Supporting sustainable product design: A case study with InDeaTe tool and template at Washington state university, Pullman, WA

Abstract

InDeaTe Tool and Template is a sustainable design support, aimed at imbibing and improving the sustainability considerations in any design. This paper presents a case-study on the ‘design of a product’ as a sustainable solution for the problems faced currently while making Wooden-fibre boards at the WSU on-campus facility, where an array of boards are made with wood-based materials, to the specifications of its various applications. The objective was to design a product in which the boards can be formed to completion—from laying, orienting to compressing in the hot press, without moving it from one station to another, ensuring care from damage and preferably with minimum human effort. The case study discussed in this paper, illustrates how the use of InDeaTe Tool improved the considerations of all dimensions of sustainability in a product and could be used for design of more sustainable products.