A systematic, on-line, DFE information support system for facilitating DFE implementation in a global corporation

Design For Environment (DFE) is a growing and still evolving field. As a result, DFE information can be expected to expand rapidly and need frequent updates. This raises the question how one might best capture this rapidly evolving information and knowledge, and how it should be made available to DFE stakeholders such as designers, manufacturing engineers, product managers, marketing and environmental staff, as well as other business decision makers. The timely and helpful dissemination of the evolving DFE knowledge in a global company and sharing between customers and suppliers is clearly a critical challenge we face. This paper describes the importance, structure, and development of an on-line DFE information support system for DFE implementation activities, DFE on-line design advice, DFE on-line training, and communications. This proposed system should facilitate DFE implementation in a large corporation with globally dispersed DFE stakeholders, designers, and manufacturing facilities