GERTSAKIS, John (14 Viola Avenue, Mount Dandenong, Victoria 3767, AU)
OKRAGLIK, Henry (231 Gold Street, Clifton Hill, Victoria 3068, AU)
HERRING, Ashley (16 Licola Street, Vermont South, Victoria 3133, AU)
GERTSAKIS, John (14 Viola Avenue, Mount Dandenong, Victoria 3767, AU)
OKRAGLIK, Henry (231 Gold Street, Clifton Hill, Victoria 3068, AU)
| CLAIMS: 1. A method for assessing one or more products or services comprising the steps of - determining a compliance indicator by comparing attributes of the one or more products or services against a plurality of compliance rules; and, - determining an impact indicator arranged to indicate the impact of the one or more products or services over its lifecycle by processing the attributes of the one or more products or services with data arranged for lifecycle assessment. 2. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the step of comparing the compliance indicator for one or . more products or services . 3. A method in accordance with claims 1 or 2, further comprising the step of comparing the impact indicator for one or more products or services 4. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of determining an impact indicator includes: - determining an impact value for each stage of the lifecycle of the one or more products or services,- and", - accumulating each impact value for each stage of the lifecycle to determine the impact indicator . 5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein the impact value for each stage of the lifecycle is determined by processing the attributes of the one or more products or services with variables derived from at least one event of each stage of the lifecycle of the one or more products and services . 6. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein the at least one events are derived from the data arranged for lifecycle assessment. 7. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data for lifecycle assessment includes lifecycle assessment data relevant for the one or more products or services . 8. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the composite of the product or services; 9. A method in accordance with any one, of the preceding claims, wherein the attributes include properties relating to ,the manufacture of the product or services. 10. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the distribution of the product or services. 11. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the usage of the product or services. 12. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the disposal of the product or services. 13. A method in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the compliance rules are derived from a compliance standard or compliance directive. 14. A method for assessing one or more products or services comprising the steps of: - receiving attributes relating to the one or more products or services; - comparing the attributes against a plurality of ' compliance rules to derive at least one compliance indicator; - modelling the attributes with at least orte variable arranged to represent a plurality of events to determine a plurality of event impact indicators for the one or more products or services; and, - accumulating the plurality of event impact indicators to generate a combined impact index arranged to represent an accumulated impact of the plurality of events for the one or more products or services. 15. A method in accordance with claim 14, wherein the attributes incorporates variables arranged to represent the any one or combination of composite, manufacturing, distribution, usage, consumables, disposal for the one or more products or services. 16. A method in accordance with claims 14 or 15, wherein the compliance rules include rules relating to one or more standard. 17. A method in accordance with any one claims 14 to 16, wherein the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules includes: - identifying at least one component of the one or more products or services; - comparing the component against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the component; and - reporting the compliance indicator. 18. A method in accordance with any one claims 14 to 17, wherein the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes: - identifying at least one manufacturing process for the one or more products or services; - comparing the manufacturing process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the manufacturing process; and - reporting the compliance indicator. ' - 19. A method in accordance with any one claims 14 to 18, wherein the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes : - identifying at least one distribution process for the one or more products or services; - comparing the distribution process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the distribution process; and - reporting the compliance indicator. 20. A method in accordance with any one claims 14 to 19, wherein the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes: - identifying at least one disposal process for the one or more products or services; - comparing the disposal process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the disposal process; and - reporting the compliance indicator. 21. A system for assessing one or more products or services comprising: · - a compliance module arranged to determine a compliance indicator by comparing attributes of the one or more products or services against a plurality of compliance rules; and, - a lifecycle module arranged to determine an impact indicator arranged to indicate the impact of the one or more products or services over its lifecycle by processing the attributes, of the one or more products or services with data arranged for lifecycle assessment. 22. A system in accordance with claim 21 further comprising a comparison module arranged to compare the compliance indicator for one or more products or services. 23. A system in accordance with claims 21 or 22, further comprising a comparison module arranged to compare the impact indicator for one or more products or services 24. A system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 23, wherein the lifecycle module includes a module arranged to determine an impact value for each stage of the lifecycle of the one or more products or services and, an accumulating module arranged to accumulate each impact value for each stage of the lifecycle to determine the impact indicator. 25. A system in accordance with claim 24, wherein the impact value for each stage of the lifecycle is determined by processing the attributes of the one or more products or services with variables derived from" at least one event of each stage of the lifecycle of the one or more products and services . 26. A system in accordance with claim 25, wherein the at least one events are derived from the data arranged for lifecycle assessment. 27. A. system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 26, wherein the data for lifecycle assessment includes lifecycle assessment data relevant for the one or more products or services. 28. A system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 27, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the composite of the product or services. 