A Checklist-Based Tool for Evaluating the Reporting Quality of Discrete Event Simulation Models in Manufacturing Life Cycle Assessments

Discrete Event Simulation (DES) has been integrated with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to enable dynamic, time-resolved modelling of environmental impacts in manufacturing systems. This integration adds further complexity to conventional LCA studies, increasing the need for clear and consistent model reporting to ensure model transparency and reproducibility. While standards such as ISO14040 support the assessment of reporting quality for LCAs, to the best of our knowledge, there are no such frameworks for evaluating the reporting quality of DES models designed to be used in combination with LCAs. To address this gap, this work proposes a checklist-based tool to assess the reporting quality of DES models in DES-LCA manufacturing studies. First, a literature review of DES-LCA applications in manufacturing systems was conducted to identify domain-specific concerns and insights. Based on these identified needs, a Checklist-based tool to evaluate the reporting Quality of DES models in manufacturing LCAs (CQDL) was subsequently formulated. The practical relevance of the CQDL is demonstrated by applying it to 11/13 of the reviewed studies, using the degree of checklist fulfillment as the quality indicator. Results show the checklist utility in enhancing reporting consistency across varied DES-LCA applications in manufacturing. Ultimately, this work aims to improve methodological transparency in DES-LCA studies to better compare results across different studies. Download: Download Acrobat PDF file (947KB) Download: Download Acrobat PDF file (732KB)