Design and Development of Sustainable Product Service Systems Based on Design-Centric Complexity

Abstract

Product-service system (PSS) complexity is rapidly increasing in order to meet complex user requirements. Increased complexity leads to PSSs failing to meet sustainability requirements in their initial design. To enhance PSS sustainability and support social benefits, this paper proposes a sustainable PSS development framework based on design-centric complexity (DCC) theory. In the early design stage of a PSS, DCC theory is used to analyze the complexity of the system. Determination of the types of complexity in the system and the corresponding problems is then performed. By combining the sub-field model of TRIZ, the problems can be converted and solved, and the functional periodicity may be established to reduce system complexity. By using this development framework, the conflicts and potential problems of design attributes can be reduced and the possibility of achieving PSSs functional requirements (FRs) can be enhanced. This will maintain the long-term operation stability for the system and enhance the sustainability of the PSS. Finally, the feasibility of the development framework is verified here through the case analysis of a bicycle sharing service and management system.

Exploring Servitization in Industrial Construction: A Sustainable Approach

“…Vezzoli et al [81] elaborate on this topic by stressing that sustainable PSS prove promising because they are associated with reduced resource use, which could result in reduced costs and favour access of lower income segments to PSS solutions, thus improving social inclusion. Needless to say, these results clearly align with the Triple Bottom Line approach, on which the academic literature on sustainable PSS is based [77,[86][87][88][89][90].…”

“…On the one hand, introducing PSS into this industry could reduce waste generation, improve efficiency, decrease environmental impacts, and increase social responsibility [91]. On the other, increased focus of construction on the whole project life cycle may help to explore PSS contributions to the circular economy [64,90,[92][93][94].…”

Does online technology provide sustainable HE or aggravate diploma disease? Evidence from Bangladesh—a comparison of conditions before and during COVID-19

“…For an intangible product, this frequently results in a “complex production function” [ 40 ]. None of the principles of sustainable production function outlined earlier would work effectively in such a “complex production function” scenario [ 41 ]. Because education is a complicated intangible product, its long-term production function is distinct, as more details are described below.…”

Online technology: Sustainable higher education or diploma disease for emerging society during emergency—comparison between pre and during COVID-19

“…This often leads to a ‘complex production function’ for an intangible product ( Williams and Radnor, 202 1). Under such a ‘complex production function’ scenario, none of the concepts of sustainable production function discussed earlier would work well ( Zhang et al., 2021 ). Since education is a complex intangible product, its sustainable production function is simply different, which is discussed in more detail below.…”

“…Intangible goods produced by the service industries are often identifiable ( Zhang et al., 2021 ). The demand and supply sides of these items are also well-defined and their roles are demarcated but this is not the case for the education sector ( Alam et al., 2014 ).…”