Life Cycle Management Analysis for Protective Seat Covers

A Life Cycle Management (LCM) model was used to compare two plastic protective seat cover alternatives for a vehicle. Protective seat covers are temporary plastic covers placed over the seats of a vehicle to protect them from soiling during the assembly process. A contoured all-plastic seat cover was compared to a plastic seat cover with elastic. The results indicate that use of the contoured seat cover results in cost savings of $136,000 annually for this particular model year vehicle. In addition, the contoured seat protector contains at least 25 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) content and is recyclable, while the alternative cover contains no PCR and is not recycled. This case study concludes that cost savings can be achieved while increasing the recycled content and recyclability of an item necessary in the production of vehicles. By using the all-plastic seat protector, 90,000 pounds of waste can be diverted from landfills annually. The LCM analysis also provided the information that allowed preparation of an ISO 14000 self-declared environmental claim to (1) make known the environmental advantages of its product, (2) attract new business opportunities, and (3) help its customers achieve their environmental goals while also achieving cost savings.