Article ID: | iaor20043530 |
Country: | United States |
Volume: | 12 |
Issue: | 3 |
Start Page Number: | 320 |
End Page Number: | 335 |
Publication Date: | Sep 2003 |
Journal: | Production and Operations Management |
Authors: | Guide V. Daniel R., Souza Gilvan C., Ketzenberg Michael E. |
Keywords: | queues: applications, simulation: applications |
In this paper we consider the problem of designing a mixed assembly–disassembly line for remanufacturing. That is, parts from the disassembly and repair of used products can be used to build “new” products. This is a problem common to many OEM remanufacturers, such as Xerox or Kodak. We study two main configurations, under the assumption that the disassembly sequence is exactly the reverse of the assembly sequence. Under a parallel configuration, there exist two separate dedicated lines, one for assembly and one for disassembly, which are decoupled by buffers – from both disassembly operations, which have preference, as well as parts from an outside, perfectly reliable supplier. Under a mixed configuration, the same station is used for both disassembly and assembly of a specific part. The problem is studied using