets i.e. will rise due to the inclusion of software for the
in communication electronics. Complex recycling controlling device and the process management.
networks for taking back, upcycling, recycling and This implies the chance of upgrading and adapting
downcycling must be planned and implemented. the product to the technical progress at slighter
Logistics will be one of the essential aspects costs by exchanging the software. Thereby, the
because of its expensiveness. Up to 50 % - 70 % of traditional classification of business processes into
the total waste management costs can allocated to "manufacturing", "usage and service" and "recycling"
logistical costs. will soon become obsolete. Up to 30% of the funds
quota of the German mechanical engineering
industry result from after sales services. In the
cossper ""It
future, the producer will take the role of an operator
and recycler, too. The service of the manufacturer
includes diagnosing the product and related
processes as well as maintaining and repairing the
system. The manufacturer could possibly lease the
Tlanspolfaflon
product and thus only sell the added value. This
Clud
TransportatmnDistance D's'ance example is not utopian, as we already know from
Figure 24: Optimization of collecting time and the activities of some manufacturers of copy
transportation distance machines and automobiles. A higher benefit during
some life cycle stages requires increased
expenditure in operating these systems, and
Innovative upcycling networks can create profits out obviously leads to a longer working life. By means of
of this cost dilemma. But not only the cost dilemma changing the operation strategy, which is supported
of the end of life cycle can be solved, the costs for by an adaptable system design, the technical
spare parts can also be reduced significantly. Even progress is continued without the recurring
new markets such as international low cost markets substitution of short-life systems.
for remanufactured products can increase revenues
Telesetvice Activities Supporting the Product Life
and profit. The consumer will profit - total cost of
ownership can drop significantly with multi-life
upcyclable products. New questions arise such as:
Which products or subassemblies are suitable for
 click. Applications such as video transmission help
overcome language barriers and are just as
essential as online access to multimedia, technical
documentation within the Internet.
Holistic Structures of Documents and Data in the Product
Life Cycle (Product Data Management)
The close cooperation of all business partners
involved in the product’s life cycle is a prerequisite
for optimizing the design and operation of a product.
To this end, it is necessary to organize the
management of the configuration and the
Figure 25: The elements of a holistic telesupport documentation in a way which considers all needs
of the different life cycle partners. The organization
of documentation and data is essential for a clear
It is increasingly becoming difficult for manufacturers and unambiguous product configuration at all stages
of complex technical products and equipment to of the life cycle, as well for realization of efficient
stand out amongst competitors only on the basis of technical support processes within the life cycle
their products. Therefore, it is of growing importance management. It is necessary for all activities
to offer additional services for the running and performed by different life cycle partners in different
maintenance of products. Extensive support through phases of the product life cycle that the same data
the manufacturer’stechnical service department has are available.
always been an important criterion for clients
wishing to invest in a particular product. However, it
is especially difficult for small and medium-sized
businesses to offer these services world-wide and at
the same time guaranteeing short reaction times.
Teleservice offers one way to escape this dilemma.
The use of teleservice started in a rudimentary form
about twenty years ago when machine tool
manufacturers would communicate instructions to
operators via phone. The concept today has
remained more or less the same, now using
analogue connections and a modem. However,
more flexibility has been introduced through the
development of computer-based controlling, which
has made it possible for controlling tasks to be
distributed from a central computer to decentralised
Figure 26: Demand for information compared to actual
components right down to the actor/sensor level. availability in product life
Global Information and Communication Networks
Information supply and communication among the
Appropriate strategies, methods and tools must be
different partners within the product life cycle is a
applied to reduce the lack of information at early
crucial aspect. Information has to be provided
stages of the product life cycle. Here, qualified
regarding materials and components or information
activities and systems have to enable the transfer of
about service concepts, product structure and
know-how and information, for example with the
operating strategies.
help of communication networks based on reference
An example being modern control concepts, which models and simulation tools in order to anticipate life
have simplified the linking on to telecommunication cycle data such as system behavior or activities with
networks, so that technical products can be a high degree of reliable information. An integrated
controlled or inspected from a long distance. information model is the technical key factor in
Through Teleservice, the product manufacturer is determining the success of technical support
able to support the client in the provision of up-to- processes. It is a life cycle-wide information
date technical information about the product by reservoir including complete product data but also
allowing access to technical documentation and data which are not directly related to the product but
providing instructions of how to manage necessary for a competent consultation in technical
maintenance problems. This is useful both for support processes.
reference and training purposes. In addition,
In order to design such an integrated reference
information concerning technical disturbances,
model the process chains which represent all tasks
quality control etc. can be passed from the operator
to be performed in a product life cycle have to be
back to the manufacturer for diagnosis and analysis.
identified, while considering the different life cycle
For example, if technical documentation support is
views of the life cycle partners. After process chains
required for the identification of spare parts, then it
have been identified, the related documents and
should be possible for the ordering department of
data are allocated. The use of continuos document
