A Three-Phase quality function deployment approach for conceptualizing a sustainable product life cycle: case study of a blower heater

Abstract

The increasing awareness and demand for producing environmentally sustainable products have stimulated the industries across the globe to implement eco-friendly practices in the development of various products. It is important to consider the environmental impact while conceptualizing a product, but at the same time, the choices of end users should not be overlooked. In this study, an ecodesignbased quality function deployment (QFD) approach is proposed for developing the sustainable products. The QFD approach used in this study consists of three different phases. The first phase, known as ‘house of quality,’ shows the relationship between the voice of customers and technical requirements of the product to be developed. In second phase, the relationship of the technical requirements with different part characteristics of the product is established. Third phase relates parts characteristics with various ecodesign practices spread across the entire life cycle of the product. The proposed methodology is applied for designing an environmentally conscious blower heater. The finding of this study shows that ‘ensuring a higher durability,’ ‘reducing energy consumption during use’ and ‘ensuring easier maintenance and repair’ are the most significant ecodesign practices that must be emphasized while designing a blower heater. The methodology developed in this research can assist the designers to develop eco-friendly products through the identification of the most relevant ecodesign practices for individual products.