Lifecycle-first design

Most products today are designed around the assembly line and the first sale, with planned or at least accepted obsolescence built in. An example most of us recognise is the modern smart TV: over a few years it gets slower and slower to start up and load apps. The display panel and core hardware might have a physical life of ten years or more, but software support, apps and connectivity often become obsolete much sooner. That’s partly because manufacturers drop support after a short window and partly because the electronics are specified to be “just good enough for now” with no real headroom, so as apps and services update, the TV grinds to a halt long before the screen wears out. It’s hard to argue that’s a sustainable way to design products.

Lifecycle‑first design means that servicing, repair, upgrades and end‑of‑life are core design requirements, not afterthoughts. The primary aim is to design machines that can be kept economically productive for as long as the core structure and components have life left in them.

That means making it easy to repair and service from the outset, using components and layouts that can be diagnosed and replaced quickly, and avoiding sealed‑for‑life assemblies wherever practical. The aim is to cut whole‑life cost and downtime, not just tailpipe emissions. Sustainable design means accounting for the whole lifecycle – from materials and manufacturing to upgrades and end‑of‑life – and backing that up in how you actually engineer the product, not relying on built‑in obsolescence to drive the next sale.

We’re also moving away from traditional hard‑to‑manage hydraulic systems wherever it makes sense, and towards more efficient, controllable electric actuation. By using electric linear actuators instead of conventional hydraulic cylinders in key areas, we can reduce energy losses, remove the need for large volumes of hydraulic oil, and simplify maintenance routines.

End‑of‑life is part of the brief from day one. We’re thinking about how major sub‑assemblies can be remanufactured, upgraded or recycled, and how materials and fasteners can support that, rather than locking value into a machine that has to be scrapped. Take the steelwork: a well‑designed chassis and boom can have thirty years of useful life, so instead of throwing that away we want to bring machines back to the factory, disassemble them and give them a completely new lease of life with upgraded systems built onto the same core structure.