the manufacturer to access the parts by mouse
classification codes for all life cycle partners is Semiconductors contain inteIIigent and
advisable. programmable information.
The definition of cooperation processes allows to 4.5 Life Cycle Evaluation
connect the separated life cycle views of the The second field of activity within LCM is the sphere
partners. In general, there are three types of of Life Cycle Evaluation. Here, the Life Cycle
cooperation processes, namely the process linking Assessment (see Chapter 4.1) as well as the Life
manufacturer and product user, the one linking Cycle Costing must be applied to identify what
manufacturer and recycler and the one linking economical and ecological impacts result from
recycler and product user. The description of these manufacturing, operating and recycling a product.
cooperation processes includes the references Life Cycle Costing - Evaluation of Life Cycle Activities
between the supporting and the supported
processes, the documents which are needed and An increased budget during the design and
generated, and the detailed description of the construction phase leads to a higher product quality
process. Most of the documents exchanged among and results in a prolonged working life and a higher
the partners should be stored in the integrated benefit of the product. Considering the product life
information model. Documents used for the process cycle as a whole, not only the life time but also the
but not important for other partners are stored in costs of operation and other costs can be assessed
data structures of the owner [65]. more effectively and with a higher economic benefit.
An example being the share of different materials
used in the manufacturing system which are
considerably influencing the allocation of cost and
revenues in the product life cycle. In the future, the
additional responsibility for a system’s disposal
means to calculate up to 5% of the replacement
value of the system for recycling and/or waste
removal. In future times, the designer and
manufacturer of manufacturing systems will have an
increasing responsibility in developing systems and
devices suiting the demands of the whole life cycle.
The complete development process is of uttermost
importance for the future product. Errors made
during the development will directly affect the life
Figure 27: Holistic data life cycle models cycle profit. According to a recent study done by
McKinsey, a six month delay in development will
reduce the profit by 33%.
After the informational needs of the cooperation
processes have been determined, the integrated The evaluation of the resulting benefit calls for a
information data model can be prepared. To this new method to account costs and revenues in the
end, the detailed identification of data transferred life cycle of the products. By means of the ”Life
with the documents in the cooperation processes is Cycle Costing” (LCC) method, the costs of
important. Fundamental challenges in terms of production, installation, usage and disposal are
information consistency, redundancy, reliability, analyzed, so that a minimum of the total cost and a
efficiency and security have to be mastered. maximum of benefit is achieved. This optimization
process supports the adaptation of the life cycle
Reference models for life cycle phases of the
processes by observing the demands and
different life cycle partners and for the documents
constraints of the life cycle management.
and data allocated to processes in these phases as
well as models of useful cooperation processes can The allocation of costs and revenues are given to
help to accelerate the agreement about life cycle verify the saving. Thus, reference numbers can be
management between the partners and the derived and cost rates determined. By evaluating
implementation of an integrated information model. the variability and sensitivity, the potentials to
Used products often provide information about maximize the benefit are shown. The life cycle cost
failure behavior, effective operating time, etc. or can accounting has to prove the thesis that longevity of
be used as an input for recycling plans, in case products including the permanent upgrading of the
identically used products show heavy deviations operating system is ecologically and economically
caused by usage influences. Life cycle data can be useful. The structures of costs and revenues of the
stored and complemented using “smart labels” and life cycle justify the operation of new innovative
the approach of the “green port” to bring back the products or system concepts, possibly of new
usage information into the development processes operational and maintenance concepts and/or new
as well as to provide life cycle data for the financing models and cooperation forms.
organization and planning of recycling activities. To
trail and identify the product in its life cycle can be
achieved by using data like time and place of
production, events like refurbishment and guarantee
information. “Smart Labels” of Philips
 environmental and life cycle issues either implicitly
or, increasingly, explicitly. Examples thereof are
found in the Global IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing
Systems) Research Program, now in its 5ith year
after an initial development period of about the
same length. The IMS program was conceived by 0
and could be argued to be a ClRP initiative, with
many ClRP members actively involved in its
projects. The following briefly summarizes this
program concentrating on LCM and environmental
aspects.
Figure 28: Main steps and the results of life cycle costing 5.2 Outline of IMS Program
The IMS initiative is essentially aimed at realizing
Systems and services are analyzed by means of the sustainable globalization of manufacturing
permanently monitoring the life cycle costs and industry in view of increasingly accelerating
benefits. In a broader sense, the results are applied technological advancement, based on the
to determine, and if necessary, to increase the organization, systematization and exploration of
suitability of the unit and its sub-units during the life past technological manufacturing for future global
time or life cycle. use. This objective must be based on cooperation
among industrial nations, the development of "next
generation" techniques, human and environmental
sustainability, and on the cooperation of academics,
researchers and industry in all phases of research
and development as illustrated in Figure [73], [72].
The three circles conceptually represent the
interrelationship of the four kinds of research, i.e.
basic, pre-competitive, competitive and post-
competitive research (the "research circle"), with the
"academic interest" circle and the "industrial
interest" circle together with their typical timeframes.

