Graphical user interface for assessing sustainability by using fuzzy logic: a case study on hollow fiber membrane module

Abstract

An important consideration during product development is the sustainability level of a product. Thus, several tools and methods have been developed to assess product sustainability. However, most of current tools focus only on the environmental element without considering two important sustainability elements such economic and social elements. Other tools are limited to the cradle-to-gate system boundary, which covers two phases of the product life cycle from raw material extraction to the end of the manufacturing stage. Users need to understand the mathematical calculations and tools needed to achieve this purpose. Hence, this paper developed a comprehensive method for assessing the sustainability of product development considering all sustainability elements from cradle-to-grave. A graphical user interface (GUI) was developed for ease of use from the structured methodology. The developed GUI was embedded with the fuzzy logic calculation under the Matlab GUI platform with codes and callback functions by using fuzzy linguistics. The GUI presented is a user friendly assessment since users no need to understand the mathematical equation embedded. A product was selected as a case study to demonstrate the use of the GUI. The sustainability level of a product can be monitored via the GUI to enable further product sustainability improvement