Environment and Dependability

Abstract

It is important that the negative environmental impact of products with reused components is decreased or, at least, is not increased. Especially energy consumption contributes severely to the environmental impact of a product.

Key Points, Exercises, Recommended Further Reading, References/Websites

1.1 1. Key Points

• HW will be collected for reuse as required by legislation. The collection rate has to be extended to avoid the loss of valuable materials.

• The energy saving achieved during production runs parallel to the amount of reused components.

• SW can be newly combined with some HW running today without SW to reduce energy consumption.

• SW itself often needs improvement to become energy saving. But metrics for measurement are not always sufficient. Another chance for lower consumption is available by linking the products via networks to achieve an efficiency control.

1.2 Exercises

• (1) Search the net for models with the target of extending the product lifetime. Find out where and how SW is integrated in these models.

• (2) Give some examples how older products or components could become energy saving after a SW program takes control about its use.

1.3 Recommended Further Reading

Belli and Quella [3] and Fair [77].

Situation worldwide about WEEE, ecodesign rules, industrial practice: WEEE handbook, Goodship, V., A. Stevels, WEEE Handbook, Woodhead Publishing, Philadephia 2012, ISBN 978-0-85709-089-8.

ERN European Remanufacturing Network: Remanufacturing Market Study https://www.remanufacturing.eu/.

Energy saving with label energy star: https://www.energystar.gov.

1.4 References/Websites

Belli and Quella [3, pp. 48–53], European Remanufacturing Network [74], WEEE Handbook Goodship and Stevels [75], Fair [77] New way of manufacturing and using environmentally sound phones: Fairphone: https://www.fairphone.co.

1.5 2. Key Points

• Environmental benefits of reuse are focused to HW where the collection rate of waste products has to be strongly increased. In addition durability and useful life should be extended. Further sales, use or marketing models after better eco-design, such as for modularity, will allow industry to move to a circular economy.

• Good take back systems are available for capital goods and in the beginning for consumer products. The latter may have the problem of too high an energy consumption for remanufacturing as-new.

• As SW will now often be reused in the same component or product, the role of SW for energy consumption has to be investigated and improved by some metrics or by the application of tested SW building blocks.

1.6 Exercises

• (1) Search some trade-offs withstanding a remanufacturing of household equipment. How could they be overcome?

• (2) Which benefit of reuse will be higher: Lifetime extension, for example like by upgradeability, multi-use, for example by a product rental system, or remanufacturing at the end of life? Make comparable assumptions for the products.

1.7 Recommended Further Reading

Belli and Quella [3].

An example for the ICT market is presented in: ICT Remanufacturing in the European B2B market—Questions and answers, www.bitcom.org.

1.8 References/Websites

Study for US market for household equipment https://www.web.unit.edu/ebm/www/Publications/Mitei-1-a-2010.pdf.

Study about rare materials: https://www.bgr.bund.de/EN/Themen/Energie/Produkte/energy_study_2015_summary_en.html.

1.9 3. Key Points

• Quality testing combined with information about the dependability of components provides information for customers about the state of the product. Usually all tests have to be passed, which an incoming inspection for new components has to fulfill to grant a QAGAN state.

• A company can also give a guarantee different to an as-new state. It can follow different, own standards and conform it by a certificate.

1.10 Exercises

• (1) Compare the standards in Sect. 11.2. Where do you see problems with comparability, what should additionally be defined that you would make you trust the expertise and a certificate?

• (2) Would it be enough to fulfill only ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 to create a reused/remanufactured product of high quality?

1.11 Recommended Further Reading

Belli and Quella [3] and IEC 62309. Especially in IEC 62309 several calculation examples are shown how to calculate dependability of components after a certain lifetime.

1.12 References/Websites

Belli and Quella [3] and IEC 62309. Especially in IEC 62309 several calculation examples are shown how to calculate dependability of components after a certain lifetime.