Figure 69: The cost and benefit trends in the product life
cycle
..--__..
-..-__
-..
,.' .'.. '.
,/'.
There are different influences causing costs or /' Research '.
benefits to increase or decrease, as outlined in Pre- n
Short-Tern

Figure 6. Observing the constraints and regulations

of environmental-friendly and quality-orientated
manufacturing processes leads to increased
expenditures [7], [68] during the production phase,
whereas low costs of manufacturing (e.9. wages,
energy) result in decreased life cycle costs.
Increased expenditures are necessary to derive a I I NOW
greater benefit from products or systems during Figure 30: Research ,,Acadustrialism" (Based On 0).
service and usage, whereas lower cost for operation
result in decreased expenditures [69]. The same
constellation applies to the reuse and recycling The ,,practical" objective of the IMS program is to
phase. The cost inducing factor is expressed in the provide a platform for integrating this overall picture
share of reusable product parts and components in terms of manufacturing technology, which can
while decreased expenditures for recycling and obviously only be achieved by the far-reaching
deposition processes result in lower life cycle costs cooperation between government, academia and
[701, [711. industry, i.e. by an appropriate degree of what has
been called "acadustrialism" [74], on a world-wide
basis. This means that competition must be
5 CONTRIBUTION OF IMS
accompanied by the sharing of manufacturing know
5.1 Introduction how must be globally distributed and not be allowed
Up to this point a global picture of the current and to stagnate in any particular (industrialized) country.
some future issues of Life Cycle Management and The objectives of the IMS program, as well as the
Assessment have been presented. Many if not most "Technical Themes" under which IMS projects must
manufacturing research projects today consider fall, implicitly contain many references to LCM/A,
and are shown in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively. 5. VirtuallExtended Enterprises issues
In 1997 these were supplemented by the list of - Methodologies to determine and support information
issues and topics shown in Table 3, to be addressed processes and logistics across the value chain in the
in order to more effectively realize the original extended enterprise
themes, and by concentrating on the 5 “core issues” - Architecture (business, functional and technical) to support
of manufacturing today, including environmental engineering cooperation across the value chain e.g.
sustainability [75]. concurrent engineering across the extended enterprise
- Methods and approaches to design cost/liability/risk and
reward to elements of the extended enterprise
A. to enable greater sophistication in manufacturing - Team working across individual units within the extended
operations; enterprise
B. to improve the global environment;
Table 2: Detailed technical Themes for full scale IMS
C. to improve the efficiency with which renewable and non- program.
renewal resources are used;
D. to create new products and conditions which
significantly improve the quality of life for users;
E. to improve the quality of the manufacturing environment; lssuel Topic
F. to develop a recognized and respected discipline of 1. To meet user demands
manufacturing which will encourage the transfer of a. Users‘ needs identification
knowledge to future generations;
b. Rapid product-servicing and repair
G. to respond effectively to the globalization of
C. Easy-to-maintain and repair product design
manufacturing;
d. Operator training
H. to enlarge and open markets around the world; and
e. Operator information access
I. the advancement of manufacturing professionalism