29. A system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 28, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the manufacture of the product or services . 5 30. A system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 29, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the distribution of the product or services. 31. A system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 30, 10 wherein the attributes include properties relating to the usage of the product or services. 32. A system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 31, wherein the attributes include properties relating to the 15 disposal of the product or services. 33. A system in accordance with any one claims 21 to 32, wherein the compliance rules are derived from a compliance standard or compliance directive. 20 34. A system for assessing one or more products or services comprising: - an input module arranged to receive attributes relating to the one or more products or services; 25 - a comparison module arranged to compare the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules to derive at least one compliance indicator; - a modelling module arranged to model the attributes with at least one variable arranged to represent a plurality of 30 events to determine a plurality of event impact indicators for the one or more products or services; and, - an accumulating module arranged to accumulate the plurality of event impact indicators to generate a combined impact index arranged to represent an accumulated ,35 impact of the plurality of events for the one or more products or services. 35. A system in accordance with claim 34 ,· wherein the attributes incorporates variables arranged to represent the any one or combination of composite, manufacturing, distribution, usage, consumables, disposal for the one or more products or services . 36. A system in accordance with claims 34 or 35, wherein the compliance rules include rules relating to one or more standard. 37. A system in accordance with any one claims 34 to 36, wherein comparison module includes: - a module arranged to identify at least one component of the one or more products or services; - a module arranged to compare the component against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the component; and - a reporting module arranged to report the compliance indicator. 38. A system in accordance with any one claims 34 to 37, wherein the comparison module further includes the: - a module arranged to identify at least one manufacturing process for the one or more products or services; - a module arranged to compare the manufacturing process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the manufacturing process; and - a reporting module arranged to report the compliance indicator, 39. A system in accordance with any one claims 34 to 38, wherein the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes: - a module arranged to identify at least one distribution process for the one or more products or services; - a module arranged to compare the distribution process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the distribution process; and - a reporting module arranged to report the compliance indicator . 40. A system in accordance with any one claims 34 to 39, wherein the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes: - a module arranged to identify at least one disposal process for the one or more products or services; - a module arranged to compare the disposal process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the disposal process; and - a reporting module arranged the compliance indicator. 41. A system in accordance with any one of claims 34 to 39, wherein the compliance module and the lifecycle module is arranged to share data with each other such that data access by each module can be accessed by the other module. 42. A system in accordance with claim 41, wherein the data includes compliance indicator, impact indicator, or a combination thereof. |
SERVICES
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a system and method for assessing one or more products or services, and particularly, but not exclusively to a system and method for assessing environment impacts of a product or service.
BACKGROUND
The development of a product or service may require a designer or developer to consider two important aspects. The first is the compliance of the product or service with various laws and regulations, whilst the second may include an assessment of the impact of the lifecycle of the product, particularly from an environmental and sustainability point of view.
Known methods of product development may require a designer to consult with legal professionals to manage compliance regulations whilst requiring -the designer or developer to consult engineers or environmental
consultants to obtain an impact assessment. Such a method of development may create additional delay and
difficulties for the designer as it is likely the designer- will be required to consult the legal professionals and the environmental consultants on numerous iterations before an optimal design can be decided for the product or service .
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assessing one or more products or services comprising the steps of determining a compliance indicator by comparing attributes of the one or more products or services against a
plurality of compliance rules; and, determining an impact indicator arranged to indicate the impact of the one or more products or services over its lifecycle by processing the attributes of the one or more products or services with data arranged for lifecycle assessment.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprises the step of comparing the compliance indicator for one or more products or services.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the method further comprises the step of comparing the impact indicator for one or more products or services
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the step of determining an impact indicator includes:
- determining an impact value for each stage of the lifecycle of the one or more products or services; and,
- accumulating each impact value for each stage of the lifecycle to determine the impact indicator.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the impact value for each stage of the lifecycle is determined by processing the attributes of the one or more products or services with variables derived from at least one event of each stage of the lifecycle of the one or more products and services.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one events are derived from the data ' arranged for
lifecycle assessment.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the data for lifecycle assessment includes lifecycle assessment data relevant for the one or more products or services. In an embodiment of the first aspect, the attributes include properties relating to the composite of the product or services.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the attributes include properties relating to the manufacture of the product or services . In an embodiment of the. first aspect, the attributes include properties relating to the distribution of the product or services.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the attributes include properties relating to the usage of the product or services .
