The rampant changes marking modern manufacturing are driven by: (a) excess manufacturing capacity and the consequent increase in competition, and (b) rising environmental awareness and legislation. This green legislation (WEEE, EuP, RoHS, etc.) has arisen in an attempt to resolve the inherent conflict between a number of competing needs: (1) environmental requirements and constraints, (2) consumer demands and (3) industrial profitability constraints. Consequently, modern industries seeking to maintain corporate profits while complying with new legislation have begun to shift from product delivery to through-life service support. That is, companies supply products and continue to maintain them throughout the product’s lifetime. Industrial profitability in such a paradigm requires technological adaption and innovation as well as enhanced product performance control. All these changes and requirements are dictating change in design approaches and practices. This paper presents a new design methodology and supporting tools to analyze and improve product design, while taking into account environmental impact and the selling-of-services business paradigm. The analysis is based on dynamic product models aimed at extending life span while reducing complexities and internal interdependencies by means of component periodicity planning and uncoupling activities.

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