f. Operator friendly, morale-boosting working environments
worldwide by providing global recognition and establishing
an educational discipline for manufacturing. 9. Life-cycle design and planning
Table 1: Objectives of IMS Program h. User-driven standards for electronic communications and
industrial software
Total product life cycle issues
2. To improve quality
Future general models of manufacturing systems
a. Reduced variation in shape, size and quality of materials
Intelligent communication network systems for information
and composites
processes in manufacturing
b. Improved processing/assembling accuracy
Environment protection, minimum use of energy and
materials c. High Performance advanced materials and parts utilisation
Recyclability and refurbishment d. On-line Product monitoring during its life-cycle (especially
lager products such as big machines and complete plants)
Economic justification methods
e. Improved involvement of line operators in quality decisions
Process issues
3. To reduce cost
Clean manufacturing processes that can minimize effects on
the environment a. Rapid product development and design
Energy efficient processes that can meet manufacturing b. Production planning optimisation
requirements with minimum consumption of energy c. Rapid Manufacturing system set-up
Technology innovation in manufacturing processes d. High-speed material processing and parts assembling
Improvement in the flexibility and autonomy of processing e. Rapid roduct inspection and inspectionless manufacturing
modules that compose manufacturing systems
f. Yield improvement
Improvement in interaction or harmony among various
g. Improved material supply and bandling practice
components and functions of manufacturing
h. High-reliability manufacturing machines
StrategylPlanninglDesign tools
i. Extended concepts of virtual factory to resource industries
Methods and tools to support business process re-
(Mining, forestry, etc.)
engineering
j. Heavy duty mobile robots
Modelling tools to support the analysis and development of
manufacturing strategies 4. To minimize load on environment
Design support tools to support planning in an extended a. Plan for re-manufacturing (not merely recycling)
enterprise or virtual enterprise environment b. Use of environmentally-friendly materials
HumanlOrganisationallSocial issues c. Environmentally friendly manufacturing processes
Promotion and development projects for an improved image d. Product materials selection for sustainable growth
of manufacturing
e. Easy-to-recycle, easy-to-disassemble product design
Improved capability of manufacturing workforce/education,
f. Improved environment monitoring
training
5. To provide universal benefits
Autonomous offshore plants (integration of supplementary
business functions in subsidiaries) a. Global benefit distribution
Corporate technical memory - keeping, developing, b. Improved quality of working life
accessing c. Product quality and certification on international basis
Appropriate performance measures for new paradigms Table 3: Issues and Topics to be Adressed for improvec
Manufacturing .
Other details on the IMS Program such as regional,
collaborative, financial and legal issues are available
in great detail through many publications by its Inter
Regional Secretariat (IRS) and website
(www.ims.org) and need not be given here.
As at 12/99 18 full project proposals were listed, one
is complete and 14 were fully endorsed. Collectively
over 250 companies and over 200 research
institutions were active at that time, distributed over
Australia, Japan, the EU, USA and Switzerland.
Another 44 project abstracts existed, and Korea was
about to join. Various estimates put the overall value
of the IMS projects at $US 1B in 2000, and up to
$5B by 2005 [73].

