A specific method for the life cycle inventory of machine tools and its demonstration with two manufacturing case studies

Traditionally, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies include four stages to assess the environmental impact of a product or process. These four stages are scope definition, life cycle inventory (LCI), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) and interpretation of results. Data collection for the LCI requires substantial effort and may be considered the most critical phase of a LCA, as poor data availability and inconsistency of data may lead to unrealistic results and conclusions. In machine tools, this inventory definition effort is amplified by the inherent complexity of machine tools and their operational behaviour alternatives. This paper describes a LCI method for machine tools providing a new procedure, which improves the transparency and consistency of LCA data. The method is partially based on the developments and strategies described in the draft standard ISO/DIS 14955-1. In this paper, a detailed description of the new method is presented along with the demonstration of its applicability by its implementation in two different manufacturing cases. One of the cases involves the manufacturing of an aeronautic part, while the other case relates to a part manufactured for the household sector. The environmental impact of these two parts, which are produced by a traditional process and by an alternative process is considered, thus it is demonstrated that LCI method as part of a LCA, can be used as a decision support tool to assess the lifecycle impact of the manufacturing of a product using machine tools