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the attributes include properties relating to the disposal of the product or services.
In an embodiment of the first aspect, the compliance rules are derived from a compliance standard or compliance directive.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for assessing one or more products or services comprising the steps of:
- receiving attributes relating to the one or more products or services;
- comparing the attributes against a plurality of
compliance rules to derive at least one compliance indicator;
- modelling the attributes with at least one variable arranged to represent a plurality of events to determine a plurality of event impact indicators for the one or more products or services; and, - accumulating the plurality of event impact indicators to generate a combined impact index arranged to represent an accumulated impact of the plurality of events for the one or more products or services. .
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the attributes incorporates variables arranged to represent the any one or combination of composite, manufacturing, distribution, usage, consumables, disposal for the one or more products or services.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the compliance rules include rules relating to one or more standard. In an embodiment of the second aspect, the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules includes:
identifying at least one component of the one or more products or services;
- comparing the component against a plurality of
compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the component; and
- reporting the compliance indicator. In an embodiment of the second aspect, the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes:
-■ identifying at least one manufacturing process for the one or more products or services;
- comparing the manufacturing process against a plurality - of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the manufacturing process; and
- reporting the compliance indicator. In an embodiment of the second aspect, the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes: - identifying at least one distribution process for the one or more products or services;
- comparing the distribution process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the distribution process; and
- reporting the compliance indicator.
In an embodiment of the second aspect, the step of comparing the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules further includes:
- identifying at least one disposal process for the one or more products or services;
- comparing the disposal process against a plurality of compliance rules to determine the compliance indicator of the disposal process; and
- reporting the compliance indicator.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for assessing one or more products or services comprising:
- a compliance module arranged to determine a compliance indicator by comparing attributes of the one or more products or services against a plurality of compliance rules ; and,
- a lifecycle module arranged to determine an impact indicator arranged to indicate the impact of the one or more products or services over its lifecycle by processing the attributes of the one or more products or services with data arranged for lifecycle assessment.
.
In accordance with a fο ^ΐι aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for assessing one or more products or services comprising:
- an input module arranged to receive attributes relating to the one or more products or services; - a comparison module arranged to compare the attributes against a plurality of compliance rules to derive at least one compliance indicator;
- a modelling module arranged to model the attributes with at least one variable arranged to represent a plurality of events to determine a plurality of event impact indicators for the one or more products or services; and,
- an accumulating module arranged to accumulate the plurality of event impact indicators to generate a combined impact index arranged to represent an accumulated impact of the plurality of events for the one or more products or services .
In an embodiment of the fourth aspect, the compliance module and the lifecycle module is arranged to share data with each other such that data access by each module can be accessed by the other module.
In an embodiment of the fourth aspect, the data includes compliance indicator, impact indicator, or a combination thereof .
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of the system for accessing one or more products or services in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the system of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a compliance module of the system of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a lifecycle module of the system of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a sample screenshot of an interface of the system of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a sample screenshot of the compliance module of Figure 3 ;
Figures 7A to 7D are sample screenshots of an embodiment of a compliance checklist of the compliance module of Figure 3 Figure 8 is a sample screenshot of an embodiment of a plurality of - compliance indicators of the compliance module of Figure 3 ;
Figure 9 is a sample screenshot of an embodiment of the lifecycle module of Figure 4
Figures 10 to 13 are sample screenshots of an embodiment of the stage assessment of the lifecycle module of Figure 4 ;
Figure 14 is a sample screenshot of an embodiment of the combined report of the lifecycle module of Figure 4; and, Figures 15 to 17 are sample screenshots of an embodiment of the comparison module of the system of Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to Figure 1 there is provided an embodiment of a system for a system for assessing one or more products or services comprising:
- a compliance module arranged to determine a
compliance indicator by comparing attributes of the one or more products or services against a plurality of
compliance rules; and,
- a lifecycle module arranged to determine an impact indicator by processing the attributes of the one or more products or services with data arranged for lifecycle assessment .
