It is widely known that the healthcare industry is under pressure. On one side the costs keep increasing while on the other side the push to decrease environmental impact grows (Capolongo et al., 2015). Within this graduation project circular methodologies will be used to make a step in decreasing the environmental impact of the healthcare sector. Findings from report 2.1 from a consortium called DiCE are used intensively. One of the aims for this project is to contribute to this consortium as well. As a case study, the focus product is the electrocardiogram (ECG) lead set. A set of cables that are used to measure heart frequencies. Within the impact of the ECG lead set, the increase in the use of single patient use (SPU) lead sets is a problem. This results in the lead set system having more impact. The solution for this is the multi patient use (MPU) lead sets. But with MPU lead sets other problems pop up. To get more hospitals to switch (back) from SPU Lead sets to MPU lead sets multiple aspects are important. First is cleaning. Interviews, observations and research show that MPU lead sets are harder to clean (Albert et al., 2010). The next aspect is the quality of the MPU lead set. Prolonged use increases the risk of a lower quality lead set. Which could result in needless extra alarms and so in dangerous alarm fatigue for the nurses (Albert et al., 2014). To ensure quality a quality control system on lead sets will need to be implemented. Further important aspects for designing for a MPU lead set in a circular proposition would be the durability of the lead set and the ease of use within a hospital system. The proposed concept tackles these problems in the following way. The lead sets are monthly deep cleaned and checked on quality by a centralized cleaning department. The MPU lead set itself is redesigned to be easier to clean and a special cleaning tool is developed to help with cleaning. Combined this will create a system in which the MPU lead set will be a viable solution for hospitals again.

Softtop surfboards have become very popular over the past decades, especially within surf schools. They are beginner-friendly, and aren’t damaged as easily as traditional fibreglass composite boards. However, the design and materials used in these boards make end-of-life strategies very limiting, resulting in a product that is generating a significant amount of waste. The effective lifetime of these boards is only two years, and most surf schools burn through approximately 70 boards during this period. To turn this linear lifecycle around, this thesis proposes Tides: a product-service system for softtop surfboards. It consists of redesigning the current softtop construction and a service system through which the boards can be accessed within a circular business model.

Through co-creation with different Dutch surf schools, a subscription-based service model is developed. It takes ownership over the boards away from users, and provides them with the guarantee of always having quality softtops. The system makes use of the seasonality in surfing, in which the low season is used to take the boards back and restore them professionally. After materials have gone through multiple iterations of reuse, the boards go into a second lifecycle by leasing them to individual surfers. These use the boards on a less intensive scale and demand less quality.

Restoring the boards is done through three different recovery strategies, which are a result of a thorough analysis of the failing mechanisms of current softtops. Each strategy has its own touchpoints within the lifecycle of the boards. The first one, Repair, is used to temporarily fix boards untill the end of the high-season. The second one, Repair+, is done periodically at the end of the season. Finally, Refurbishing is done when the boards can’t be repaired anymore without seriously hurting performance.
The Repair strategy was developed into a technical proof of concept, as this is the first step towards realising a viable circular business model. The patches were prototyped, tested on waterproofness, and evaluated on user-friendliness with surf schools.

The recovery strategies resulted in a new construction design concept. The construction allows for easier implementation of the three recovery strategies, and introduces a few new features to improve the durability of the boards. This concept will be developed further in the future of this project, and its viability in the product-service system will be evaluated with surf schools.

