Editorial: Designing for the Future Available to Purchase

Environmental considerations and new legislation mean that companies must start to consider the cost of disposal and recycling in the total life cycle cost of a product. To this end products need to be designed for service, efficient disassembly and recycling. Describes a design aid called “Design for Service” (DFS) which is intended to help designers to look at serviceability issues at the earliest stages of product design. Uses a case study of the Ford Motor Co. to illustrate how DFS can be implemented within industry.