A big data based cost prediction method for remanufacturing end-of-life products

Remanufacturing is considered as an important industrial process to restore the performance and function of End-of-Life (EOL) products to a like-new state. In order to help enterprises effectively and precisely predict the cost of remanufacturing processes, a remanufacturing cost prediction model based on big data is developed. In this paper, a cost analysis framework is established by applying big data technologies to interpret the obtained data, identify the intricate relationship of obtained sensor data and its corresponding remanufacturing processes and associated costs. Then big data mining and particle swarm optimization Back Propagation (BP) neural network algorithm are utilized to implement the cost prediction. The application of presented model is verified by a case study, and the results demonstrates that the developed model can predict the cost of the remanufacturing accurately allowing early decision making for remanufacturability of the EOL products

Green supply chain quantitative models for sustainable inventory management: A review

[EN] This paper provides a systematic and up-to-date review and classification of 91 studies on quantitative methods of green supply chains for sustainable inventory management. It particularly identifies the main study areas, findings and quantitative models by setting a point for future research opportunities in sustainable inventory management. It seeks to review the quantitative methods that can better contribute to deal with the environmental impact challenge. More specifically, it focuses on different supply chain designs (green supply chain, sustainable supply chain, reverse logistics, closed-loop supply chain) in a broader application context. It also identifies the most important variables and parameters in inventory modelling from a sustainable perspective. The paper also includes a comparative analysis of the different mathematical programming, simulation and statistical models, and their solution approach, with exact methods, simulation, heuristic or meta-heuristic solution algorithms, the last of which indicate the increasing attention paid by researchers in recent years. The main findings recognise mixed integer linear programming models supported by heuristic and metaheuristic algorithms as the most widely used modelling approach. Minimisation of costs and greenhouse gas emissions are the main objectives of the reviewed approaches, while social aspects are hardly addressed. The main contemplated inventory management parameters are holding costs, quantity to order, safety stock and backorders. Demand is the most frequently shared information. Finally, tactical decisions, as opposed to strategical and operational decisions, are the main ones.The research leading to these results received funding from the Grant RTI2018-101344-B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by "ERDF A way of making Europe". It was also funded by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) / Scholarship Program/Doctorado Becas en el Extranjero/2020 72210174.Becerra, P.; Mula, J.; Sanchis, R. (2021). Green supply chain quantitative models for sustainable inventory management: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production. 328:1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129544S11632

A Case-Based Reasoning Method for Remanufacturing Process Planning

Remanufacturing is a practice of growing importance due to its increasing environmental and economic benefits. Process planning plays a critical role in realizing a successful remanufacturing strategy. This paper presents a case-based reasoning method for remanufacturing process planning, which allows a process planner to rapidly retrieve, reuse, revise, and retain the solutions to past process problems. In the proposed method, influence factors including essential characteristics, failure characteristics, and remanufacturing processing characteristics are identified, and the local similarity of influence factors between the new case and the past cases is determined by nearest neighbor matching method, and then the vector of correction factor for local similarity is utilized in the nearest neighbor algorithm to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of case searching. To assess the usefulness and practicality of the proposed method, an illustrative example is given and the results are discussed

A data-driven based decomposition?integration method for remanufacturing cost prediction of end-of-life products

Remanufacturing cost prediction is conducive to visually judging the remanufacturability of end-of-life (EOL) products from economic perspective. However, due to the randomness, non-linearity of remanufacturing cost and the lack of sufficient data samples. The general method for predicting the remanufacturing cost of EOL products is very low precision. To this end, a data-driven based decomposition–integration method is proposed to predict remanufacturing cost of EOL products. The approach is based on historical remanufacturing cost data to build a model for prediction. First of all, the remanufacturing cost of individual EOL product is arranged as a time series in reprocessing order. The Improved Local Mean Decomposition (ILMD) is employed to decompose remanufacturing cost time series data into several components with smooth, periodic fluctuation and use this as input. BP neural network based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO-BP) algorithm is utilized to predict the cost of each component. Finally, the predicted components are added to obtain the final prediction result. To illustrate and verify the feasibility of the proposed method, the remanufacturing cost of DH220 excavator is applied as the sample data, and empirical results show that the proposed model is statistically superior to other benchmark models owing to its high prediction accuracy and less computation time. And proposed method can be utilized as an effective tool to analyze and predict remanufacturing cost of EOL products

Selective disassembly planning considering process capability and component quality utilizing reinforcement learning