In this embodiment, the system for assessing one or more products or services comprises a server 100. The server 100 comprises suitable components necessary to receive, store and execute appropriate computer
instructions. The components may include a processing unit 102, read-only memory (ROM) 104, random access memory (RAM) 106, and input/output devices such as disk drives 108, input devices 110 such as an Ethernet port, a USB port, etc. Display 112 such as a liquid crystal display, a light emitting display or any other suitable display and communications links 114. The server 100 may includes instructions that may be included in ROM 104, RAM 106 or disk drives 108 and may be executed by the processing unit 102. There may be provided a plurality bf communication links 114 which may variously connect to one or more computing devices such as a server, personal computers, terminals, wireless or handheld computing devices. At least one of a plurality of communications link may be connected to an external computing network through a telephone line or other type of communications link.
The server 100 may include storage devices such as a disk drive 108 which may encompass solid state drives, hard disk drives, optical drives or magnetic tape drives. The server 100 may use a single disk drive or multiple disk drives. The server 100 may also have a suitable operating system 116 which resides on the disk drive or in the ROM of the server 100.
The system has a database 120 residing on a disk or other storage device which is arranged to store at least data required to operate the system and data generated during the operation of the system. This data may include, without limitation, compliance rules relating to one or more standards or certifications, data for lifecycle analysis relating to one or more products or services, user data, system and user logs, or other administrative data. The database 120 is in communication with an interface 122, which is implemented by computer software residing on the server 100. The interface 122 provides a means by which a user or another system to assess one or more products or services. In one example the interface 122 may be presented to a user, who may interact with the interface 122 to assess a product for compliance or lifecycle assessment. The user may interact with the interface 122 by inputting various attributes relating to the product or service to be assessed. These attributes relating to the product or services to be assessed may include the composite of the product or service, such as specific parts or materials used to manufacture the product or components or materials required to affect the services. Without limitation, other attributes may include variables relating to the:
1. Manufacturing process (e.g. type and amount of
resources used in the manufacturing process) ; 2. Distribution of the product or service (e.g.
different channels used to distribute the product or service and its corresponding resource costs such as fuel usage for freight, shipping or transport) ;
3. Usage and consumption of the product or service (e.g resources required to use or be consumed as part of the service life of the product or service such as electricity, water, consumable items); and,
4. Disposal of the product or service (e.g. resources required to recycle, bury or destroy the product or service) .
With reference to Figure 2, there is illustrated an embodiment of the system for assessing one or more products or services. In this embodiment, the -system comprises a compliance module 202, lifecycle module 204, comparison module 206 and a database 122. Each of the different modules 202, 204 and 206 are arranged to communicate with each other by sharing data or executing specific routines to operate other modules within the system.
The modules 202, 204 and ' 206 may be implemented by computer software comprising instructions, routines, machine code or any combination thereof to execute specific functions for each of the modules 202, 204 and 206. The software may be executed by a computing device, such as a processor, and is arranged to retrieve, process and store data relevant to each module 202, 204 and 206.
In this embodiment, the compliance module 202 is arranged to check attributes of a product or service against a plurality of compliance rules. The compliance module may include a set of compliance rules relevant to specific standard or certification requirement. The rules may be in the form of formulas, checkpoints, check lists or scripts stored in a record on the database 122 or integrated directly within the compliance module 202. Once a user inputs attributes relating to a product or service for assessment, these attributes may be compared with the compliance rules to determine whether the product or service, based on its attribute, is compliant with a standard or certification requirement.
The lifecycle module 204 is arranged to model the attributes for one or more products or services against a series of stages of the lifecycle of the product or service to derive an impact indicator of the product or service for each stage of its lifecycle as well as a combined impact indicator representing the impact of the product or service over its lifecycle. The stages of a lifecycle may include, without limitation:
- Manufacturing and process of the product or service;
- Distribution of the product or service;
- Utilisation or consumption of the product or service; and,
- Disposal or end of life processes for the product or service.
Each of these stages may include individual events relevant to each stage of the lifecycle. These events may include, for example the type of manufacturing process which is used to create the product or service, the different channels of transporting the product or service from its point of manufacture, or the type of disposal of the product or service once the product or service has reached its end of life. These stages of the lifecycle and its relevant events may be retrieved from the data for lifecycle assessment which may include specific
information relating to each stage and event in the lifecycle of the product or service being assessed. In instances where there is a plurality of events for any given stage, the user may be able to select the desired event based on their design or attributes of the product or service currently under assessment.
