Analytic hierarchy process of PILOT eco-design framework

Nowadays, industrial engineers have to consider many different environmental aspects and requirements in designing new products. Furthermore, an always stronger reduction of energy and raw materials consumption is expected to generate savings and help recycling, mainly due to a recent increase in the number of international regulations and standards along with customer sensitivity. As many solutions can be generally adopted during the design stage, a systematic framework can be helpful in considering and evaluating these opportunities to drive organizations in balancing benefits and costs and defining their own priorities. The paper starts from the PILOT reference model of the Technische Universität of Wien, a qualitative tool that combines principles of Product Modeling, Life Cycle Assessment, Eco-Design tasks, Product Improvement and Environmental Communication as a guide to select among different interventions. An Analytic Hierarchy Process can so be implemented on this approach to quickly identify, in a wide range of possibilities, priorities that grant best environmental performances. The model was tested in the industry of pneumatic and results were used as a validation of the new methodology.