Ecology Analysis of Machines and Plants During Product Development

The linear economic model of the manufacturing industry requires a fundamental transformation towards a circular economy. To support this transformation in machinery and plant engineering, transparency about the environmental impacts along the entire product life cycle is necessary. Since more than 80% of the environmental impact is determined during product development, it is important to create a basis for decision-making that makes the consequences of different circular economy strategies visible and clarifies the sphere of influence of design decision. In this paper, an ecology analysis for machines and plants is introduced, taking into account different circular economy strategies, in order to enable a holistic comparison of product and process variants. For this purpose, the relationships between ecology, product life cycle and product architecture are investigated. A mathematical calculation procedure of the interrelationships is presented to determine the main levers for improving the overall sustainability of machines or plants.