Issues in the sustainability of products designed for multi-lifecycle

Abstract

Design for multi-lifecycle (DFML) is a sustainable design approach that seeks to maximize the utility of resources used in developing a product by incorporating features that enable the elongation of the techno-economic service life of that product at the design stage. The goal of DFML is "indefinite" use of the resources invested/embodied in a product without compromising its economic value, technological soundness and socio-cultural acceptability. However, there is a limit to how many times a product designed for multi-lifecycle can be cycled. The aim of this research is to identify issues affecting how many times products designed for multi-lifecycle could be cycled. Another goal of this study is to articulate how the understanding of these issues can be utilized in improving product design for multi-lifecycle. This study is based on intensive literature survey and on over twenty years' experience in conventional-and in sustainable design and development of agri-food machinery. From the study we learned that the sustainability of products and equipment designed for multi-lifecycle depends, among other things, on the durability of the core components, the required performance standard, resource consumption tipping point, economic advantage eradication point, changes in consumer taste, and regulatory changes. It means that the number of times that resources invested in a product designed for multi-lifecycles can be cycled is increasable by improving the durability of the structure and core components of the product. It also means that designers would be able to improve the sustainability of machinery designed for multilifecycles by incorporating features that facilitate easy reconfiguration and upgrading of the product at reasonable cost as consumer taste and regulations changes.

On the sustainability of aquaponics

“…and different, sometimes multilayered sets of indicators and factors (Dunmade 2002;Dunmade 2014;Kriesemer and Virchow 2012). For example, in terms of agricultural technologies, the comprehensive review of Kriesemer and Virchow (2012) lists 18 economic, 51 environmental, 21 social, and 14 technical indicators.…”

Ecodesign—A Review of Reviews

“…Close the loop. Designers should even think beyond a single life cycle, and consider multiple product life cycles by designing for durability, modularity, recycling, disassembly, remanufacturing, and reuse [28, 29,58,71,78,88,89] as well as using renewable energy and material sources [90]. In the past few years, these strategies have been subsumed under the term "Circular Economy" [6,28,78].…”

“…PSS themselves, which include a service component, may benefit from modular design as well [51]. An important issue for designers to keep in mind (for both products and PSS) is the speed of progress of technology, which can make products obsolete at an uncertain point in time [89]. Similar to ecodesign, modular product development originated from the domain of engineering design, and now extends to other areas such as supply chain management [109].…”