As environmental concerns have grown in recent years, the interest in product design for the life cycle (DFLC) has exhibited a parallel surge. Modular design has the potential to bring life cycle considerations into the product architecture decision-making process, yet most current modular design methods lack the capability for assessing module life cycle consequences in a supply chain. This paper proposes a method for product designers, called the architecture and supply chain evaluation method (ASCEM), to find a product modular architecture with both low life cycle costs and low energy consumption at the early design stages. ASCEM expands the assessment scope from the product's architecture to its supply chain network. This work analyzes the life cycle costs (LCCs) and energy consumption (LCEC) of two products designated within the European Union's directive on waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) within a closed-loop supply chain to identify the most beneficial modular structure. In addition, data on 27 theoretical cases representing various products are analyzed to show the broader applicability of the proposed methodology. Our analysis shows that ASCEM can efficiently identify a good-quality modular structure having low LCC and LCEC in a closed-loop supply chain for both the two tested products and the hypothetical cases.
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February 2014
Research-Article
A Modular Design Approach to Improve Product Life Cycle Performance Based on the Optimization of a Closed-Loop Supply Chain
Wu-Hsun Chung,
Wu-Hsun Chung
Department of Transportation Science,
e-mail: wxc218@mail.ntou.edu.tw
National Taiwan Ocean University
,Keelung 20224,
Taiwan
e-mail: wxc218@mail.ntou.edu.tw
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Gül E. Okudan Kremer,
Gül E. Okudan Kremer
1
School of Engineering Design and
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
e-mail: gkremer@psu.edu
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University
,University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: gkremer@psu.edu
1Corresponding author.
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Richard A. Wysk
Richard A. Wysk
Department of Industrial and
System Engineering,
e-mail: rawysk@ncsu.edu
System Engineering,
North Carolina State University
,Raleigh, NC 27695
e-mail: rawysk@ncsu.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Wu-Hsun Chung
Department of Transportation Science,
e-mail: wxc218@mail.ntou.edu.tw
National Taiwan Ocean University
,Keelung 20224,
Taiwan
e-mail: wxc218@mail.ntou.edu.tw
Gül E. Okudan Kremer
School of Engineering Design and
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
e-mail: gkremer@psu.edu
Department of Industrial and
Manufacturing Engineering,
The Pennsylvania State University
,University Park, PA 16802
e-mail: gkremer@psu.edu
Richard A. Wysk
Department of Industrial and
System Engineering,
e-mail: rawysk@ncsu.edu
System Engineering,
North Carolina State University
,Raleigh, NC 27695
e-mail: rawysk@ncsu.edu
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Design Theory and Methodology Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received May 25, 2012; final manuscript received May 31, 2013; published online November 26, 2013. Assoc. Editor: Janet K. Allen.
J. Mech. Des. Feb 2014, 136(2): 021001 (20 pages)
Published Online: November 26, 2013
Article history
Received:
May 25, 2012
Revision Received:
May 31, 2013
Citation
Chung, W., Okudan Kremer, G. E., and Wysk, R. A. (November 26, 2013). "A Modular Design Approach to Improve Product Life Cycle Performance Based on the Optimization of a Closed-Loop Supply Chain." ASME. J. Mech. Des. February 2014; 136(2): 021001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4025022
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