ABSTRACT
As reverse supply chains grow in importance, products are being increasingly disassembledforrecyclingandremanufacturingattheendoftheirlifecycle.Justasthe assemblylineisconsideredthemostefcientwaytomanufacturelargenumbersof products,thedisassemblylinehasbeensuccessfullyusedinthereversemanufacturingofend-of-lifeproducts.Whileproductsarefrequentlydesignedforeaseof assembly, there is growing need to design new products that are equally efcient at laterbeingdisassembled.Disassemblypossessesconsiderationsthataddtoitsline’s complexitywhencomparedtoanassemblyline,includingtreatmentofhazardous parts,andaused-partdemandthatvariesbetweencomponents.Inthischapter,metricsarepresentedforquantitativelycomparingcompetingnew-productdesignsfor end-of-life disassembly on a reverse-production line. A case study consisting of three designalternatives-eachequallydesirableandefcientintermsofassembly-of anotionalconsumerproductisanalyzedtoillustrateapplicationofthemetrics.
