Overcoming barriers to the deployment of design for environment tools: the EcoBoardTM experience

While there is considerable interest in adopting Design for Environment (DFE) practices in industry, the progress in using computer-based DFE tools has been slow at best. In this paper, we explore the reasons for this based on our experience with deploying EcoBoard^TM a DFE software package that facilitates the design of Printed Wiring Boards (PWB) and PWB assemblies that have minimal adverse environmental effects. The barriers to the deployment of DFE tools span a range of organizational, technical, and data issues. A number of these barriers were identified early in EcoBoard^TM development, through market surveys and interviews with PWB designers and environmental experts. We designed EcoBoard to work around these barriers and we discuss the critical software design features