Supplying DFE in the telecommunications industry

A comprehensive life cycle solution for design for environment (DFE) and within telecommunications products requires the availability of accurate and comprehensive data at component level. These data are also needed to meet the requirements of the proposed European Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and customer information requests. Many databases use generic data for component bill of materials, hazardous material presence and environmental impact evaluation. The research described in this paper shows that these generic data do not meet the requirements of a comprehensive product life cycle management solution, particularly for the selection of environmentally preferable components in DFE, satisfying customer requests for product environmental information and determining end-of-life options. Solutions to the problems of supplier data retrieval, data transfer, the communication of component level environmental data to customers and determining end-of-life strategies are proposed.