Romana Hussain

An Ontology for Product-Service Systems

Industries are transforming their business strategy from a product-centric to a more service-centric nature by bundling products and services into integrated solutions to enhance the relationship between their customers. Since Product- Service Systems design research is currently at a rudimentary stage, the development of a robust ontology for this area would be helpful. The advantages of a standardized ontology are that it could help researchers and practitioners to communicate their views without ambiguity and thus encourage the conception and implementation of useful methods and tools. In this paper, an initial structure of a PSS ontology from the design perspective is proposed and evaluated.

A framework to inform PSS Conceptual Design by using system-in-use data

Both the Product-Service System (PSS) literature and industry express a need to close the design loop by using product-in-use data to inform PSS Conceptual Design. Nevertheless, how to actually accomplish this is largely unknown. This research makes use of the literature as well as findings from interviews and case studies with industry as the basis for a framework which could utilise system-in-use (rather than just product-in-use) data from in-service records and receiver needs regarding the use of large, capital-intensive, technical assets to generate solutions which could aid the conception of PSS at the Conceptual Design stage.

Industry Practices and Challenges in Using Product in Use Data to Inform PSS Conceptual Design

Both Product-Service System (PSS) literature and industry express a need to close the design loop by feeding productin- use data to conceptual design. Nevertheless, how to actually accomplish this for PSS Conceptual Design is largely absent. This paper uses the literature and findings from interviews with industry as the basis for a system which could utilize product-in-use data from the sensors of large, capital-intensive, technical assets along with in-service records as well as receiver and provider needs to aid the creation of PSS Business Models at the PSS Conceptual Design stage.

Requirements for Computer-Aided Product-Service Systems Modeling and Simulation

The design of product-service systems (PSS) is a co-production process which involves the manufacturer, customer and suppliers as well as any other stakeholders. This multi-organizational, collaborative environment along with the unique tangible and intangible characteristics of PSS demands a novel computer-based design platform. To identify the requirements for modeling and simulating PSS, existing academic software for PSS, namely, Service CAD integrated with a life cycle simulator (ISCL), Service Explorer and the commercially available system modeling software OPCATTM are analyzed using a truck provider PSS problem. These platforms are used to represent PSS, model the factors and simulate the system in order to appreciate and compare the impact of different PSS designs. The evaluation reveals the scope of these platforms and proposes overall requirements for modeling and simulating PSS.

Product-Service Systems Design Using Stakeholders’ Information

Product-Service System (PSS) provides added value to customers through integrated product and service offerings. Currently, the development of PSS solutions is ad hoc and the roles and involvement of stakeholders at the various stages of PSS development have not yet been fully defined. In this paper, we propose a PSS-Design framework and illustrate the involvement of the customer and suppliers along with manufacturers to develop functional and sustained conceptual PSS solutions. An industrial laser system case study is used to explain the stakeholders’ involvement and proposed techniques. The rigorous definition of the involvement of stakeholders fosters co-production and the definition of roles helps to depict how co-creation could occur—this would lead to the development of effective PSS solutions.

IPS2 design process : a comparative study between literature and industrial approaches

Although the merits of Industrial product-service systems (IPS2) have been widely reported in the literature, the methodologies currently used to design IPS2 are not yet mature in either academia or industry. The objective of this paper is to determine the direction of design processes as proposed by academic research compared with those in industry. A comparison of industrial design methodological practices with the literature has revealed that the main commonalities are within the development of the value proposition, capability assessment, and the stakeholders’ engagement, whereas differences are observed in through life performance optimization, repeatability, financial modelling, intangible benefits and end-state visualization.