Function Impact Matrix for Sustainable Concept Generation: A Designer’s Perspective

Journal of Mechanical Design

Choi

et al. 2014

Self Cite

This paper describes a framework for applying design for environment (DfE) within an industry setting. Our aim is to couple implicit design knowledge such as redesign/process constraints with quantitative measures of environmental performance to enable informed decision making. We do so by integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) and multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA). Specifically, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used for prioritizing various levels of DfE strategies. The AHP network is formulated so as to improve the environmental performance of a product while considering business-related performance. Moreover, in a realistic industry setting, the onus of decision making often rests with a group, rather than an individual decision maker (DM). While conducting independent evaluations, experts often do not perfectly agree and no individual expert can be considered representative of the ground truth. Hence, we integrate a stochastic simulation module within the MCDA for assessing the variability in preferences among DMs. This variability in judgments is used as a metric for quantifying judgment reliability. A sensitivity analysis is also incorporated to explore the dependence of decisions on specific input preferences. Finally, the paper discusses the results of applying the proposed framework in a real-world case.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing Design for Environment Strategies Using a Stochastic Analytic Hierarchy Process

Ramanujan

Journal of Mechanical Design

Choi

et al. 2014

Self Cite

“…Though much of this work has produced positive learning outcomes, it has also uncovered a significant amount of undergraduate engineering students lacking general awareness of key global issues related to environmental sustainability [7]. Students' misconceptions can be caused by a number of societal influences, including media outlets and political tendencies [8], from a very young age. Thus, to increase student awareness related to environmental sustainability, it is vital to reach K-12 students early with tools and methods incorporating sufficient technical merit backed by science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing-In Sustainability by Linking Engineering Curricula With K-12 Science Projects

Volume 7: 9th International Conference on Design Education; 24th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology

Ramani²,

Ruan

et al. 2012

Self Cite

In light of society’s increasing awareness with regards to the health of the environment, many engineering firms are hiring recent engineering graduates with project- (or course-) based experience in environmental sustainability. Currently engineering schools at the collegiate level have addressed this need by modifying their curricula by including additional coursework on sustainability related subjects. The next step of adaptation calls for a holistic treatment of sustainability concepts by integrating them within traditional coursework. Engineering schools have not yet addressed the best way to accomplish this integration due to the concerns stemming from the increase in cognitive load and scheduling pressure. Additionally, it has been shown that K-12 curricula also lack exposure to sustainable thinking. As a result, incoming freshmen are not aware of the inherent correlations between engineering principles, e.g. heat transfer, and environmental sustainability. To prepare the next generation of innovative thinkers to solve these complex, interdisciplinary issues, engineering principles must be contextualized in terms of sustainable design at both the K-12 and undergraduate levels. To meet this need, the authors developed a general framework for introducing sustainable design thinking into K-12 student projects. A pilot case is presented to illustrate a particular student’s (listed as a co-author) growth through a newly gained understanding of environmental sustainability through experimentation. The project specifically addresses various insulation materials for residential buildings by judging their individual environmental advantages and economic feasibility. The main outcome of this project is the extensive redesign of an existing undergraduate heat and mass transfer lab experiment.

“…Considering sustainability adds parameters and constraints to the design process, which increases complexity [7]. In SPD, the challenge of dealing with multiple inter-related parameters is compounded by the fact that methods and computer support tools for SPD are disconnected from those focused on design exploration.…”

Section: Motivation For Using Infovis Tools In Spdmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contextualizing visualizations to the design process adds additional parameters (and dimensions) making insight generation quite challenging. Studying mechanical designers, Bernstein et al [7] discovered that vi-sual representations that interface LCA with design are necessary for promoting SPD. By translating design and env.…”

Section: Visualization-based Tools For Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Patterns for Visualization-Based Tools in Sustainable Product Design

Ramanujan

Volume 4: 22nd Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference; 11th International Conference on Micro- And Nanosystems

Ramani

2017

Self Cite

Most design activities involve exploring and comparing existing designs. Thus, adopting an eco-conscious approach in the design exploration process can aid environmentally sustainable product design (SPD). One approach for supporting exploration in SPD is through tools based on information visualization (InfoVis). The use of InfoVis for SPD allows data-driven exploration of solutions that is rapid, direct, and supports investigation of questions that the designer may not have identified. Previous work has demonstrated the utility of InfoVis tools for different facets of the lifecycle, e.g. redesign, supply chain exploration, and life cycle assessment. These tools focus on projecting sustainability-related implications back to design. However, to fully realize their potential, future tools must synthesize data in a manner that helps designers view the effects of a design change on all downstream stages. Such tools will have to work across multiple data types, visual representations, and stakeholders. In this paper, we take the first steps towards addressing this challenge by formulating design patterns for visualization and interaction of product lifecycle data. These design patterns were synthesized by reviewing previous works that have successfully created visualization-based tools for SPD. The suggested * Address all correspondence devr@mit.edu design patterns can, (1) serve as a guide for creating integrated visualization-based tools for SPD, and (2) help create reusable visual components that aid in quick interface wireframing.