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Circularity Calculator - Comparing the circularity of different design concepts


The Circularity Calculator helps designers that work in the fuzzy front end of product development to obtain a ‘circularity instinct’: an understanding of how strategic design decisions influence the degree of circularity of resource flows and the potential value capture within product-service-systems.
The Circularity Calculator displays the potential mass and value flows of a product across its lifecycle, based on whether the different product parts are either reused, remanufactured, and/or recycled. With this tool, designers can model different conceptual design solutions and business models to quickly explore and compare design scenario’s and see their impact on performance indices such as overall circularity, recycling rate, and value recovery potential.

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Reman Design Checklist - Assessing the remanufacturability of a design concept


With Design for Remanufacturing and Design for Refurbishing, designers already take future remanufacturing and/or refurbishing into account when designing the product. The Reman Design Checklist helps product engineers to explicitly consider the remanufacturability and/or refurbishability of a design, by analysing and scoring the product components, which also allows the team to track progress between design iterations. The output of the tool includes an evaluation of the product parts, with recommendations for further improvement.

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Upgrade forecast tool - Determining upgrading requirements for new designs


The Upgrade Forecast tool is designed to help OEMs to determine which upgrading specifications to include in the design of current products. The tool facilitates interdisciplinary teams in new product development to visualise future trends, demands, and disturbances, to select the product features that require upgrading, and to extract the specifications of these future upgrades.


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Part Planning tool - Strategic planning of carry-over parts


When repair and/or remanufacturing of products is a cycling strategy you wish to consider, the availability of spare parts becomes a key issue to address. A solution for offering spare parts in a way that is economically viable, is to design for spare part compatibility across product generations. Strategic planning of carry-over parts should happen very early in the design process. The Part Planning tool is geared towards this design stage, providing designers a fast and simple tool for part planning. Via an interdisciplinary workshop session, the tool supports designers to analyse and plan for carry-over parts across multiple product use-cycles.

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Multi-lifecycle MFD - Developing module configurations of new designs


Modular design is a key enabler of Circular Business models that rely on exchange of components between products, product generations and product families. The tool uses the existing Modular Function Deployment (MFD) method and extends it for multiple lifecycles, allowing companies to plan their product modules along multiple use-cycles and lifecycles. MFD helps to determine the module interfaces and how they are to be standardised to support multiple lifecycle value propositions.

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GRANTA MI: BoM Analyzer - Enhanced Eco Audit Tool


MI:BoM Analyzer enables you to assess environmental, regulatory, and supply chain risks, and to support increased resource efficiency for products. You import and edit a bill of materials (BoM) and instantly run reports that apply an extensive database of materials, process, and environmental data to assess product risk and guide design decisions. This includes newly-enhanced Eco Audit reports, which can assess environmental impacts and cost across multiple use cycles, providing detailed information on reverse logistics and estimating the break-even point for closed loop remanufacturing against linear production in terms of both environmental impacts and lifecycle cost.
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Analytical Model - Assessing the performance of new business models


The analytical model compares the performance of the linear conventional business with that of potential closed-loop scenarios.
The analytical models calculate the performance based on specific scenarios for the business model, supply chain and design. For each scenario, a number of parameters related to cost (production costs, forward and reverse logistics costs, costs of the recovery process, management costs, and end-of-life costs) can be entered to calculate the performance of the system. Critical factors, for example the remanufacturing success rate, return rate, lease conditions, and lifespan of products can be modified to test different cases. Necessary investments costs for design, reverse engineering, or remanufacturing facilities can also be included where needed. CO2 calculations are added to the tool to give insights into the environmental performance.

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Multimethod model - Assessing the dynamic behaviour of new product-systems


The Multimethod Simulation Model, developed using system dynamics and agent based modelling, is capable of assessing economic and environmental performance of circular product systems from a system perspective. More than 120 variables are considered simultaneously in order to describe a typical circular product system, which deals with changes and effects of business models, product design, and supply chain. It addresses challenges including:
- Customer acceptance of, and expected demand for new business models
- Considerations and effects of product design alternatives
- Design of supply chain to respond to the needs of the new business models
This tool helps you to understand the dynamics of circular product systems.
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Design requirements


For each design strategy, specific design requirements have been formulated that can be integrated in your programme of requirements.
No specifications suggested yet
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Rethinking business models - Recommended reading

The revenue model you selected, selling products to customers, is a dominant model when doing business in a linear economy. However, many companies that employ circular design strategies have reconsidered their business model. The following resources provide an overview of different business and revenue models with examples.

  • The EMF has described multiple case studies of companies that have implemented new business models: EMF Case Studies.
  • The book ‘Managing Closed-Loop Supply Chains’ describes cases on how companies have applied closed-loop supply chains as a profitable business proposition.
  • The PTL-project has devised a flow diagram for identifying suitable circular business models and product design strategies. [to add link to image]
  • The Value Hill provides a framework and guide to circular business strategies.
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When using this product, do any of its materials get dissipated ('lost')? For instance:

> Ink in a pen is consumed

> Washing machine detergents are consumed

> Disposable batteries in a toy are 'consumed'

> Soles of a shoe wear away
The product contains consumables and parts of the product wear away.
How long do people use the product and why do they stop using it?
Our target customer uses the product for years, after which the main reason why it is replaced or discarded is that
This is a special outcome! Very few products will never be replaced or discarded but instead be kept for a lifetime and beyond. If your product is cherished forever such as great works of art, nothing needs to change for it to become circular; it can already circulate for generations to come.
Since the products' use life is currently limited by it being broken/vis degraded, the user may want a replacing product.

For example: in js staat when a washing machine breaks down, the user still has a need for washing clothes. /when a shirt has degraded visually, the user may still need a shirt.
A user needs the function that is provided by the product for about years.
That implies the user replaces the product about N times.
Since the products' use life is currently limited by the user's need or want for it, does the product last long enough for another use life?
The average product will last years without functional failure.
That would mean the product could in principle be used about N times by a different user.
Would there be demand for the reuse of products, when they are in good condition?
When a used product is restored to/ still in good condition, there people interested in buying and using it/leasing and using it/using it in a pay-per-use plan.
Will clients that buy/lease/pay per use of a product require warranty?
Our customers demand a manufacturer's warranty on it to assure that the product will work well.
When the product is replaced or discarded after use, are its parts still useful?

For instance because:

> the exact same product is still in production

> a next version uses some of the same parts

> there is a demand for spare parts in as-new condition.
After N years of use, parts of the product useful.
The product parts are mainly useful for the
Thank you. At the right, you will find the suggested Circular pathways for the case where users buy/lease/pay-per-use your product.

If you are also considering other business models, you can revisit the questions for these business models as well, simply by changing your answers above.
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Cycles
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Optional
Prolong
Upgrade
Reuse
Repair
Refurbish
Remanufacture
Recycle
Biodegrade
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Examples
These companies have already implemented circular design strategies: