Designing a washing machine for the service economy

Abstract

Product Service Systems (PSSs) are considered to be a promising approach towards a sustainable, resource efficient economy (Tukker, A., 2015) (defined as ‘a mix of tangible products and intangible services designed and combined so that they are jointly capable of fulfilling final customer needs’ (Tukker, A. & Tischner, 2006)), because they make the delivery of satisfaction possible through functions and not necessarily through products, fulfilling needs with less resources and consequently with lower impact. This is especially true when they are specifically designed to provide high quality resource efficient products. Bundles is a Dutch company that is intending to do exactly that, making high quality home appliances accessible through a Use oriented PSS (Tukker, 2003) where they lease washing machines and other home appliances, maintaining the ownership over the washing machine and becoming responsible for all maintenance and repair costs.

Bundles has as a goal the reduction of waste and environmental impact caused by the use and disposal of low-end non efficient machines. They intend to increase the lifetime of their products, submitting them to several use cycles by recovering the appliance, refurbishing it and installing it in a new home. Supported by IoT technologies they currently monitor the use phase (to calculate the monthly fee based on the number of washing cycles) and are now interested in extending the possibilities of these technologies for refurbishment, reuse, and recycling processes. Additionally, with the advantage of maintaining control over the ownership of a great number of appliances, Bundles opens interesting opportunities for material and part recovery. For all of these reasons Bundles is recognized for having a business model that could benefit the circular economy.

In order to fulfill all of the above, Bundles exclusively works with washing machines from German manufacturer Miele due to their high content of recyclable materials, high quality and long lasting characteristics. However, these characteristics of the product represent today, limitations to many of the envisioned processes to achieve having several use cycles. Making processes like refurbishment and part replacement expensive or not possible at all. Because of this it is unclear for Bundles how to deal with the deterioration of the machines after several use cycles and how customers will perceive this deterioration, and although Miele gives their products a life expectancy of approximately 20 years, Bundles only considers the machine to have a life expectancy of approximately 10 years within their business model.

Additionally, Bundles offer is bounded to a machine that is also available for customers to purchase, limiting their competitive advantages over product-based business models. A customer with the stability and economic possibilities of purchasing a Miele washing machine will most likely perceive Bundles’ PSS as expensive in the long term.

Nowadays Bundles and Miele, design and deliver their services/products independently from each other and for different types of business models. This project focuses on finding opportunities to improve the synergy between Miele's product and Bundle's service to enhance the economic, circular and environmental possibilities of the current PSS. In order to do that, this project initiated with a literature and field research with all primary stakeholders, considering them individually and relationships with one another, that delivered insights regarding the current limitations of the components and delivery of the PSSs and potential opportunities for its improvement, within all phases of its life cycle (Pre-use, Use and Post-use). The insights were then translated into values or Focus Areas to guide the ideation and further development of the PSS: Personalization is identified as a relevant value for the Pre-use phase, to increase the perceived value of the user over the PSS and refurbished products and for the Use phase, as an opportunity for the reduction of the environmental impact. Likewise, communication is identified to be a value that can be used to positively influence the user behaviour to reduce the environmental impact of the Use phase (highest among all phases of the lifecycle of a washing machine (Öko-Institut, 2005)), and improve his/ her involvement in maintenance and caring procedures. Lastly, refurbishment is selected as a focus area for the Post-use phase since the improvement of the product in this aspect could not only reduce costs for Bundles but also increase the life expectancy of the product. These values were used as a guideline throughout the ideation process, which delivered a collection of several concepts that were further evaluated together with all main stakeholders, the sinal result of these process delivered a combination of a new concept washing machine and a personalization platform.

The new PSS proposes a washing service that allows users to personalize their washing machines inside and outside. The user can select a color for the front panel of the machine, thanks to the implementation of a replaceable layer and obtains a personalized ‘Washing Package’, which includes: a set of programs, number of washes per month (frequency) and set of tips. All three elements are defined by a system that considers the user’s specific washing needs with information obtained through a digital platform (The Washing Test), and pairs them with identified recommendations for: the reduction of environmental impact of washing, the best care for clothes, and recommendations related to the care and maintenance of the washing machine. The personalization of the Washing Package allows users to take the best care for their clothes without an excessive use of resources (energy and water). The internet module of the washing machine and its sensors allow the monitoring of use and state of the components of the machine. The data collected from the monitoring of use is used by the system to constantly update the Washing Package to adapt it to changes in the user’s needs or identified behaviour that increases the environmental impact. The design of the washing machine, allows it to have several use cycles without losing its aesthetic value, its quality or its resource efficiency. The construction, materials and finishings of the washing machine are proposed for the optimization of refurbishment processes as well as the improvement of access to its components for updates and repairs allowing the machine to increase its life expectancy within the PSS to the originally establishes expectancy of 20 years (defined by Miele).

As a final step of this project the new concept was evaluated first, together with the main stakeholders and then submitted to an assessment to identify its improvements in disassembly and ease of access as well as refurbishment processes and the reduction of the environmental impact in comparison with the current PSS. The new concept appears to have the potential of improving the implementation of the PSS throughout all of the phases of its lifecycle and is assessed positively by the stakeholders specifically considering its potential to reduce refurbishment costs, increase the life expectancy of the product, increase the perceived value of the user over refurbished products and PSSs, and the reduction of the environmental impact of the use phase.

The results of the validation and assessment allowed the identification of information gaps for further research and further development of the concept. These include for example, the development of test settings and prototypes for further proof of concept, a more refined and accurate Life Cycle Assessment to identify further specific points of improvement, further detailing and analysis of the product structure and construction to reduce its material input, and further study and analysis regarding the recovery of the product and the possibilities of the reintroduction of its materials and components in the manufacturing of new washing machines . To conclude, the new concept proposes product service combination which characteristics enhance each others functions and overall envisioned processes towards the reduction of environmental impact and increase of circularity, whilst considering the involvement of Miele and Bundles in a new collaborative relationship for the achievement of all processes and successful implementation of the PSS.