Remanufacturing: A Key Enabler to Sustainable Product Systems

Nabil Nasr and Michael Thurston

Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY - USA

Abstract
Along with the increase in the standard of living, energy consumption, and the consumption of other non-
renewable material resources have grown to unsustainable levels. Closing the loop on the material flows
associated with product or service delivery to consumers is an important step towards a more sustainable
industrial society. One element of an overall product life-cycle strategy that can aid in achieving this goal is
product remanufacturing. However, the full societal benefits of remanufacturing can not be achieved unless
design for remanufacturing becomes an integral part of the product development process, both at the
product strategy level and the detailed product and manufacturing engineering level.

Keywords
Remanufacturing, Sustainable product systems

1 INTRODUCTION
The products and services available to our 21st century
society allow a standard of living that was unimaginable a
few decades ago. Along with the increase in the standard
of living, energy consumption, and the consumption of
other non-renewable material resources have grown to
unsustainable levels. Meanwhile, the world population
continues to expand, and much of the world’s population
still does not enjoy the same standard of living as western
societies. In addition to the consumption of non-
renewable resources, the disposal of product and
manufacturing wastes and the emissions associated with
burning fossil fuels are causing alarming environmental
degradation.
The World Commission on Environment and Development
(WCED), 1987, defines Sustainable Development as
“development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.” The discussion of sustainability at a
global level has socio-political, and moral and ethical
implications in addition to the economic and
environmental ones. Ehrenfeld [1] states that a change in
the current paradigms of modern life will be required in
order to make significant progress towards a more
sustainable society. One element of this paradigm shift is Figure 1: Resource Flow Models [3]
how we as a society approach industrial development.
Industrial ecology was proposed as a process for 2 IMPROVING PRODUCT SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY
analyzing the impact of industrial development on the Industrial systems deliver products and services in order
environment [2]. Three different types of resource flows to meet consumer demand. Industrial ecology analyzes
for industrial ecology are illustrated in figure 1 (as defined all of the material and energy flows necessary to meet the
by Graedel and Allenby [3]). These resource flows are demand, including the return of waste flows to the
based on observations of the evolution of sustainable environment. Figure 2 illustrates an open loop product
biological systems. The Type I system can be sustained system; products are consumed and then disposed of
when overall consumption is very small relative to the after use. In the open loop system, material resource
resource supply and the capacity of the environment. As usage and waste material outputs are a function primarily
resources become more limited, resource reuse within the of consumer demand. Energy usage, and other system
system becomes necessary and the waste generation emissions are a function of consumer demand, and
rate is reduced. How long the Type II system can be product and process design.
sustained depends upon the consumption rate relative to
the limited resource supply, and the effectiveness of
material reuse within the system. The Type III system is
the sustainable ideal. Consumption is satisfied by 100%
reuse of material resources and there is an effectively
unlimited energy source (such as solar energy). While
true sustainability (as represented in the Type III system)
represents a very challenging goal it is important to
recognize that each step towards asymptotically achieving
this goal can have the effect of extending the time horizon
of our industrial society while simultaneously improving
the quality of life.

15
 Product System In addition to “closing the loop” on product system
material flows, there are other important factors that
Manufacturing Use and should be considered during product development (such
and Assembly Service as energy use and emissions during the use phase). This
paper concentrates on optimizing material flows, and
more specifically on remanufacturing.
Material
Processing
Retirement The material recirculation options shown in figure 3 are
applied at the end of the product life cycle.
Remanufacturing can be defined as:
Raw Material Treatment and · Remanufacturing – is the process of disassembling,
Acquisition Disposal cleaning, inspecting, repairing, replacing, and
reassembling the components of a part or product in

Other Emissions
order to return it to “as-new” condition. The part or
Material Inputs

Waste Material
Energy Inputs

product is then returned to service in a system.

