Evaluation of eco-design strategies for development of multiple life-cycle products

Life-cycle thinking in the development of new products has led design engineers to rethink the way they design sustainable products. One of the most viable approaches is designing products for multiple life-cycles. For this purpose, a sustainable design tool that has a broader perspective in providing design guidelines to enhance end-of-life product recovery for multiple life-cycles is necessary. However, there are too many design requirements, some of which are conflicting. Designers are not supported by specific methodologies or tools to evaluate the weightage and importance of the design elements. Therefore, an extensive review of the design requirements of remanufacturable products was conducted in order to identify the design elements for multiple life-cycle products. A modified Analytical Hierarchy Process method was developed based on the design strategies in order to obtain the weightage that indicates the importance of each design element. The proposed approach is capable of refining and setting priorities in strategic decision-making during the design phase of a multiple life-cycle product. Verification of the strategic factors was based on an in-depth interview with an automobile engine remanufacturer. Based on the study, disassemblability and assemblability were found to be the two most important criteria in designing automobile engines for multiple lifecycles.