The literature suggests that product and product-service system (PSS) design problems are characteristically different. However, there is limited empirical evidence to suggest that the design cognition specific to the respective design activities is different. This article reports the findings of a comparative study of protocols of conceptual product and PSS designing carried out in a laboratory environment by 28 pairs of experienced product designers from the manufacturing industry. First, differences between product and PSS design problems were theoretically characterized in terms of their respective sources of complexity. Based on these differences, hypotheses concerning differences in the cognitive processes of conceptual product and PSS designing were developed and empirically tested. Results indicate that PSS designing by experienced product designers is more problem-focused while product designing is more solution-focused. PSS designing was found to focus more on the design issue function and the design process formulation. Further, PSS designing was more likely to apply a depth-first search strategy, while product designing was more apt to apply a breadth-first search strategy. Results point towards the need to support the analysis of derived behavior of structure and the application of a breadth-first strategy during PSS designing by product designers.

Companies must enhance total maintenance effectiveness to staycompetitive, focusing on both digitalization and basic maintenance procedures.Digitalization offers technologies for data-driven decision-making, but manymaintenance decisions still lack a factual basis. Prioritizing efficiency andeffectiveness require analyzing equipment history, facilitated by usingComputerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS). However, CMMS dataoften contains unstructured free-text, leading to manual analysis, which is resourceintensiveand reactive, focusing on short time periods and specific equipment. Twoapproaches are available to solve the issue: minimizing free-text entries or usingadvanced methods for processing them. Free-text allows detailed descriptions butmay lack completeness, while structured reporting aids automated analysis but maylimit fault description richness. As knowledge and experience are vital assets forcompanies this research uses a hybrid approach by combining Natural LanguageProcessing with domain specific ontology and Large Language Models to extractinformation from free-text entries, enabling the possibility of real-time analysis e.g.,identifying recurring failure and knowledge sharing across global sites.

Many methods and tools have been developed to help original equipment manufacturers to shift towards circular business models (CBM),however, a gap is observed for decision making support that allows to test different functions of a CBM and their prompt exchange of relevantinformation. To overcome this, a design platform concept is proposed, aiming to transcend existing frameworks' limitations and link engineeringand managerial aspects. Focused on delivering Product-as-a-Service for electrical and electronic equipment, the platform concept aims to reduceglobal electronic waste and extend product lifespans. Emphasis is placed on a hierarchical product architecture structure, a well-developed serviceecosystem involving various stakeholders, and the integration of digital twins, data management, and artificial intelligence. Specific performanceand circularity indicators within the design platform concept will address the challenges related to circularity, business model development, andsustainability. These indicators encompass decision tools focusing on both product and business model design and operation with the help ofdifferent ease of X decision tools (repair, refurbish, remanufacture, reuse, and recycle). Additionally, sustainability validation tools, includinglife cycle assessment, critical raw material assessment, life cycle cost analysis, and social life cycle assessment, will support informed decisionmaking within the design platform concept.

With the much-needed transformation from linear to more circular resource flows, it is imperative for enterprises to understand their financial prospects. Transforming towards Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) with circular elements introduces new considerations that must be addressed to ensure profitability and sustainability. However, there is a lack of comprehensive financial assessments based on empirical cases to guide companies in assessing the lucrativeness of their transformations. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a simple-to-use and flexible financial assessment model for PaaS, helping practitioners identify the conditions necessary for financial viability from both provider and user perspectives. Grounded in transdisciplinary research, this study focuses on a construction machine manufacturer's transformation from a traditional one-off sales business model to PaaS. The transformation is analysed through the development of a life cycle costing financial assessment model that addresses relevant cost drivers. Using discounting methods, the model can help practitioners generate scenarios to identify feasible solutions for profitable PaaS setups. Additionally, the paper presents an analytical procedure to identify conditions for a financially viable PaaS. The procedure includes scenario-based analysis that accounts for systemic changes often necessary for successfully realising PaaS. By following the proposed procedure, along with the financial assessment model, manufacturers can streamline their financial assessments to identify necessary changes. For the analysed case company, the modelling results indicate that it must redesign its products for PaaS to outperform its previous business model.

