A model of the operations concerned in remanufacture

Abstract

Remanufacturing is a process of bringing used products (known as ‘cores’) to ‘like-new’ functional state by rebuilding and replacing their component parts. Remanufacture has long been used in many industries for high-capital-cost equipment, but it represents a new kind of business process for companies in other industries that, for a mixture of cost, regulatory, and environmental reasons, wish to adapt to this mode of operation. The primary objective of this research was to develop a model of the business processes used in remanufacture. The methodology used included a review of candidate modelling techniques, case-study work with companies, and evaluation work with a panel of experts based on the necessary properties of relevant research. The outcome of the research was a model that has been validated in the electromechanical industry. The paper presents several diagrams to illustrate the structure of the model and concludes with some proposals for further work to build upon this understanding of this key business process for sustainability.

Keywords:

• Remanufacture
• Business process
• IDEF0
• Electromechanical industry

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Chris McMahon and Mark Errington for their help and advice in the preparation of this paper.