Identifying end of life strategies applied to product-service systems in order to enable circular economy solutions in the medical equipment field

• Grant number: 17/24718-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2018
• End date: March 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Production Engineering - Product Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Janaina Mascarenhas Hornos da Costa
• Grantee: Letíccia Giovana Damha
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The emergence of Product-Service Systems (PSS) stems from a scenario in which new demands must be reached in order to meet the market's and susteinability's requierments. In this context, the linear economy becomes obsolete and opens space for the Circular Economy, whose central idea is to keep resources within the economic system for as long as possible. Jointly with Circular Economy, PSS owns the necessary tributes to generate incentives against linearity, once it offers solutions to the customer demands instead of selling the property of items singly. Thus, the PSS provider has interest in maximizing product's life, which he owns during all it's performance. In order to extend useful life, End of Life Strategies are needed to enable continuous use cicles and to delay the irreversible obsolescence of the product. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify EOL Strategies that can be applied specifically on medical equipment area. This field was chosen for presenting high diary amounts of waste and also a substantial growth pattern, revealing a soaring potential related to circular solutions progress. In order to achieve this study's goal, a Systematic Literature Review will be made, followed by a Content Analysis. These will allow identifying which EOL Strategies are used the most in the medical field and what are the advantages of adopting each of them. (AU)