Disassembly is a crucial process for achieving circular products, enabling function recovery, material reuse, and recycling. Disassembly planning is complex due to epistemic uncertainty associated with each unique product\u27s conditions, i.e., quality and aleatoric uncertainty about the capabilities of available resources and processes, and the cost benefits of associated operations impede planning. Therefore, the disassembly is intended to result in keeping the maximum value for the disassembled units of the product. In selective disassembly, the specification of the units of the product to be disassembled is acquired, leaving the rest of the product intact. The benefit of selective disassembly is to minimize waste during dismantling and maximize the reuse of the disassembled components for economic and ecological sustainability. The challenges in disassembly sequence planning include product complexity, operational and technological process capabilities, and the lack of information regarding the product architecture. For this complex planning task, limited studies have been performed on incorporating process capabilities with respect to the operations resources for selective disassembly planning. In this paper, an approach for optimal sequence planning of the selective disassembly process is put forward, taking into account multiple constraints, i.e., quality, time, and process capability. The intelligent planning approach takes advantage of a reinforcement learning model to handle the complexity of the planning problem. The approach has been implemented and tested on an industrial reference assembly. The result shows that the complex task of selective disassembly planning can be efficiently performed utilizing the proposed approach

A proposed mathematical model for closed-loop network configuration based on product life cycle

Products may be returned over their life cycle. Industrial experiences show that there are three main return–recovery pairs. Commercial returns are repaired. End-of-use returns often are remanufactured. In addition, end-of-life returns are recycled. However, up to now, no optimization model is proposed for closed-loop configuration based on three return–recovery pairs. The repaired and remanufactured products can be sold in the same or secondary market. In this paper, we design and configure a general closed-loop supply chain network based on product life cycle. The network includes a manufacturer, collection, repair, disassembly, recycling, and disposal sites. The returned products are collected in a collection site. Commercial returns go to a repair site. End-of-use and end-of-life returns are disassembled. Then, end-of-life returns are recycled. The manufacturer uses recycled and end-of-use parts and new parts to manufacture new products. The new parts are purchased from external suppliers. A mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed to configure the network. The objective is to maximize profit by determining quantity of parts and products in the network. We also extend the model for the condition that the remanufactured products are sent to the secondary market. The mathematical models are validated through computational testing and sensitivity analysis

Characterization of bees algorithm into the Mahalanobis-Taguchi system for classification

Mahalanobis-Taguchi System (MTS) is a pattern recognition tool employing Mahalanobis Distance (MD) and Taguchi Robust Engineering philosophy to explore and exploit data in multidimensional systems. In order to improve recognition accuracy of the MTS, features that do not provide useful and beneficial information to the recognition function is removed. A matrix called Orthogonal Array (OA) to search for the useful features is utilized by MTS to accomplished the search. However, the deployment of OA as the feature selection search method is seen as ineffective. The fixed-scheme structure of the OA provides a non-heuristic search nature which leads to suboptimal solution. Therefore, it is the objective of this research to develop an algorithm utilizing Bees Algorithm (BA) to replace the OA. It will act as the alternative feature selection search strategy in order to enhance the search mechanism in a more heuristic manner. To understand the mechanism of the Bees Algorithm, the characteristics of the algorithmic nature of the algorithm is determined. Unlike other research reported in the literature, the proposed characterization framework is similar to Taguchi-sound approach because Larger the Better (LTB) type of signal-to-noise formulation is used as the algorithm’s objective function. The Smallest Position Value (SPV) discretization method is adopted by which the combinations of features are indexed in an enumeration list consisting of all possible feature combinations. The list formed a search landscape for the bee agents in exploring the potential solution. The proposed characterization framework is validated by comparing it against three different case studies, all focused on performance in terms of Signal-to-Noise Ratio gain (SNR gain), classification accuracy and computational speed against the OA. The results from the case studies showed that the characterization of the BA into the MTS framework improved the performance of the MTS particularly on the SNR gain. It recorded more than 50% improvement (on average) and nearly 4% improvement on the classification accuracy (on average) in comparison to the OA. However, the OA on average was found to be 30 times faster than the BA in terms of computational speed. Future research on improving the computational speed aspect of the BA is suggested. This study concludes that the characterization of BA into the MTS optimization methodology effectively improved the performances of the MTS, particularly with respect of the SNR gain performance and the classification accuracy when compared to the OA

A multi-objective facility location model for closed-loop supply chain network under uncertain demand and return

A closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network consists of both forward and reverse supply chains. In this paper, a CLSC network is investigated which includes multiple plants, collection centres, demand markets, and products. To this aim, a mixed-integer linear programming model is proposed that minimizes the total cost. Besides, two test problems are examined. The model is extended to consider environmental factors by weighed sums and ε-constraint methods. In addition, we investigate the impact of demand and return uncertainties on the network configuration by stochastic programming (scenario-based). Computational results show that the model can handle demand and return uncertainties, simultaneously