Automobile components such as starters, alternators,

Earth and Ecosystem
Figure 2: Open loop product system
Product developers do not have control over the level of
product demand. However they can impact how
efficiently the product demand is met, with respect to
energy and material use, and waste emissions. The
overall goal of more sustainable product systems can be
translated to specific guidelines during the product
development process. We propose three laws of
sustainable product development:
1. Minimize material and energy resources needed to
satisfy product function and consumer demand
2. Maximize usage of expended resources
3. Minimize or eliminate the adverse impacts of waste
and emissions
“Closing the loop” on the material flow process is one
product development strategy that is consistent with laws
1 and 2. Figure 3 shows a revised product system that
looks like the Type II industrial ecology model. Product or
component reuse, remanufacturing, or recycling provide
for material recirculation loops within the product system.
These material recirculation loops reduce material input
requirements, reduce the overall energy input
requirement, and reduce the product system waste and
emissions per unit of product consumption.
Product System
Manufacturing
and Assembly
Reman
Material
Processing
Recycling
Raw Material
Acquisition
Material Inputs
Outputs
and water pumps are routinely remanufactured at the
end of their useful lives and returned to service.
Remanufacturing is sometimes further defined depending
upon the end use of the remanufactured product or
component:
· Upward remanufacturing – the process of
disassembling, cleaning, inspecting, repairing,
replacing, and reassembling the components of a
part or product in order to return it to as-new
condition and incorporate it into a new, or “next
generation” system. This might require that new
features be built into the product during
remanufacture.
It is important to note that in the US, the remanufacturing
industry was primarily developed not due to environmental
concerns or governmental regulations, but because it was
economically efficient. If product design permits, and
there is an adequate process for return of used products
(reverse logistics chain), there can be a strong business
model in product remanufacturing. This is because the
energy and virgin raw materials used in producing a
remanufactured product are substantially less than that
used in producing a new product.
Remanufacturing is typically a more efficient means of
material recirculation than recycling. Remanufacturing
retains more of the energy associated with the original
conversion of raw materials to finished product. Similarly,
component reuse will typically result in lower overall
material and energy use than component
remanufacturing. However, only components that retain
their value and conformance can be reused without
compromising the durability or reliability of the final
product. In a complex product system, however, all of the
Use and material recirculation options may be used for the various
Service
product components. Today, the material disposition
Reuse decision is driven primarily by economics, and products or
components that do not have effective reverse logistics
Retirement networks, or are designed such that they cannot be
economically remanufactured or recycled are disposed
into the solid waste stream.
Treatment and
Disposal 3 PRODUCT DESIGN FOR REMANUFACTURING
AND SUSTAINABILITY
Other Emissions

Waste Material

Coming back to the problem of sustaining our industrial

Energy Inputs

society, it is clear that the rate of energy and resource

Outputs

consumption (and associated waste generation) in our

developed societies cannot continue indefinitely.
Companies that learn how to develop more sustainable
Earth and Ecosystem products and business models that support them will gain
a significant market advantage.
Figure 2: Closing the loop on material flows The dominant product delivery model today is the discrete
product sales model. Companies produce products which
are sold to customers, are used and serviced, and then

