Design for remanufacture: organisational factors influencing successful integration into the design process

Remanufacturing, the process of returning a used product to a like-new condition with a warranty to match, is widely recognised as an environmentally preferable end of life strategy for many products, being both an energy and material saving solution. How the product was designed can have a significant effect on how easily it may be remanufactured, and it is from this understanding that the concept of ‘design for remanufacture’ (DfRem) has emerged. The aim of this research is gain an understanding of the organisational factors that enable the successful integration of DfRem considerations into a company design process, through a series of case studies in the mechanical/ electromechanical sector. This paper presents the findings from case studies of two companies currently remanufacturing their products- one that is involved in DfRem, one that is not. A comparison of the two case studies has revealed that factors such as customer demand, remanufacturer communication and business priorities may have a significant effect on DfRem integration.