Product Design Evaluation Using Life Cycle Assessment and Design for Assembly: A Case Study of a Water Leakage Alarm

Tatbita Titin Suhariyanto, Dzuraidah Abd Wahab and Mohd Nizam Ab Rahman
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Tatbita Titin Suhariyanto: Centre for Integrated Design of Advanced Mechanical Systems (PRISMA), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Dzuraidah Abd Wahab: Centre for Integrated Design of Advanced Mechanical Systems (PRISMA), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Nizam Ab Rahman: Centre for Materials Engineering and Smart Manufacturing (MERCU), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-26

Abstract: This study proposed the use of an LCA supported by a design efficiency evaluation based on Design for Assembly principles to reduce the environmental impact of a product. To illustrate the methodology, a water leakage alarm (WLA) was selected as the object for a case study. Based on the identification and evaluation of the LCA results, it was inferred that the stage with the highest environmental impact was the manufacturing stage (75.35%), followed by the use stage (23.88%), the disposal of the WLA (0.64%), and finally, the disposal of the batteries (0.14%). For the manufacturing stage, the most interrelated categories were the hazardous waste and human toxicity, while the use stage was the main contributor to ozone depletion and acidification. Moreover, the disposal of the WLA and batteries contributed to the bulk waste. Furthermore, from the assembly evaluation, the design efficiency of the product was 14%. Two recommendations for improving the design of the WLA were: (1) to reduce the number of screws from three units to one unit, and (2) to eliminate the use of a cable and to replace it with a wireless component. By implementing both the proposed recommendations, the design efficiency was improved by as much as 34%. From the environmental perspective, there is not much difference between the wired alarm and wireless alarm. The wired alarm was considered to be more environmentally friendly in terms of product manufacturing but the wireless alarm has an advantage in terms of design and energy efficiency. By combining LCA and DFA design evaluation, a more comprehensive perspective of the product life cycle can be achieved.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; design for assembly; design efficiency; sustainable strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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