July 2005

Introducing Life Cycle Considerations Into Product Design - A New Standard

A new standard BS8887 will introduce life cycle considerations into the product design process, but will designers, Environmental Managers and others be able to use it to achieve value as responsible producers?

Producer responsibility legislation is likely to spread from automotive and electrical & electronic sectors through European Commission Integrated Product Policy (IPP) developments, including the forthcoming Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive. This will force many designers to take greater account of their products’ environmental impacts, particularly considering end-of-life processes. The European Commission cites energy consumption, waste generation, water consumption, extension of lifetime as important. Affected product types, chosen for the importance of their environmental impact, will have to be self-certified through a CE mark, and therefore be open to auditing for compliance.

The EuP certification policy is part of the EU’s Environmental Technologies Action Plan to enable environmental technologies to gain a greater presence and credibility in the market.

BS 8887: Standard for the Product Design Process

The status of BS8887 was presented at the 4th International Conference on Design & Manufacture for Sustainable Development, by Phil Sheppard of the Centre for Sustainable Engineering - lead advisor on life cycle issues.

He suggested BS8887 will be an excellent tool for responding to IPP and the EuP requirements in particular, although it is expected to be used by a wide range of businesses and applicable to a broad range of product types.

The core of BS 8887 orders the outputs of mechanical engineering activities in product design to achieve "the most efficient, cost effective and environmentally aware transfer of the design concept to realisation". Companion versions will cover electrical and chemical aspects.

For the first time designers claiming conformance to the standard will need to address lifecycle considerations among other aspects of product design – promoting a cradle to cradle approach. For example:

The design process starts with a Marketing Brief which incorporates input from critical disciplines from design inception to the end of life, such as Take-back Facilitation and Environmental Management.
The Design Brief derived from the Marketing Brief shall include; disassembly & reuse/recyclability, recycled content, materials/energy consumption & recovery and pollution, also life cycle assessment & costing where appropriate
Product design costings shall include disassembly and end of life processing.

The market opportunities for differentiating a product through environmental metrics are referred to in the standard, highlighting the importance of establishing a competitive eco-profile at the design stage.

There is a detailed checklist of best practice to stimulate designers to optimise systems both technically, economically and environmentally. Als many parts of the standard tie in to BS8888 Technical Product Specification, with its comprehensive list of relevant International Standards.

Who needs to get up to speed?

The standard seeks better leverage for the designers within the Team helping to deliver product features which are better for the environment. Liaison with Environmental Managers is sought, to get them involved in design and cover more specific product related environmental impacts.

"Appropriate members of the team shall evaluate the prototype and the technical product documents against the product brief…"

However, those responsible for Environmental Management or Marketing may not already have the right skills to understand whether designers has interpreted the design brief appropriately and sufficiently, and whether more could have been achieved in terms of eco-design.

BS 8887 is attempting to break new ground and the public consultation will start soon, anticipating a launch in the New Year. Its effectiveness will depend on the perception of value, the experience of life cycle savings through life cycle design and the ability of designers, environmental specialists and those from all other disciplines with a stake in product development to realise the aims. Many, particularly in smaller companies, will need support and training.

Product Design for the Environment in the West Midlands

There is already DfE support available within the Autotrain CoDesign scheme for West Midlands manufacturing SMEs in the automotive supply chain.

The Design and Development for the Environment programme provides introductory training sessions, development workshops, online training materials and checklists – free for eligible SMEs.

The portal promoting and serving participants in the programme may be seen at http://codesign.proenviro.co.uk

If you are interested to discuss training or how the AutoTrain CoDesign programme in the West Midlands might improve your businesses’s capability through a visit, or would like further information, please contact Steve Stones on 024 7632 3260.

Related Links