Leasing, Modularity, and the Circular Economy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Agrawal ◽  
Atalay Atasu ◽  
Sezer Ülkü
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Operations Management ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Durable Goods ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Model Choice ◽  
Modular Architecture ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Modular Product

We investigate the economic and environmental implications of jointly implementing leasing and modularity, two prominent circular economy strategies, and their interaction. We develop a durable goods model to obtain insights for firms considering the use of these strategies. We first analyze the effect of adopting leasing on a firm’s product architecture choice. We find that a modular product architecture is more attractive under leasing only if off-lease products depreciate to a greater extent. We next analyze the effect of adopting a modular product architecture on the firm’s business model choice. We find that adopting a modular architecture can cause a leasing firm to switch to selling but will not lead a selling firm to switch to leasing. Building on these results, we show that leasing a modular product is preferred by the firm only under limited conditions (i.e., when production costs are low, off-lease products are in relatively better condition, and when there is a large difference between depreciation levels of different modules). Finally, we show that jointly implementing leasing and modularity can also lead to higher environmental impact than only adopting leasing or modularity in isolation. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management.

The impact of global operations on product architecture: an exploratory study

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1304-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Pashaei ◽  
Jan Olhager
Keyword(s):  
Product Architecture ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Modular Architecture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Internal Network ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Global Operations ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how global operations of manufacturing companies influence the choice of product architecture decisions, ranging from integral to modular product designs. Design/methodology/approach The authors perform a multiple-case study of three global manufacturing companies with integral and modular product architectures. Findings The authors find that the internal network capabilities, the number of capable plants, the focus of component plants, the focus of assembly plants, the distances from key suppliers to internal plants, and the number of market segments significantly influence the choice of integral vs modular architecture. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to three large manufacturing companies with global operations. However, the authors investigate both integral and modular products. The authors develop propositions that can be tested in further survey research. Practical implications The findings show that the type of global operations network influences the decision on product architecture, such that certain global operations characteristics support integral product designs, while other characteristics support modular designs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge this paper is the first study on the explicit impact of global operations on product architecture, rather than the other way around.

How Does Modularity Affect Green Design?

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Durand ◽  
Cassandra Telenko ◽  
Carolyn Seepersad
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Product Performance ◽  
Green Design ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Material Efficiency ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Modular Architectures ◽  
George Foreman ◽  
Selection Of

Product architecture significantly influences environmental impact. Modular architectures aid manufacture and reuse, thereby reducing manufacturing-related impacts and diverting usable waste from landfills. In contrast, modular product architectures may also sacrifice product performance or lead to over-designed products. These side-effects can increase environmental impact. The Black and Decker Firestorm and G5 George Foreman Griddle were studied to uncover and understand the effects of product architecture on energy and material efficiency. Both products incorporate component sharing for fulfilling multiple functions and incur environmental tradeoffs as a result. Experimentation, reverse engineering, and life cycle analysis of these products were used to inspire a number of guidelines for green design of modular product architectures. Difficulties involved the design of interfaces and selection of components for shared modules.

scholarly journals Cyanobacterial Polyhydroxyalkanoates: A Sustainable Alternative in Circular Economy

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 4331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Gomes Gradíssimo ◽  
Luciana Pereira Xavier ◽  
Agenor Valadares Santos
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Durable Goods ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Biotechnological Production ◽  
Minimum Requirement ◽  
Photosynthetic Organisms ◽  
Low Costs ◽  
By Products

Conventional petrochemical plastics have become a serious environmental problem. Its unbridled use, especially in non-durable goods, has generated an accumulation of waste that is difficult to measure, threatening aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The replacement of these plastics with cleaner alternatives, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), can only be achieved by cost reductions in the production of microbial bioplastics, in order to compete with the very low costs of fossil fuel plastics. The biggest costs are carbon sources and nutrients, which can be appeased with the use of photosynthetic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, that have a minimum requirement for nutrients, and also using agro-industrial waste, such as the livestock industry, which in turn benefits from the by-products of PHA biotechnological production, for example pigments and nutrients. Circular economy can help solve the current problems in the search for a sustainable production of bioplastic: reducing production costs, reusing waste, mitigating CO2, promoting bioremediation and making better use of cyanobacteria metabolites in different industries.