In product-as-a-service (PaaS) systems, the ownership of products remains with original equipmentmanufacturers (OEMs), and customers get access to the functionality of products by signing a usagerelatedcontract. The PaaS business model changes the boundary conditions of a production systemand related logistics. To increase circularity, PaaS shall be supported by value retention processes,such as remanufacturing. Currently, remanufacturing in PaaS in business-to-consumer markets (B2C)is a niche practice. This paper aims to identify the main challenges and enablers for OEMs to scale upremanufacturingwhentransitioning to PaaS in B2C. Through the PRISMA systematic literature reviewof 48 relevant articles, we identify 20 challenges and 19 enablers, grouped into six areas: products,legislation and policy, customers and market, servitisation, remanufacturing process, and the returnsystem. To make this study more actionable, we applied a gap analysis and combined the theoreticalfindings with an assessment of their impact in practice by five experts with experience in industrialcases. As a result, we have narrowed the list of factors to 12 challenges and 14 enablers. These factorsare structured as a decision aid for OEMs to facilitate their transition to remanufacturing in PaaS.

Manufacturers around the globe are expected—with growing urgency—to contribute to the implementationof a circular economy (CE) to enhance environmental sustainability. However, to put circularity into practice,companies need to be better guided. Responding to their need, this paper 1) documents research-basedinsights for CE implementation; 2) clarifies key CE concepts; 3) highlights learning of CE research and innovationin various regions; 4) outlines guiding principles for CE implementation; and 5) proposes issues forfuture research to various communities with a cross-disciplinary approach in mind. The adopted method is aliterature review supplemented with stakeholder interviews.

In a transformation to becoming more circular, many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are investigating the potential of transferring product ownership from the user to the provider, thus enabling access-based business models. Such a new model also makes the product life cycle cost borne by the provider, meaning that the OEM gains an interest in reducing the life cycle cost and prolonging the life cycle for its own benefit. In this study, a case OEM is in such a transformation and postpones the end-of-life through refurbishment and remanufacturing. However, to launch the access-based business model, the OEM needs to understand its new cash flows. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to show how an OEM has been supported by a model for calculating the product life cycle costs when transforming to an access-based business model. Through applying transdisciplinary research, a calculation model was developed in close collaboration with an OEM to calculate and visualise the product life cycle costs. The study also shows how the remanufacturing cost can be estimated based on existing repair and maintenance data. Furthermore, the importance of developing decision-making insights to persuade upper management that the new circular practices can provide boosted profitability is highlighted.

Despite the widely recognized potential of product-as-a-service (PaaS) business models to contribute to the circular economy, many industrial case studies have reported that several systemic factors tend to hinder product manufacturers from effectively designing such solutions. More specifically, factors such as linear value chains, organizational structures, and market and financial conditions tend to restrict the freedom of product manufacturers to design circular PaaS solutions effectively. In this article, we take a novel approach to advance the body of knowledge concerning the interactions between policies and circular PaaS designing. We first explore the potential of the existing policy landscape to support designing for a circular economy in the manufacturing industry. The results suggest that the existing policy landscape is primarily focused on regulating product design outcomes and is thus deemed unsuitable for supporting circular PaaS designing. Subsequently, we investigate the literature to uncover how internal and external systemic factors may hinder the implementation of the key facets of circular PaaS designing in the manufacturing industry. Based on these findings, we propose a prospective policy framework that includes a mix of complementary policy interventions that systemically target the identified internal and external factors to support the implementation of the key facets of circular PaaS designing.

This report documents a proof-of-concept (POC) study carried out to assess the feasibility of an experimental procedure to be used in a full-fledged project that aims to improve the understanding of the neurocognitive characteristics of the processes of different domain-specific design for environmental sustainability (DfS) activities performed by designers with different levels of domain knowledge. The neural-imaging technique of electroencephalography (EEG) is used to carry out the data-collection. In brief, the full-fledged project aims to investigate and compare the neural characteristics specific to the processes of designing. The comparison can be between different tasks, for instance, 1) a product DfS task and 2) a product-service system (PSS) DfS task, and between different cohorts of designers, for instance, 1) designers with PSS design knowledge and 2) designers without PSS design knowledge.