1. Product Life Cycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

2. Life Cycle Flowchart Presentation Name
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson #.# Lesson Name
Life Cycle Flowchart
This chart is important for both analyzing existing products and thinking in terms of new products. It is especially effective for forward thinking regarding human and environmental impacts of designs.
This life cycle chart applies to the production of a physical product. The chart may need to be modified to highlight the important aspects of some products. Systems, software, and certain other products would use a different type of lifecycle chart.
[Consider discussing with students how a lifecycle might look different for something such as an inventory management system, a board game, or a video game. What parts of this life cycle apply, don’t apply, or need to be added?]
Adapted from Industrial Designers Society of America - Okala

3. Premanufacture Premanufacture Raw Material Extraction
Material Processing
The life cycle of a product can be separated into five major stages. The first can be referred to as premanufacture and includes [click] extracting the necessary raw materials and processing the materials in preparation for manufacture.

4. Premanufacture: Raw Material Extraction
All consumer products depend on the natural environment for raw materials
Some form of energy is required
Typically produces large quantities of outputs (wastes and emissions)
[click] As examples, glass is made from sand; wood, paper, and cardboard from trees; polystyrene and polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastics from crude oil; aluminum from bauxite; etc.
[click] Energy is always required to extract the raw materials from the natural environment.
[click] Raw material extraction typically produces large waste and emission levels. For example, aluminum or iron mining produces ore wastes at a ratio of about 3 kg of waste to 1 kg of usable material. Gold can produce about 10,000 kg of waste for each kg of gold. In addition, many mining operations expose metallic sulfides to the atmosphere which can oxidize and result in significant environmental damage caused by acid mine drainage.

5. Premanufacture: Material Processing
Often material-intensive
Processing raw materials into a usable form often requires a large quantity of input material. For example, to produce 1 kg of aluminum, about 12 kg of input materials is required including bauxite, carbon (obtained from coal or as a byproduct of oil refining), cryolite, and sodium hydroxide.

6. Premanufacture: Material Processing
Often material-intensive
Energy is required
Material
Energy Cost (MJ/kg)
Extracted from
Titanium
Ore concentrate
Aluminum
Bauxite
Polystyrene
Crude oil
Polyvinylchloride (PVC)
Paper
25-50
Standing timber
Glass
18-35
Sand, etc.
Wood
3 – 7
Material processing is often energy intensive. As the table shows, material processing to produce titanium requires a huge amount of energy (900 Mega Joules per kilogram). Wood, in comparison, requires only 3 to 7 Mega Joules per kilogram of processed wood.

7. Premanufacture: Material Processing
Often material-intensive
Energy is required
Processing often produces wastes and other outputs
Example: Aluminum refining waste products
Red mud
Greenhouse gases
SPL – spent potlining
Material processing can produce large amounts of waste.
[click] As an example, the process of aluminum refining results in a waste product referred to as “red mud”. In terms of dry weight, the process produces about the same amount of “red mud” as aluminum. For the most part, the red mud is dried and then disposed of by mixing or covering it with soil.
Aluminum refining also results in large quantities of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and perfluorocarbons).
Another output of the aluminum refining process is spent potlining material which is collected from smelting pots and is designated a hazardous material.
Material choice has a tremendous impact on the environmental footprint of a consumer product because of the differences in material and energy requirement and waste production among various materials. Responsible designers consider such environmental costs, which are often not obvious to the consumer, when selecting materials for a product.

8. Manufacture Manufacture Component Manufacture Assembly
The second major stage in a product’s life cycle is manufacturing, which includes [click] manufacturing each product component and then assembling the components into the final product.

9. Manufacture Additional energy and material required
Various outputs created
All products have different manufacturing processes.
[click] Although manufacturing requires material and energy inputs, in general, manufacturing processes have less impact on the environment than material extraction and processing. However, the material and energy used in manufacturing is not directly incorporated into the product and is often expelled as wastes or emissions to the environment.
[click] Manufacturing creates a large demand for fossil fuels which results in emissions to the environment. In addition, the use of cleaning fluids and coatings in manufacturing can result in outputs that are hazardous to the environment. However, many manufacturers are switching to water-based organic substances and mechanical cleaning methods that have a much lower environmental impact.

10. Product Delivery Packaging Distribution Product Delivery
The third major stage of a product’s life cycle is product delivery in which the final product is [click] packaged and distributed to the point of sale.

