| Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM), Design for Environment (DfE), and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), under the paradigm of Concurrent Engineering (CE), set the basis for this research, responding to the need for a definition of environmental consciousness of solid consumer products, and for a method to support decision-making in design. A framework is defined as the foundation for the analysis, consisting of four mapping schemas capturing the relationship between products and the natural environment. Based on concerns of all phases of the product life cycle and perspectives from various stakeholders, this research defines seven Environmental Consciousness Criteria (ECC): durability, materials, recyclability, energy consumption, reusability/remanufacturability, maintainability/serviceability, and emissions. The ECC that affect the disposal stage are the foundation of an evaluation methodology for product design, aimed at assisting the designer and/or decision maker in identifying areas of improvement to enhance the degree of environmental consciousness.; The methodology developed focuses on the material that constitutes the product, and on the toxicological properties of the emissions that are generated during the product's disposal stage. The first component of the methodology consists of extracting the product's information relevant to its material and geometric properties. This information is used to calculate the product's recoverability and to assess a toxicity score. The second component evaluates the design alternatives based on the recoverability, the toxicity scores, and cost. The method uses Fuzzy Methods and Multi Attribute Utility Analysis; it is aimed at the conceptual and preliminary design phases, and is able to accommodate the varying degrees of uncertainty and availability of information. To illustrate how the methodology works, it is applied to a copier's fuser.; The cost to the society and the manufacturer from recovery operations is modeled mathematically through a cost index. Several cases are examined to show the sensitivity of the model and how it can aid in improving environmental consciousness while attaining economic efficiency. The results provide the basis for discussion and systematic analysis of environmental considerations that may be difficult to quantify and combine into one metric, assisting designers in maintaining environmental leadership in product development beyond the manufacturing stage. |