This project aims to develop an easy-to-use method to (re)design products for ease of disassembly and subsequently for circular strategies, such as repair, refurbish, remanufacture, etc. Improving repairability is one of the first steps in decreasing the environmental impact of products by prolonging their technical lifespan. This thesis focuses on two separate tools that have the potential to be integrated: the Hotspot Mapping tool and the Disassembly Map. Both tools assess a product by disassembling it into its core parts and recording the properties of the parts and the disassembly steps (Fazio & et al., 2021; Flipsen et al., 2020).
The Hotspot Mapping tool highlights parts and disassembly activities that are important due to their failure rate, functionality, disassembly effort, and environmental and economic impact. On the other hand, the Disassembly Map uses these highlighted features to create a visual representation of the product architecture. Since the inputs for both tools are similar, it raises the question of whether it is possible to link them together.
The tools are analysed by literature review and usability questionnaires, resulting in a usability score of the original tool and strengths and weaknesses in terms of features and usability. Through an iterative approach, a new tool is developed, that uses a node/edge lists data structure to describe the product architecture of a product. This data-structure allows for the automatic generation of a dynamic Disassembly Map (Figure 1) in the visualisation software program yEd Graph Editor. The dynamic Disassembly Map allows designers to select which properties to display and which to hide, enabling focused attention and a better overview.
Through user testing the new method has been proven to offer increased usability, requiring less time to fill in, and an overall preference by all usability test participants over the original Hotspot Mapping and Disassembly Map tools.

This thesis explores user motivation and barriers in returning Bosch drills from the DIY Tools range, with the goal of proposing an effective return service. Stakeholder analysis, literature review, and customer research were conducted to inform the design process. The objective of this research was to identify key factors influencing the development of the return service. Stakeholder analysis and meetings with the company provided insights into major stakeholders, including the company, legal regulations, customers, and the environment. A literature review revealed pain points in reverse logistics and guided the selection of a behavioral model. Extensive customer research was conducted to understand the customer perspective on EOU reverse logistics. Design guidelines were formulated based on these findings. The stakeholder analysis emphasized the importance of satisfying all major stakeholders for the success of the return service. The literature review identified pain points in reverse logistics and highlighted the significance of incorporating behavioral change elements. Customer research underscored the pivotal role of customers in the success of the return service. Based on these findings, design guidelines were established, such as designing a comprehensive solution that integrates data from various consumption stages, utilizing the same data carrier as a touchpoint, and simplifying the return process while enhancing customer motivation. Motivational elements, particularly emphasizing the sustainability aspect, were identified to encourage customers to choose the return service. The research led to the development of the QR code solution, an integral approach that offers easy accessibility for customers, incorporates multiple customer stages, and collects usage data for reverse logistics purposes. This solution not only benefits customers but also has the potential to streamline post-return processing. Additionally, the proposed return service aligns with potential future legal requirements regarding the digital product passport. This thesis provides valuable insights into user motivation and barriers to returning Bosch drills, resulting in a suggested return service. The research findings inform design guidelines for creating an effective and usercentric return process, ensuring stakeholder satisfaction and promoting sustainability in reverse logistics. The proposed QR code solution offers an accessible and data-driven approach, while also preparing for potential future regulatory requirements.

The building and civil engineering sector is the most polluting sector in the Netherlands. Therefore, there is an increasing need for circular and sustainable products and processes. High demand for raw materials and high environmental pressure of this sector could be reduced by implementing the Circular Economy (CE) principles in the public procurement, which is called circular public procurement (CPP). There are different ways to circular public procurement (CPP), among which is the implementation of new business concepts such as Product-Service System (PSS). An example of a business concept that is relatively new in the Dutch infrastructure sector, is the concept of infrastructure-as-a-service, which is a type of PSS. Even though some of CE principles are incorporated in PSS, PSS does not always lead to higher circularity or environmental improvements. Therefore, in this study, the following research question is answered: Does PSS lead to a higher circularity and lower environmental pressure when implemented in the municipal procuring process of a slow traffic road? The research question was answered by performing semi-structured interviews with the experts from the field, by providing the first comparative LCA of a traditional road and its product-service alternatives, and by calculating and comparing the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) of each alternative.

The scope of this study considers the upper layer of the road and the following life cycle stages: extraction of raw materials, transport of raw materials, production and transport of road components, use, maintenance, replacement, transport of waste and other released material, recycling and waste treatment. The function studied was the availability of 11,200 m2 of paving brick slow traffic road surface for 40 years’.