11. Product Delivery: Packaging
Creates waste, emissions, and other releases
Very short lifetime
Large amount of material turned directly to waste
Packaging can have a huge impact on the environment. [click through list]

12. Product Delivery: Distribution
Consumes large amounts of energy
Creates large amounts of emissions
Large distances between manufacturer and consumer can create barriers to recycling
[click] Transportation from the point of manufacture to the consumer is often the major consumer of the energy attributed to a product’s development.
[click] Transportation is also a major contributor to the related emissions attributed to a consumer product.
[click] Another consideration is the added difficulty and cost of recycling if the manufacturer and final destination of the product are geographically distant.

13. Use Use Installation & Use Maintenance Up-grading
Use of the product is the fourth major stage in a product’s life cycle and includes [click] installation of the product, consumer use, maintenance, and product up grading.

14. Use
Products remain at this stage as long as they are usable or repairable
Powered consumer products have a large environmental impact
[click] {Ask students to give examples of products that have long useable lives and some with short useable lives. For example, appliances have long usable lives as opposed to a disposable razor.]
[click] Powered consumer products such as appliances, electrical products, vehicles, lawn equipment, power tools – anything that runs off of electricity or fuel – will probably have its largest environmental impact at this stage. So, improvements to the efficiency of the product operation will likely have a large impact on the overall environmental footprint of the product.

15. Product Lifecycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
End of Life/Disposal
End of Life/Disposal
Land Fill
Incineration
Material Recycling
Component Reuse
Product Reuse
The fifth stage in a product’s life cycle is end of life or disposal. When a product is no longer of use to the consumer, it is discarded. However, a product, parts of a product, or the materials composing a product can continue to be useful.
[click] Most consumer products in the United States end up in landfills.
[click] Some are incinerated.
[click] A few consumer products are recycled. [Ask students to name some of the products that are reused or recycled (may include automobiles, tires, newspapers, plastic drink bottles, and aluminum cans).]
[click] In a very few cases, components of a product or the entire product are reused.

16. Why We Throw Things Away
Presentation Name
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson #.# Lesson Name
Why We Throw Things Away
Do consumers throw something away because it has stopped working or because they want something different?
This bar chart indicates the condition of various consumer products that are discarded.
[Ask students to interpret the graph and draw some conclusions.
Why do most people throw away perfectly good computers, stoves, and stereos?
Why do people tend to keep washing machines and vacuum cleaners until they stop function correctly?
How would this impact the design of new products?]
Industrial Designers Society of America - Okala

17. Product Lifecycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
End of Life
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Disposal
most favorable
The conventional thinking in the reduction of waste involves the three Rs – reduce, reuse, and recycle.
[click] Disposal of waste and discarded products into the natural environment is the least favorable end-of-life strategy.
[click] The most favored option is to reduce both the amount of materials used in production and the negative effect that the production has on the environment. This includes reducing the amount of material used, reducing the use of other resources like energy and water, and minimizing the wastes, emissions, and other releases that result from the production of the product, its use, and its maintenance.
Reuse can refer to the reuse of the entire product or reuse of certain components of the product without modification. Refilling glass beverage bottles is an example of product reuse. Breaking apart a computer to harvest the rare earth magnet and using it in another product is an example of the reuse of a product component.
Recycling refers to the use of materials from discarded products in new products. Recycling typically involves the use of energy to change the characteristics of the material.
least favorable

18. Product Lifecycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
Recycling
Downcycling
Converting waste materials into new materials of lesser quality and reduced functionality
Reduces consumption of raw materials
Reduces energy usage
Reduces the volume of waste material
Reduces air and water pollution
Examples:
Office paper to toilet paper
Plastic recycling
Aluminum recycling
Downcycling refers to a recycling process that converts waste materials into materials of lesser quality. Most recycling is downcycling because the quality of the materials is reduced.
[click] An example of downcycling is recycling used office paper into toilet paper.
Most plastic recycling (other than plastics manufactured for soda or water bottles) provides examples of downcycling. Reclaimed plastic is typically mixed with different plastics, resulting in plastic hybrids that are of a lesser quality. The plastic mixtures are often molded into less valuable products such as park benches and speed bumps.
Aluminum recycling is also considered downcycling because in the process of recycling a can, the two different grades of aluminum used in the can (one for the walls and a different, harder alloy for the top) are melted together, resulting in a less valuable grade of aluminum.

