Life cycle process knowledge - application during product design

The demand for high quality, cost-effective and at the same time environmentally conscious products throughout the entire product life has led to a high complexity of the activities involved in the design phase More and more, design partners need to be integrated in the value chain, resulting in a tremendous increase in the scope of information captured during this phase. Only through measures taken at particular stages of the design process is it possible to cope with this situation. A current research project at Technical University Darmstadt, "SFB 392. Design for Environment-Methods and Tools ", aims at supporting the product designer in minimizing environmental impacts of his products throughout their entire life cycle. A system environment enveloping several tools was developed, in order to assess environmental (and economic) aspects of a product during the design stage Consequences of design decisions on the product life cycle can also be viewed and manipulated, making it possible to forecast product life trends and influence them.