Based on the set scenarios, the LCA results showed that product-service alternatives do have significant environmental benefits over the reference system. The product-service scenarios were based on the two environmental strategies that were mentioned in both the interviews and in literature: i) extending the useful lifetime of the product and ii) reducing waste and optimizing end-of-life treatment. Relative to the baseline scenario, the biggest environmental gains and the biggest increase in circularity can be achieved when the currently downcycled material is reused or repurposed instead of recycled. By reusing all residual paving material at the end of its use, the CO2-eq emissions can be reduced by 77%, and circularity can be increased by 8%. The other two assessed improvements of the use and end-of-life phase were the reduction of breaking percentage and the increased utility of concrete components through a material passport. The last initiative led to 3% higher circularity but it did not lead to significant environmental improvements while the reduction of breaking percentage did lead to improved environmental impacts but it did not lead to a change in circularity. When combining all three initiatives, which was done in the product-service++ scenario, CO2-eq emissions can be reduced by 95%, freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity by 98% and stratospheric ozone depletion by 90%, relative to the baseline scenario. In addition, this study identifies the supply of road components that includes extraction of raw materials, production and transport as the hotspot of each alternative, which indicates the importance of material reuse. Furthermore, over the whole life cycle of each alternative, electricity was identified as the biggest contributor to the characterization results due to the high share of fossil fuels in its generation.

Even though the possible product-service scenarios lead to improved environmental performance and circularity, the results from the interviews indicated that the concept of infrastructure-as-a-service is still in its infancy and that several issues need to be addressed before it can be implemented on a large scale. The issues that need to be addressed are the separation of economic and legal ownership by law, additional burden in contract management and contractual risk inclusion. Furthermore, the concept of infrastructure-as-a-service seemed to fit more to infrastructural objects that are located in the countryside because an object in the countryside has less direct connections to other infrastructure meaning the influences from the surroundings are minimized, which poses less risk to the provision of the functional unit. Before the above-mentioned issues are solved, infrastructure-as-a-service is not recommendable. Instead, municipalities as the owner of an infrastructure should take their responsibility to properly reuse paving material.

Bundles is a Dutch startup that is working on developing circular propositions by offering products on a subscription model. Bundles already offer high-quality Miele washing machines on a “pay per wash” model to consumers. However, high lifecycle costs hinder the competitiveness of the business. This high cost is a result of the product (washing machine) and service (subscription model) not being developed in tandem with each other. The current washing machine is not designed for the Circular Economy (CE) and not designed for multiple use cycles.
CE, Digital Technologies and Product Service Systems Different academics point out that digital technologies create opportunities for circular propositions (e.g., Ellen MacArthur Foundation,2016; Pagoropoulos et al., 2017; Bressanelli et al., 2018). The connection of products through the internet enables them to sense their own and their environments status, process this information and interact with their users. These capabilities help service providers to extend the useful life of products, maximise the utilisation of products, loop products through additional use cycles, regenerate natural capital from their products, and make sure these products are used efficiently. Bundles currently, uses a smart plug to connect their devices to the internet which generates little insights for users and the service. Washing machines that last forever Through the knowledge of the condition and status of a WM, PSS can increase the useful service life of the WM eternally by enabling lifetime extending strategies like maintenance, service, refurbishing and remanufacturing . With washing machines, proactive service and maintenance is important for the service life of a washing machine. Users are critical stakeholder in enabling proper maintenance and service as if they do not participate in the service and maintenance process, the actions do not succeed. Fogg (2009) describes in his behavior change model three elements needed for a behavior to occur – Motivation, Ability, and Trigger. If a person has high motivation to do an action and the ability to do it and triggered in the right way, the action will occur.

Design Solution
The result of this design project is a User Interface framework for enabling easy and efficient maintenance and service of the WM. The concept looks at the different faults and maintenance actions for a washing machine and describes three different states of a WM.
Green State – the Most desired state where the machine is functioning perfectly and does not require any user action
Yellow State – A state where the functionality is intact but the machine requires maintenance action to be done
Red State – A state when the functionality is seized due to a fault and requires a service action to fix it.
The concept also looks at the transitions between the different states and what causes them and what action is needed to bring the machine to the green state. On the basis of the different actions, and a behavior change model that is aimed at motivating users and giving them the ability to carry out the maintenance and service actions, a UI concept is generated. This concept brings together Digital Technologies enabling circularity in a PSS.