International Journal of Environmentally Conscious Design & Manufacturing 

Volume 14, Numbers 2, 2008

NOTE: In order to access the full-text version of the papers below, you need to be a current subscriber of the journal. To subscribe, please click HERE. If you already subscribed, click any link below and you will be taken to the full-text area.

Contents 

Coordinating Ecodesign Methods in Early Stages of Industrial Product Design

Mario Fargnoli (Corresponding author), Tomohiko Sakao

Abstract:

Evolution of the concept of environmental sustainability in the industrial world has brought to light the importance assigned to the first stages of the product development, i.e. the early-phase design activities. It is of common knowledge that decisions made in these phases allow the products’ optimization from the performances point of view, as well as more competitiveness on the market, drastically reducing the costs related to subsequent modifications and corrections of the product during the manufacturing phases or even after its introduction in the market. Ecodesign certainly represents the most effective design approach for the achievement of such goals. A large number of tools proposed in the recent years is an indicator of the great attention paid to such problems. However, the use of such tools by designers is still partial or not well organized, particularly in SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises). The research work carried out is an attempt to the solution of these difficulties. This paper proposes a design procedure, consisting in the integration of several design tools in a framework of a general nature aimed at reducing the gap between theory and practice. The study, performed throughout the development of a case study, analyzed the “usability” of the Ecodesign methods, and underlined their efficiency and effectiveness when used in a synergic way.

Keywords: Ecodesign, Design Methods, Methodical Design, SME, Ecodesign guidelines.