To initiate the assessment process, the lifecycle module 204 receives the inputted attributes from a user or another module of system (such as the compliance module 202) . Once the attributes for the product or service has been received, a routine may be executed by the system to model the attributes against each event in each lifecycle stage of the product or service to generate an impact indicator which quantifies the impact of the product or service for each stage of the lifecycle. In some examples, the user provides additional information to the lifecycle module 204 relevant to the product or service for a specific event. For example, the event may be the transportation of a product to a point of sale from the place- of manufacture, in which case the user may be presented with three different types of possible distribution channels for a specific product as retrieved from the lifecycle
assessment data. In this example, the three channels may include, as an example to illustrate the operation of the module 204, shipping, air freight or road transport, each with its ow impact rating such as fuel used, time saved, Carbon emissions level etc. The user may be able to adjust or select which distribution channel is desired as part of the design of the product. Once the user selects the desire channel for each event of the entire stage, the lifecycle module proceeds to calculate and determine an impact indicator for the stage based on the attributes of the product or service and the events of the stage in the lifecycle of the product or service. In some examples, the impact indicator may include a calculated index for the amount of resource used for the product or surface during .the specific stage of the lifecycle of the product or service. This may include energy or natural resources used to manufacture the product, or the amount of pollutants or greenhouse gases which may have been generated from each event of the stage. As the person skilled in the art can appreciate, various impact indicators may be calculated based on the attributes for the product or service, the contents of the lifecycle analysis data found within the database 122 and the events selected by the user as part of the design or development of the product or service . Once an impact indicator is determined for each stage of the lifecycle, one or more combined indicators may also be determined by the lifecycle module 204 to provide a representation of the impact of the product or service over its entire lifecycle. These combined indicators may be presented to a user on a visual representation such as a chart or stored in a database for processing or
comparison.
In this embodiment, the system also includes a
comparison module arranged to compare two or more
compliance indicators or impact indicators generated for two or more products or services. The comparison module 206 may retrieve indicators stored within the database or from the compliance 202 or lifecycle module 204 and compare the results with each other in order to highlight the differences and advantage ' s with reference to each of the , products or services. In one example, the comparison - module 206 may produce a chart or graphical representation to illustrate the differences between the indicators for the two or more products or services. With reference to Figure 3, there is illustrated a flow diagram for an embodiment of the compliance ' module 202. In this embodiment, the user inputs into the system a plurality of attributes relevant to a product or service (302). These attributes, as discussed above, may include, for example, various aspects relating to the composite, manufacture, distribution, usage disposal of the product or service. .Once the attributes are inputted by the user, -the module 202 may proceed to check compliance (304) of the product or service by executing a series of scripts or checklists derived from the compliance rules stored within the database (306) . These scripts or checklist may prompt the user with specific questions relating to the
attributes of the product or service (304) . Once the user inputs the product or service attributes, the compliance module may query the database (306) for relevant
compliance rules, checklists or scripts for further query with the user. In one example, where the product includes a battery component, the compliance module may retrieve compliance rules based on the European Battery Directives which lists out Regulations and directives in relations to Battery productions and disposals.
In this example, the user may be provided with a series questions derived from the scripts relating to the compliance rules of the European Battery Directives. The user may be prompted to provide information in the form of a checklist. These questions, for example, may include query on the materials used to manufacture the battery, the amount of heavy metals within the battery or the danger rating of the battery for the specific application. Once the necessary information is provided by the user, the compliance module may then check whether the product is in compliance with the compliance rules. If an aspect or attribute relating to the product or service is found not to be in compliance with the relevant directive or regulations (308) , the user may be able to change the ■ attributes on the system by amending the response to the questions prompted from the compliance module (302) . In so doing, ' the user may also be adjusting their design or development of the product or services to overcome the non-compliance.
Once the -user completes the submission v of information, a compliance report may be generated for the user to summaries the compliance of the product or service for the assessment (310) . This report may also be stored on the database with referenced to the specific product or service which has been assessed by the compliance module .