19. Product Lifecycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
Recycling
Upcycling
Converting waste materials into new products of better quality or higher environmental value without degrading the material
Reduces consumption of raw materials
Reduces energy usage
Reduces the volume of waste material
Reduces air and water pollution
Examples:
Tires to steps
Drink pouches into backpacks
Skateboards into bookcases
Fire hoses into belts, bags, and cufflinks
Old clothes into quilts and blankets
Toothbrushes into a welcome mat
[click] Upcycling refers to a recycling process that converts waste materials into products of better quality or of a higher environmental value without degrading the material. Upcycling is a growing trend.
[click and read examples] The image shows toothbrushes upcycled into a welcome mat that reads “SMILE”.

20. Environmental Concerns
Product Lifecycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
Environmental Concerns
Global climate change
Human organism damage
Water availability and quality
Depletion of fossil fuels
Loss of biodiversity
Stratospheric ozone depletion
Land use patterns
Depletion of non-fossil fuel resources
Acid disposition
The world faces many environmental concerns, including [click through the list as you read the following]
Global climate change – greenhouse gas emissions result from energy use, land fill gases, etc.
Human organism damage – development of products often result in the emission of toxins and carcinogens including the use of heavy metals, acids, solvents, and coal burning emissions.
Water availability and quality – water is often used, degraded, and discharged in the life cycle of consumer products, especially for cooling and cleaning.
Depletion of fossil fuels – petroleum, coal, and natural gas are used directly and/or used to produce electricity throughout the product life cycle of many products.
Loss of biodiversity – many species of plants and animals have disappeared as a result of land use practices, water usage, acid disposition, and thermal pollution in part resulting from product development.
Stratospheric ozone depletion – the emission of chlorofluorocarbon, hydrochlorofluorocarbon, halons, and nitrous oxides results from manufacturing processes through the use of refrigerants, cleaning methods, fluorine compounds, etc.
Land use patterns – through product development land is appropriated for raw material extraction, growing bio-materials, manufacturing, and waste disposal.
Depletion of non-fossil fuel resources – product development requires the use of raw materials and results in depletion of non-renewable raw materials.
Acid disposition – sulfur and NOx emissions result from smelting, the burning of fossil fuels, acid leaching, and cleaning.

21. Ecological Design ECOLOGICAL DESIGN
Presentation Name
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson #.# Lesson Name
Ecological Design
A method of design that is environmentally benign and economically viable.
ECOLOGICAL
DESIGN
Economically
Viable
Environmentally
Benign
Ecological design is both environmentally benign and economically viable.
[click] Economically Viable means that the design is competitive in the marketplace.
[click] Environmentally Benign indicates that the design demonstrates obvious or measurable environmental benefits.
Reproduced from Okala: Learning Ecological Design, Industrial Designers Society of America
Economically Viable: Design is competitive in the marketplace.
Environmentally Benign: Design demonstrates obvious or measurable environmental benefits.
Industrial Designers Society of America - Okala

22. Presentation Name
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson #.# Lesson Name
Sustainable Design
Design that is environmentally benign, economically viable, and socially equitable.
Socially Equitable: Design considers all people participating in production, use, disposal, or reuse.
Socially Equitable
SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN
Sustainable Design refers to design that is environmentally benign, economically viable, and socially equitable.
[click] Socially Equitable indicates that the design considers all people participating in production, use, disposal, or reuse.
[Consider having students discuss how individuals or groups can be affected at all stages of the product lifecycle.
Economically
Viable
Environmentally
Benign
Industrial Designers Society of America - Okala

23. Design for Sustainability
Presentation Name
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson #.# Lesson Name
Design for Sustainability
Sustainable product design involves . . .
Minimizing the consumption of materials, energy, and water
Avoiding toxic or hazardous materials and processes
Recycling or reusing materials
Social Equity
SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN
Economically
Viable
Environmentally
Benign

24. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Presentation Name
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson #.# Lesson Name
Identifies and quantifies the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service
Raw Materials
Waterborne Wastes
Natural Resources
Atmospheric Emissions
Chemicals and Solvents
Solid Wastes
Many businesses and industries have realized that it is advantageous to consider the environmental performance of their products as society becomes more aware of environmental issues. One tool that can be used to explore ways to improve environmental performance and make a product design more sustainable is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
A life cycle analysis considers the product from cradle-to-grave. It is a tool that can be used to identify and quantify the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service. The goal of LCA is to reduce the negative impact of a product on human health and the environment.
LCA looks at the interactions with the natural environment [click] which are the inputs and outputs necessary to produce the product – from harvesting raw materials to the return of all materials to the earth.
[click] Inputs include the raw materials, natural resources, chemicals and solvents, and energy needed to produce the product.
[click] The outputs include waterborne wastes, atmospheric emissions, solid wastes, and other releases.
Once the relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases are identified, the potential environmental impacts of each can be evaluated.
Energy
Other Releases
Natural
Environment
INPUTS
OUTPUTS

25. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Presentation Name
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson #.# Lesson Name
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A technique used to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts of a product, process, or service throughout the life of a product
LCA includes:
Goal definition and scoping
Inventory analysis of inputs and outputs
Environmental impacts assessment
Interpretation
[click] A life cycle assessment typically includes four components:
[click] The goal definition and scoping involves defining and describing the product process or activity.
[click] An inventory analysis identifies and quantifies energy, water, and materials usage (referred to as inputs) and environmental releases (referred to as outputs).
[click] An impact assessment evaluates the potential human and ecological effects of inputs and outputs.
[click] Interpretation involves evaluating the results of the inventory analysis and impacts assessment to help select the product, process, or service that results in the least impact on the environment or to provide ideas for product improvement.
SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN
Economically
Viable
Environmentally
Benign

26. Product Lifecycle Assessment
Product Life Cycle Flow Diagram
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
Electricity
Water
Fossil Fuels
Chemicals
Solvents
Biological Agents
Finished Components
Finished Parts
Raw Material
Parts
Components
PROCESS
A common practice used to help trace the major input and output paths is to develop flow diagrams. For each process or stage, the inputs [click] are identified and traced to the appropriate outputs [click]. In order to complete a flow diagram, data such as a bill of materials, list of manufacturing processes, distribution logistics, and end of life characteristics are needed.
In the Life Cycle Analysis activity, your team will create a flow diagram for each of the five major stages of the product life cycle.
Hazardous Material Outputs
Non-hazardous Outputs
Liquid
Gaseous
Solid

27. Product Lifecycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
Inventory Analysis
Life Cycle Stage
Materials
Energy
Solid
Liquid
Gaseous
Total
Premanufacture
Manufacture
Product Delivery
Use
End of Life/ Disposal
A simplified method of LCA involves identifying the major impacts at each of the five major life cycle stages. This matrix shows a broad category of input or output at the top of each column and the major life cycle stages as row headers. Typically the impact of each input and output would be scored for each of the five stages.
[click] A common scoring scheme would be to assign a relative score from 0 to 4 . A zero would be assigned for the worst impact caused by blatantly poor practices that raise significant environmental issues. A four would indicate excellent environmental practices with no serious environmental concerns.
However, this matrix can also be used to simply document the inputs and outputs at each stage of a product’s life cycle.
Score: 0 - 4
0: Poor environmental practices. Serious environmental concerns.
4: Excellent environmental practices. No serious environmental concerns.

28. Product Lifecycle Assessment
Engineering Design and Development
Lesson 1.1 Overview and Expectations
Inventory Analysis – Desktop Computer and CRT
Life Cycle Stage
Materials
Energy
Solid
Liquid
Gaseous
Total
Premanufacture 1 2 5
Manufacture
Product Delivery 3 4 13
Use 10
End of Life/ Disposal 8 7 6 51 4 2 1
This example represents a possible Inventory Analysis for a desktop computer and CRT monitor.
[click] As an example, the material choice for premanufacture might be assigned a zero because few recycled materials are used. Many toxic chemicals are used (such as lead and cadmium in batteries, mercury in some switches, and brominated flame retardants in plastics).
[click] The rating for liquid waste during the product delivery stage might be assigned a 4 because little or no liquid waste is created during packaging, transportation, or installation.
[click] However, there are a significant amount of gaseous releases during the product delivery stage, which might earn a rating of 2.
[click] Energy use during the Use phase may be assigned a 1 since the energy demand for a computer is high to very high during this phase.
However, this matrix can also be used to simply document the inputs and outputs at each stage of a product’s life cycle.
Score: 0 - 4
0: Poor environmental practices. Serious environmental concerns.
4: Excellent environmental practices. No serious environmental concerns.

29. Image Resources
Industrial Designers Society of America. (2009). Okala: Learning ecological design. Phoenix, AZ Microsoft, Inc. (n.d.). Clip art. Retrieved from

30. Resources
Gutowski, T. G. Design and manufacturing for the environment. (2004). Retrieved from Scientific Applications International Corporation. (2006). Life cycle assessment: Principles and practice. Retrieved from