Implementing simplified LCA software in heavy-duty vehicle design : An evaluation study of LCA data quality for supporting sustainable design decisions

Abstract: Simplified life cycle assessment (LCA) method quickly delivers an estimation of the product’s life- cycle impacts without intense data requirements, which are taken as a practical tool in the early stage of product development (PD) to support sustainable decisions. However, obstacles are to integrate the LCA tool efficiently and effectively into the designers’ daily workflows. To give a comprehensive overview of the potential challenges in integrating simplified LCA software to vehicle PD processes, the research conducts accessibility, intrinsic, contextual and representational data quality evaluation of the two vehicle-LCA software, Granta Selector and the Modular-LCA Kit, by the means of interviews, case studies and usability testing. From the four data quality evaluation, the results demonstrate (1) the importance of the company’s collaboration with the software developers to ensure the software’s accessibility; (2) the data accuracy constraints of the software due to the generic database and over-simplified methods; (3) the vehicle designer engineers reactions in the two software’s data fulfilments in conducting the complicated vehicle LCA models; and (4) the LCA results’ effectiveness in supporting sustainable design decisions. Overall, the two simplified LCA software’s reliability is sufficient merely in the very beginning stage of PD while the user satisfaction and effectiveness of the simplified LCA data are positive for the design engineers with a basic level of sustainability knowledge. Still, there is a need of systematic strategies in integrating the software into PD processes. A three-pillar strategy that covers the approaches of company administrative policy, software management, and promotion, and LCA and vehicle data life-cycle management could tackle the data gaps and limitations of the software and company. Based on this strategy, the research proposes an example roadmap for Scania.