Product-Service Engineering for the Circular Economy

Aim

Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Explain the key characteristics of the circular economy and the Product-Service System (PSS) business model as well as their impact on manufacturing companies.
• Analyze the challenges, risks and opportunities faced by manufacturing companies that design and provide PSS solutions.
• Develop PSS solutions using methods such as a QFD-based product-service design method, product-service centric Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, and Value Analysis as well as concepts such as risk and uncertainty in order to enhance customer and provider value as well as environmental performance.
• Discuss the economic and environmental performance of a PSS solution, the potential trade-offs between them and its system-wide effects.
• Explain the synergies between a PSS and closely related concepts such as remanufacturing and ecodesign.

Content

The course introduces product-service systems (PSS), integrated product-service offerings, and closely related concepts in the context of the circular economy and the manufacturing industry. Different methods and approaches supporting the design of product-service systems are introduced and tested, as well as approaches to assess their economic performance, environmental performance, risk, uncertainty, and other issues arising throughout the lifecycle. In group projects, students design a PSS, applying both theory and methods taught in the course to develop a product-service offering. The course discusses the broader, system-wide impacts of manufacturers providing PSS, and how they are influenced by cutting-edge technological development.