Page 163 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

142 Cha pte r Ei g h t

thriving secondary markets for automobiles, cellular phones, and
personal computers. If the entire system is either not operable or not
marketable, the next priority is to disassemble it and try to recover
valuable components (see Section C.2, Design for Product Disassem-
bly). Although most salvaged components are resold to secondary
markets, many companies are beginning to recover refurbished com-
ponents for remanufacturing into new products (see the Caterpillar
example in Chapter 10).
Design considerations are important in determining the end-of-
life value of various components. Product developers can increase
this value in a number of ways:
• Design components that are reusable for purposes of closed-
loop remanufacturing
• Design components that are reusable for secondary appli -
cations due to their generic functionality, flexibility, or pro-
grammability
• Design reusable packaging—for example, Intel has saved mil-
lions of dollars annually by developing lighter-weight plastic
trays that are used to move microprocessor units through the
fabrication process and deliver them to customers
• Facilitate the nondestructive removal of components—for ex -
ample, surface-mounted chips are difficult to recover because
their tiny leads become bent
• Design components in a way that speeds diagnosis and refur-
bishment

Major computer manufacturers have established programs to
recover value from their own equipment and, in a few instances, the
equipment of other companies (see Chapter 11). Alternatively, com-
ponent recovery can be accomplished via a turnkey arrangement
with third-party salvage companies. For example, there are a variety
of firms that specialize in recovering and reselling components
from electronic products. With the advent of take-back legislation
in Europe (see Chapter 3), most durable goods manufacturers have
developed solutions for product and packaging recovery.

C.2 Design for Product Disassembly
The purpose of design for disassembly is to assure that a product
system can be disassembled at minimum cost and effort. This is an
important prerequisite to other end-of-life considerations, such as
component separability and recyclability. If you can’t get access to a
component, no matter how valuable, then you cannot recover it. An
added benefit of easy disassembly is that it generally contributes to
product serviceability, which increases customer satisfaction.