In some embodiments, the compliance module and the lifecycle module may be linked to facilitate information sharing between the two modules. As shown in Figure 3, the lifecycle module may initialise the compliance module by supplying attributes to the compliance module for
compliance check (312) . The results of the compliance check may also be sent back to the lifecycle module (314) for further processing. This embodiment is particular advantageous in that a user may be able to manage both compliance and lifecycle impact simultaneously with a single adjustment to the attributes or events of the lifecycle of the product or service under assessment. The data sharing ability of the system permits a more
streamline operation of the system by minimising the number of identical or similar adjustments to the
attributes or events which are made by the designer or developer over the course of locating an optimal design or development of the product or service. With reference to Figure 4, there is illustrated a flow diagram for one embodiment of the lifecycle module 204. In this embodiment, the lifecycle module is arranged to process the attributes inputted by the user (402) and apply these attributes to a model of possible events of each stage of the lifecycle of the product or services to determine an impact indicator for each stage of the lifecycle (404) . Once the attributes are applied to the model (402), at least one impact indicator for each model is then produced to show the impact of the product or service for the specific event (408) . The impact
indicators may then be further processed to generate a combined impact indicator arranged to represent impact of the product or service in its entire lifecycle.
The lifecycle module 204 may be arranged to receive attributes from a user relating to. a product or service to be assessed (402) , or from the compliance module (420) , if the lifeGycle module 204 has been initiated by the compliance module 202. These attributes may include properties of the product or the service and may include, but not limited to, components used in the product, the weight, size or materials used to manufacture the product. Once the user inputs this information, the module proceeds c '
to query the database for data relating to the lifecycle of the product or services (406) . Such a query may
retrieve information relating to the different events of each stage of the lifecycle of the product or services such as manufacturing process, possible distribution channels, usage types and possible means of disposal for the product or service- currently under assessment. Once the module retrieves relevant data for lifecycle analysis, the module may then present the possible events and their properties to the user for selection or
adjustment (404) . The user may, as a design choice, adjust these events within each stage of the lifecycle of the product or service. After the events have been adjusted, the user may submit the adjusted information to the module to determine an impact indicator for each stage of the lifecycle of the product (408) .
In this embodiment, the impact indicators for each stage (4Ό8Α, 408B, 408C and 408D) of the lifecycle of the product or service may be determined by summation of the attributes of the product or service, lifecycle data retrieved from the database and the user selected events within each stage of the lifecycle. A processor may calculate an impact indicator based on these aspects of the product or service and present these impact indicators to the user (408A, 408B, 408C and 408D) . These impact indicators may include, without limitation, resource usage, carbon release, recycle ability etc. In these examples, the module may generate these indicators by calculating the attributes of the product such as
components used, and weight of the product or service, then multiplying these figures with lifecycle data retrieved from the database for specific events selected by the user. This may include, in this example, where a user selects air freight of the product, resource usage for air freight based on distance and weight may be factored into a calculation of an impact indicator for energy usage. Once all the impact indicators are
determined, a report for these impact indicators may then be generated and presented to the user (410) .
The module may then proceed to produce an overall combined impact indicator for the lifecycle of the product or services. This combined impact index represents a summation of all the stages of the lifecycle of the product or service (412) . The generated index may then be presented to the user or stored for subsequent comparison with other assessed products or services.
This embodiment is at least advantageous in that a designer or a developer of a product may be able to ascertain the impact of their design or development over its entire intended lifecycle. This is particularly useful as the designer or developer can model the impact of their design from the manufacturing process to the disposal process and choose relevant materials or resources to increase or decrease its respective impact. In situations such as environmental considerations of product
development, a user may be able to design a product by forecasting the amount of carbon emissions or energy usage during the design and development of the product. An example, the hybrid vehicle has attracted comments that although its operation has a low environmental impact in fuel usage, the production and disposal of the vehicle may be more energy intensive or incur a larger carbon emission due to its complexity and materials used. As such, a designer may be able to adjust the design of such a vehicle such that an optimal result is produced by modelling attributes and events of the' vehicle over the course of its lifecycle.
In alternative embodiments, a compliance check can also be processed by the lifecycle module 204 by
initiating the compliance module 202 to execute a
compliance check of the attributes provided (416) . In these embodiments, the lifecycle module 204 shares data with the compliance module 202 such that attributes for a product or service under assessment may also be checked against the compliance rules. A compliance report may also be generated by the compliance module 202 and presented (418) to the user by the lifecycle module 204. After . which, the ^ user may be able to adjust attributes of the product or services under assessment to also satisfy compliance requirements. With reference to Figures 5 to 15, there are
illustrated various screenshots of an example
implementation of one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 5, a user is prompted to log into the system and is offered a series of menu tabs 502, including a selection to operate the compliance module, the
lifecycie module and the compliance module.