An Approach for the Modularization of a Product Architecture of Redesign Processes of Complex Systems

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Albers ◽  
Korkiat Sedchaicharn ◽  
Christian Sauter ◽  
Wolfgang Burger
Keyword(s):  
Channel Model ◽  
Search Algorithm ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Modular Architecture ◽  
Level Of Abstraction ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
Design Structure ◽  
Principle Solution ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Model C

Design Structure Matrix (DSM) is known as an efficient tool to modularize product architectures. It is only effective when all the matrix elements are described with a similar level of abstraction. This lies generally in the level of the real existing components. In order to implement a DSM, all assemblies, components and their relations have to be defined beforehand. In this step, the product architecture is often developed intuitively without any analysis. After the analysis using DSM, the developed product architecture normally requires rectification. Some components have to be designed and modified repeatedly. In this paper, the model for describing the relationship between function and embodiment, the Contact and Channel Model (C&CM) as well as an approach and its implementation will be presented to avoid this repetition. After a principle solution has been selected, the system is modeled with C&CM elements in a new intermediate level of abstraction. An integration analysis by DSM can be performed in parallel with the use of a search algorithm to find the modular product architecture. The analysis result is a guideline for a modular architecture which helps designers to reduce the number of required iterations. This approach is implemented in the development of a robot forearm for the humanoid robot ARMAR III.

scholarly journals METHOD FOR UPGRADING A COMPONENT WITHIN REFURBISHMENT

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 2057-2066
Author(s):  
Nicola Viktoria Ganter ◽  
Behrend Bode ◽  
Paul Christoph Gembarski ◽  
Roland Lachmayer
Keyword(s):  
Closed System ◽  
Individual Component ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Additive Processes ◽  
Modular Product ◽  
General Method

AbstractOne of the arguments against an increased use of repair is that, due to the constantly growing progress, an often already outdated component would be restored. However, refurbishment also allows a component to be modified in order to upgrade it to the state of the art or to adapt it to changed requirements. Many existing approaches regarding Design for Upgradeability are based on a modular product architecture. In these approaches, however, only the upgradeability of a product is considered through the exchange of components. Nevertheless, the exchange and improvement of individual component regions within a refurbishment has already been successfully carried out using additive processes. In this paper, a general method is presented to support the reengineering process, which is necessary to refurbish and upgrade a damaged component. In order to identify which areas can be replaced in the closed system of a component, the systematics of the modular product architecture are used. This allows dependencies between functions and component regions to be identified. Thus, it possible to determine which functions can be integrated into the intended component.

The Influence of Digital Design and IT on Modular Product Architecture

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tucker J. Marion ◽  
Marc H. Meyer ◽  
Gloria Barczak
Keyword(s):  
Digital Design ◽  
Product Architecture ◽  
Modular Product

scholarly journals Methodology for the quantification of concrete sustainability

2018 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 01006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Břetislav Teplý ◽  
Tomáš Vymazal ◽  
Pavla Rovnaníková
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Service Life ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Load Bearing Capacity ◽  
Sustainability Management

Efficient sustainability management requires the use of tools which allow material, technological and construction variants to be quantified, measured or compared. These tools can be used as a powerful marketing aid and as support for the transition to “circular economy”. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) procedures are also used, aside from other approaches. LCA is a method that evaluates the life cycle of a structure from the point of view of its impact on the environment. Consideration is given also to energy and raw material costs, as well as to environmental impact throughout the life cycle - e.g. due to emissions. The paper focuses on the quantification of sustainability connected with the use of various types of concrete with regard to their resistance to degradation. Sustainability coefficients are determined using information regarding service life and "eco-costs". The aim is to propose a suitable methodology which can simplify decision-making in the design and choice of concrete mixes from a wider perspective, i.e. not only with regard to load-bearing capacity or durability.

Research and Design on Workshop Job Management System Based on Web Electronic Digital Signage

2013 ◽  
Vol 816-817 ◽  
pp. 1181-1184
Author(s):  
Da Wei Dong
Keyword(s):  
Operations Management ◽  
Management System ◽  
Job Shop ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
Digital Signage ◽  
Job Management ◽  
Business Efficiency ◽  
Job Management System ◽  
Manufacturing Productivity

The workshop job management system for improving manufacturing productivity and workshop information management plays an important role, while the electronic digital signage is seen as the core of shop floor control system. In this paper, the traditional electronic signage is proposed based on a new electronic digital signage network design, and its integration into the shop floor management systems. This paper developed job shop management system based on web electronic digital signage, the effective integration of existing hardware and software resources of the workshop, rational allocation of production resources of the workshop, the workshop production operations management to achieve digital control, reducing the workshop production costs, improve business efficiency. This paper presents the design of specific methods, and the establishment of a specific management model.

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