Adapting the Robust Design Methodology to support sustainable product development
2014 (English)In: Journal of Cleaner Production, ISSN 0959-6526, E-ISSN 1879-1786, Vol. 79, p. 231-238Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Sustainable development
00. Sustainable Development, 7. Affordable and clean energy, 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Abstract [en]
Research on product development has pointed to a challenge in integrating sustainability considerations into existing engineering practices rather than adding additional sets of practices and tools. The question is what practices are suitable for consideration? One set of practices and tools, deemed suitable due to its focus on long-term impacts and customer focus, is Quality Management. Within this area, the Robust Design Methodology has a historic connection to sustainability vis-à-vis quality loss caused by a product not only to an individual customer, but to society at large. Hence, there appears to be a neglected connection to the sustainability area. This paper explores how efforts based on the Robust Design Methodology may better contribute to sustainability and, more specifically, to sustainable product development. This paper reviews earlier Robust Design Methodology case studies that reveal how it supports sustainability. However, the reviews also reveal that efforts so far have focused only on the manufacturing and use phases of a product's lifecycle. Hence, adaptations of the methodology are needed, such as more conceptual and qualitative tools and explicit inclusion of eco-design indicators as a response variable in, for example, Design of Experiments. Adapting the Robust Design Methodology enables meeting the key aspects of an eco-design tool: addressing early integration of environmental aspects in development processes, having a lifecycle approach, and being a multi-criteria approach.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2014. Vol. 79, p. 231-238
Keywords [en]
Quality Management, Robust Design Methodology, Sustainability, Sustainable product development, Design of experiments, Ecodesign, Life cycle, Product design, Product development, Design, Development process, Engineering practices, Environmental aspects, Individual customers, Multi-criteria approach, Robust design methodologies, Sustainability considerations, Sustainable development
National Category
Production Engineering, Human Work Science and Ergonomics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-66077DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.05.018ISI: 000340987700022Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84905126022OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-66077DiVA, id: diva2:1893991
2024-09-022024-09-022024-09-02Bibliographically approved