Title: Life-cycle and information management of products – a case study of concrete element industry

Authors: Tarja Häkkinen; Sirje Vares

Addresses: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Vuorimiehentie 5, Espoo, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland. ' VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Vuorimiehentie 5, Espoo, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland

Abstract: Life-cycle management is a necessary approach in the development of sustainable product concepts. However, it is a big challenge for product manufacturers. Manufacturers need new information and tools which aid in the consideration of client requirements and user needs, in interaction between design and manufacture, and in understanding the effects of production and the effects of different use and end-of-life scenarios. The manufacturer needs information about those stages of life cycle that are out of his direct influence and means of influence; the latter may include procurement criteria, instructions for sustainable use and disposal and the development of maintenance and other services for the use phase. This paper discusses the role of life-cycle management in sustainable production concepts and the role of information management in life-cycle management. The research includes a review of literature, a case study carried out for concrete elements manufacture, and discussion on the basis of the results. A flow chart was created for the overall process considering the actors and their roles and tasks, decisions, information flows, contents of needed information and tools for information management. The study shows the crucial role of information management and the need of effective methods for the acquisition and sharing of information.

Keywords: product lifecycle management; PLM; sustainable products; information management; building industry; concrete elements; information acquisition; information sharing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLM.2011.043180

International Journal of Product Lifecycle Management, 2011 Vol.5 No.2/3/4, pp.253 - 271

Received: 20 May 2010
Accepted: 06 May 2011
Published online: 26 Mar 2015 *

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