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(M/MC272) Ecological Evaluation of Products during the Design Process. Steinberg, Iris1,2, Jager, Johannes1,2, 1 2 ABSTRACT- A preventive environmental protection begins with the product development and requires a methodical support of the environmentally-oriented product development. The incorporation of methods and software tools for the development of environmentally sound products into the design process is not sufficient frequently.The authors present a solution that integrates the computer aided evaluation system LCAD (Life Cycle Assessment for Computer Aided Design) into an usual design environment. Product and process data coming from a CAD System are aggregated to an ecological index-score. The application of the computer aided evaluation system can be managed by a product developer with low methodical knowledge in the area of Life Cycle Assessment. A clear result in form of a index-score simplifies the decision for different systems and supports the designer as a simple and certain aid for decision-making. In order to develop the mandatory methods and the tools an interdisciplinary teamwork of engineers, natural and social scientist is required. To manage this task the research project SFB 392 Development of Environmentally Sound Projects at the Darmstadt University of Technology acquires methods and tools for holistic development of environmentally sound products. Independent methods are integrated into actual design methods and form the basis for the realisation of an integrated computer aided design environment. The major goals of the research program are the identification and evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of a product over its entire life cycle already at the stage of the product design. This enables the development of future oriented, environmentally sound products by the combination of ecological, technical and economical criterions. Key words: Design for Environment (DfE), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Computer Aided Design (CAD), Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) |
