Sustainable Product Development Considering Quality, Cost and Life Cycle Assessment (QC-LCA)

The study aimed to develop a procedure based on the QC-LCA indicator to support productdevelopment decisions at the early design stages. The procedure guides the creation and evaluation of product prototypes by generating alternative design solutions during the design or improvement phase. It follows a five-step methodological framework that prospectively assesses: i) prototype quality, ii) life-cycle environmental impact (LCA), and iii) production costs. The procedure employs several techniques, e.g. the TOPSIS method, brainstorming (BM), the 7±2 rule, and ISO 14040. Results from the main stages produce quality, cost, and environmental indicators, which are then aggregated into the QC-LCA indicator. This indicator forms the basis for ranking the product prototypes.