Once a user selects the compliance module, the system instructs the interface 112 to present the compliance module interface to the user 600. In this example, the user has selected the EPEAT compliance review, which is a specific set of compliance rules for the EPEAT standard. As shown in Figure 6 , the module proceeds to present a list of checklist questions 602 for the user to respond to based on the attributes of the product or services under assessment. The user may also enter in specific digits or select relevant answers from the checklist 604.
With reference to Figure 7A to 7D, another embodiment of the compliance module is shown. In this embodiment., the user selects the European Battery Compliance checklist 702, which includes a checklist reflective of the
compliance rules of the European Battery Directive.
Once the user completes the checklist, a compliance report is generated and is presented to the user. An example of a compliance report 800 is shown in Figure 8, which illustrates a review of the compliance of the product under the European Battery Compliance review. In this example, attributes and aspects of the product which is not compliant is highlighted to the user by alerts 802.
With reference to Figure 9, there is shown a sample screenshot of one embodiment of the lifecycie module arranged to produce at least one impact indicator for a product or service. The user may select a specific product from a list 902 which retrieves attributes previously stored in the database. Once this information is obtained from the database, the attributes of the product is also imported into the lifecycle module. In other examples, where the attributes are not stored in the database, the user may elect to enter the attributes directl into the lifecycle module, which will, in turn store the attributes in the database 122.
As illustrated in Figures 10 to 13, the user may select a selection tab 1002 for a specific stage in the lifecycle of the product or service and enter in specific information relevant to each event within the stage 1004. The information fields 1004 for each event may be
generated based on the lifecycle data retrieved from the database. These information fields may be based on the type of product or service currently being assessed. The user may adjust these information fields 1004 as desired to obtain a suitable outcome. In this example, the impacts indicators of the product or service under assessment are determined and presented in real time with visual
representations 1006 such as charts and other feedback means. Should a user adjust any information within this stage of the lifecycle, the visual representation of the impact indicators are also updated for the user. This is particular advantageous in that real time feedback is provided for the user to adjust and continue to optimise their design or development.
Once the user has completed the adjustment to the information in each event of the lifecycle; the user can select the finish tab. A shown in Figure 14, a report 1400 with the impact of the product or service for its entire lifecycle is produced. In this example, charts and graphical representation 1402 are also displayed to illustrate the impacts at different stages 1404 and its overall contribution to the combined impact indicator.
With reference to Figures 15 to 17, there is
illustrated sample screenshots of the comparison module 206. The comparison module 206 provides a comparison of two or more impacts of products or services previously assessed. As shown in Figure 15 the user can select a number of previously assessed products for comparison 1502. As illustrated in Figure 16, products or services assessed are displayed in a list 1602 adjacent to each other with a user being able to select the different impacts relating to each product to be compared. In Figure 16, the aspect selected by the user is the total Carbon Dioxide C02 emission 1604 of · each product, and
accordingly, the comparison module displays graphical representations 1606 which highlight the differences of each assessed product or services for the user to observe and consider.
As shown in Figure 17, charts 1702 may also be generated by the comparison module 206 for two or more products or services, previously assessed to compare impact indicators for each event in the lifecycle of the product or service as well as the impacts of the entire lifecycle.
In alternative embodiments, the comparison module may provide an additional functionality to select previously assessed products or services and return to the compliance module or the lifecycle module to adjust the attributes or information relating to each event in order to adjust the results of the impact assessment;
Although not required, the embodiments described with reference to the Figures can * be ' implemented as an
application programming interface (API) or as a series of libraries for use by a developer or can be included within another software application, such as a terminal or personal computer operating system or a portable computing device operating system. Generally, as program modules include routines, programs, objects, components and data files assisting in the performance of particular functions, the skilled person will understand that the functionality of the software application may be
distributed across a number of routines, objects or components to achieve the same functionality desired herein.
It will also be appreciated that where the methods and systems of the present invention are either wholly implemented by computing system or partly implemented by computing systems then any appropriate computing system architecture may be utilised. This will include stand alone computers, network computers and dedicated hardware devices. Where the terms "computing system" and
"computing device" are used, these terms are intended to cover any appropriate arrangement of computer hardware capable of implementing the function described.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope. of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.
Any reference to prior art contained herein is not to be taken as an admission that the information is common general knowledge, unless otherwise indicated.