Proposal of a Closed Loop Framework for the Improvement of Industrial Systems’ Life Cycle Performances: Experiences from the LinkedDesign Project

The context where European manufacturers of industrial systems operate has dramatically changed over recent years: the pressure of emerging countries they have to face, policy makers’ environmental laws and industrial companies’ interests are pushing towards sustainable manufacturing and a holistic view of industrial systems. Designers and system engineers are the main actors involved, because they have high influence on product life cycle costs and environmental impacts. However they need tools to pursue a holistic view. The aim of this paper is to propose a closed loop framework to improve life cycle performances of industrial systems, focusing on the automotive sector.