16 P ROCEEDINGS OF LCE2006
retired (through recycling, remanufacturing, or disposal).
In this model, consumers demand new and varied
products, at the lowest possible cost, and it is in the
interests of the producer to produce and sell as many new
products as possible. In many cases, the product
manufacturer has no role in the product life cycle, beyond
the warranty period, after the product is sold to the
customer. In the discrete product sales model, the
producer might not have interest in designing the product
for more efficient remanufacturing or recycling. At the
same time, product use cycles are shrinking due to rapid
technology turn-over (cell phones, computers, etc.), and
products are being developed with higher reliability and
durability: products are reaching the end of use more
rapidly, and with greater residual life. There is great
potential for remanufacturing.
A product delivery model in which the product
manufacturer has a leading role in the entire product life
cycle (design, manufacture, service and support,
retirement and disposal) promotes a greater interest in
more efficient material use and reuse. In this model, the
value associated with the reduced energy and raw
materials use is taken into account. Design for
remanufacturing, reuse, and recycling can provide
quantifiable economic returns to the product
manufacturer, as well as resulting in a more sustainable
product. In this model it may also be beneficial to the
company to lease the product (or product service) to the
end customer in order to maintain control of the residual
value embodied in the asset. Xerox, a manufacturer of
commercial imaging products, has revised their product
design processes as well as their business processes with
a goal of Total Asset Recycle Management with a vision
of “Zero to Landfill” [4, 5]. While focused on minimizing
environmental impact, they have demonstrated the
business value of maintaining responsibility for their
product throughout its entire life-cycle. Some companies
may not be interested, or may not be able to provide the
resources and infrastructure to manage the entire product
life-cycle. However this can also be done through
strategic alliances with third parties that provide for
example service support or reverse logistics service, or
even end-of-life processing. The important issue is that
the life-cycle management issues are considered during
the product development, and that the product is designed
in such a way as to support remanufacturing, reuse,
and/or recycling.
In Europe, the WEEE legislation has made the product
producer responsible for the disposition of certain
products at their end of life, increasing sensitivity to these
issues.
As more companies begin to adopt sustainable product
strategies, technologies and design practices that aid in
sustainable product design (such as Design for
Remanufacturing) will become more important. The
research community has been developing design for
remanufacturing technologies for quite some time [6],
however these tools need to be more widely applied in
industry in order to be refined and proven.
Design for remanufacturing can be considered at two
levels: the product strategy level (which takes into
account sales, marketing, service support, and reverse
logistics concerns), and the detailed product and
manufacturing engineering level. As discussed
previously, the product developer/manufacturer can get
the most benefit from sustainable design practices by
maintaining product responsibility throughout the product
life cycle. In product markets with rapid changes in
technology or customer requirements, a product strategy
13th CIRP I NTERNATIONAL C ONFERENCE ON L IFE C YCLE E NGINEERING
that provides product upgrades through timely
remanufacturing can provide a company a significant
market advantage. This product strategy is consistent
with product leasing (or pay per service) type sales
arrangements.
Generally the discussion of “design for remanufacturing”
technologies focuses on the detailed product design
issues. These issues include:
· Design for disassembly (and separation)
· Design for multiple life-cycles (product reliability,
durability, restoration and cleaning)
· Modular design: functional clusters of components
with similar technical (durability) and market life
(technology change rate)
· Product support for take-back decisions (embedded
condition or usage monitoring)
Design issues that span the higher level categories
defined above include fastener/interface designs and
material selection. During the design process, the end-of-
life option (reuse, remanufacture, recycle, or treat and
dispose) for each module, component, etc. should be
evaluated. This evaluation process includes the following
considerations:
· Value and cost of component
· Technical feasibility of remanufacturing (can the
condition be assessed for reuse, can the component
be extracted without damage, is there a known
process for restoration to like-new)
· Economic feasibility of remanufacturing.
Recoverable value at end-of-life: cost to extract from
product, and cost to convert to like-new condition
· Disposal options and environmental impact or
legislation
The end-of-life assessment should be an iterative (or
synchronous) process with product and manufacturing
system design. Some components may be designated,
by design, for single or multiple reuse, for single or
multiple remanufacturing, for recycling, or for disposal.
Other components that may incur variable levels of
degradation during product use cannot necessarily have a
predetermined end-of-life strategy. These components
must first undergo a condition assessment process to
determine the residual life and value. For these
components, the end-of-life decision criteria should be
spelled out during product development.
4 CONCLUSION
Closing the loop on the material flows associated with
product or service delivery to consumers is an important
step towards a more sustainable industrial society.
Product remanufacturing is one element of an overall
product life-cycle strategy that can aid in achieving this
goal. The full societal benefits of remanufacturing
(reduced energy and material consumption and reduced
wastes) can not be achieved unless design for
remanufacturing becomes an integral part of the product
development process.
Ultimately, the populace in the developed world will
realize that the current rate of consumption of non-
renewable resources cannot be sustained, and
consumption patterns will slowly change. This will result
in market and policy pressure being exerted on
corporations to produce more sustainable products.
Product remanufacturing, being an effective means of
reducing energy and material consumption and reducing
end-of-life product waste, will become the norm for
17
products requiring a large amount of energy for production
or having a large amount of material content. This shift in
the product life-cycle paradigm will present significant
opportunities for new and existing companies.
Companies, such as Xerox, that recognize and prepare
for this inevitable change will be better positioned to take
advantage of these opportunities.

REFERENCES
[1] Ehrenfeld, John R., “Industrial Ecology: A Strategic
Framework for Product Policy and Other Sustainable
Practices,” Second International Conference and
Workshop on Product Oriented Policy, Stockholm,
Sept. 1994.
[2] Jelinski, L.W., and Graedel, T.E., “Industrial Ecology:
Concepts and Approaches,” Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, 89, Feb. 1992, pp.
793-797.
[3] Graedel, T.E., and Allenby, B.R., Industrial Ecology,
Engelwood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall, 1994.
[4] deJong, Ed, et al., “Turning Vision into Reality,” IEEE
International Symposium on Electronics and the
Environment, 1999, p 104-109.
[5] Berko-Boateng, V. (Xerox Corp); Azar, J.; De Jong,
E.; Yander, G.A., “Asset recycle management. A
total approach to product design for the
environment,” IEEE International Symposium on
Electronics and the Environment, 1993, p 19-31.
[6] Bras, Bert, McIntosh, Mark W., “Product, process,
and organizational design for remanufacture - an
overview of research,” Robotics and Computer-
Integrated Robotics and Computer-Integrated
Manufacturing, v 15, n 1, Feb, 1999, p 167-178.

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