Enhancing remanufacturing automation using deep learning approach

In recent years, remanufacturing has significant interest from researchers and practitioners to improve efficiency through maximum value recovery of products at end-of-life (EoL). It is a process of returning used products, known as EoL products, to as-new condition with matching or higher warranty than the new products. However, these remanufacturing processes are complex and time-consuming to implement manually, causing reduced productivity and posing dangers to personnel. These challenges require automating the various remanufacturing process stages to achieve higher throughput, reduced lead time, cost and environmental impact while maximising economic gains. Besides, as highlighted by various research groups, there is currently a shortage of adequate remanufacturing-specific technologies to achieve full automation. -- This research explores automating remanufacturing processes to improve competitiveness by analysing and developing deep learning-based models for automating different stages of the remanufacturing processes. Analysing deep learning algorithms represents a viable option to investigate and develop technologies with capabilities to overcome the outlined challenges. Deep learning involves using artificial neural networks to learn high-level abstractions in data. Deep learning (DL) models are inspired by human brains and have produced state-of-the-art results in pattern recognition, object detection and other applications. The research further investigates the empirical data of torque converter components recorded from a remanufacturing facility in Glasgow, UK, using the in-case and cross-case analysis to evaluate the remanufacturing inspection, sorting, and process control applications. -- Nevertheless, the developed algorithm helped capture, pre-process, train, deploy and evaluate the performance of the respective processes. The experimental evaluation of the in-case and cross-case analysis using model prediction accuracy, misclassification rate, and model loss highlights that the developed models achieved a high prediction accuracy of above 99.9% across the sorting, inspection and process control applications. Furthermore, a low model loss between 3x10-3 and 1.3x10-5 was obtained alongside a misclassification rate that lies between 0.01% to 0.08% across the three applications investigated, thereby highlighting the capability of the developed deep learning algorithms to perform the sorting, process control and inspection in remanufacturing. The results demonstrate the viability of adopting deep learning-based algorithms in automating remanufacturing processes, achieving safer and more efficient remanufacturing. -- Finally, this research is unique because it is the first to investigate using deep learning and qualitative torque-converter image data for modelling remanufacturing sorting, inspection and process control applications. It also delivers a custom computational model that has the potential to enhance remanufacturing automation when utilised. The findings and publications also benefit both academics and industrial practitioners. Furthermore, the model is easily adaptable to other remanufacturing applications with minor modifications to enhance process efficiency in today's workplaces.In recent years, remanufacturing has significant interest from researchers and practitioners to improve efficiency through maximum value recovery of products at end-of-life (EoL). It is a process of returning used products, known as EoL products, to as-new condition with matching or higher warranty than the new products. However, these remanufacturing processes are complex and time-consuming to implement manually, causing reduced productivity and posing dangers to personnel. These challenges require automating the various remanufacturing process stages to achieve higher throughput, reduced lead time, cost and environmental impact while maximising economic gains. Besides, as highlighted by various research groups, there is currently a shortage of adequate remanufacturing-specific technologies to achieve full automation. -- This research explores automating remanufacturing processes to improve competitiveness by analysing and developing deep learning-based models for automating different stages of the remanufacturing processes. Analysing deep learning algorithms represents a viable option to investigate and develop technologies with capabilities to overcome the outlined challenges. Deep learning involves using artificial neural networks to learn high-level abstractions in data. Deep learning (DL) models are inspired by human brains and have produced state-of-the-art results in pattern recognition, object detection and other applications. The research further investigates the empirical data of torque converter components recorded from a remanufacturing facility in Glasgow, UK, using the in-case and cross-case analysis to evaluate the remanufacturing inspection, sorting, and process control applications. -- Nevertheless, the developed algorithm helped capture, pre-process, train, deploy and evaluate the performance of the respective processes. The experimental evaluation of the in-case and cross-case analysis using model prediction accuracy, misclassification rate, and model loss highlights that the developed models achieved a high prediction accuracy of above 99.9% across the sorting, inspection and process control applications. Furthermore, a low model loss between 3x10-3 and 1.3x10-5 was obtained alongside a misclassification rate that lies between 0.01% to 0.08% across the three applications investigated, thereby highlighting the capability of the developed deep learning algorithms to perform the sorting, process control and inspection in remanufacturing. The results demonstrate the viability of adopting deep learning-based algorithms in automating remanufacturing processes, achieving safer and more efficient remanufacturing. -- Finally, this research is unique because it is the first to investigate using deep learning and qualitative torque-converter image data for modelling remanufacturing sorting, inspection and process control applications. It also delivers a custom computational model that has the potential to enhance remanufacturing automation when utilised. The findings and publications also benefit both academics and industrial practitioners. Furthermore, the model is easily adaptable to other remanufacturing applications with minor modifications to enhance process efficiency in today's workplaces