Product life cycle design based on product life control

Abstract

To solve environmental issues, it is necessary to establish longer and more efficient product life cycles. However, it is difficult to design product life cycles because they are dependent on specific products. In an earlier study, we proposed a methodology to control product life by building in the possibility of upgrading that product, and we have also developed a life cycle simulation tool called a Life Cycle Simulation system. This system supports the design of product life cycles by integrating operations for product life cycle design. In this paper, we propose a methodology of product life cycle design based on product life control and a product life cycle design support system using the Life Cycle Simulation system. A case study illustrates that we can design longer and more efficient product life cycles based on the methodology we propose.