5.3 LCMlA and ESD Issues within IMS

Different degrees of industrialization in various
regions of the world have led to varying degrees of
commit ment to Environmental Sustainable
Development (ESD). However the international
standards on environmental management now
provide direction to national efforts. For instance the
adoption of these standards in Australia is shown in
Table 4, as one example of many LCM/A and ESD
initiatives at both government and industry levels
(eg [761, [771, [781, [791, POI.

Table 4: International Standards on Environmental

Management (Revised 99-07-29)
Abbreviations

EMS Environmental Management Systems EA Environmental Auditing EL

Environmental Labels and Declarations EPE Environmental Performance Evaluation
LCA Life Cycle Assessment EAPS Environmental Aspects of Product Standards NP
New Project W D Working Draft DIS Draft International Standard FDlS Final Draft
International Standard

A recent study aimed at assessing the degree to

which individual IMS projects plan to address
environmental issues, as emphasized in both the
Objectives and Technical Themes as per the IMS
Terms of Reference, led to the following findings 0,
0, based on the (16) full project proposal texts:
(a) Potential for Project Portfolio to address IMS
Objectives: the results of an assessment team
ranking each of the 16 projects shown in Table 5
against each of the 9 IMS objectives is shown in
Figure, indicating that a “medium” potential to
address environmental aspects exists.
 HIPARMS - Highly Productive and Reconfigurable I based Quality Control I
Manufacturing System 12 MISSION - Modelling and simulation Environments for
HMS - Holonic Manufacturing Systems Design, Planning and Operation of Global Distributed
HUMACS - Human Machine Coexisting System Enterprises

HUTOP - Human Sensory Factors for total Product Life 13 MMHS - Metamorphic Material Handling
Cycle 14 NGMS - Next Generation Manufacturing Systems Project
IF7 - Innovative and lntellegent Field Factory 15 RPD - Rapid Product Development
INCOMPRO - Integrating Virtual and Real Factory for 16 SIMON -Sensor Fused lntellegent Monitoring System for
intelligent Composite Product Manufacturing machining
INTELLIWOOD - Intelligent Manufacturing of Wood
Products using Color, X-Ray and Computer Tomography

Figure 31 : Assessment of the IMS Project portfolio against the IMS objective

(b) Distribution of Project Portfolio across IMS and ESD issues will not be appropriately addressed
Technical Themes: the first two Themes (see Table in IMS projects. The strong emphasis on
2) were split into environmental and business environmental matters in both the Objectives and
aspects of product life cycle and process issues Technical Themes of the IMS Terms of Reference is
respectively; each project was then assessed as yet not reflected in the current documentation for
against each of the seven Theme areas with the the establishment, monitoring and review of IMS
result as per Fig F3, showing that, on the whole, projects, although this represents a “golden
issues of environmental protection and sustainability opportunity” to “steer” the whole IMS Program (and
are relatively poorly addressed in the technical hence much of the world’s manufacturing
content of the project portfolio. - Naturally this must technology research?) into an environmentally
be viewed in connection with the (already existing) sustainable direction.
major effort needed, per se, to establish global Indeed, this again raises the philosophical base
research projects of the “IMS type”, with partners underlying the IMS Program [83], [78]: What are,
reluctant to have to conform to even more ultimately, its benefits? No doubt the answer has to
“restrictions”. be not only those resulting to its participants, but to
mankind as a whole (and in particular to the third
world countries), with which the preservation of our
natural environment is closely interwoven. Life Cycle
Management in its widest sense and
environmentally sustainable manufacturing are the
cornerstones of these benefits.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The life cycle management concept must be
advanced to serve as an integral part of
engineering, operation and recycling/disposal
processes. Basic means must be provided for
Figure 32: Distribution of the IMS project portfolio against technical support, product data management, and
Technical Themes evaluation and assessment of economic and
5.4 The Future?
ecological parameters or values. Simultaneously
with further regularities and international standards,
Based on this preliminary study it is recommended it is necessary not only to provide the tools to
that without Some explicit environmental support the life cycle processes but also to establish
requirements at the project proposal stage, LCM/A the technical as well as organizational conditions.
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