Remanufacturing is the process of returning used products (or core) to a condition like that of
a new product with a matching warranty. Remanufacturing is the most effective process among
other recovery options because it can bring cost-effective benefitsfor companies with a positive
impact environment. Decision-making in the remanufacturing industry is more complicated
than in conventional manufacturing due to uncertainties in design cost estimation, product
quality issues, and the return time of used components. Estimating cost has become a
significant business driver in many industries. It is the key to the success of all strategic
decisions that allow a company to remain competitive globally. However, there needs to be
more research on cost estimations and quality issues of multiple radar system product
remanufacturing tasks, which are under-studied factors. A cost estimation decision made at one
remanufacturing activity would significantly impact the decisions made in subsequent
activities, which will affect remanufacturing outcomes.
Customer satisfaction is critical for the success of any organisation. This research aims to
identify the root cause of the issue and implement a solution to prevent its recurrence using the
Lean Eight Disciplines methodology. This includes (1) a 5 Whys analysis by a cross-functional
team, (2) confirmation of the problem description, (3) containment actions, (4) root cause
analysis of the occurrence, (5) permanent corrective actions, (6) implementation of the
permanent corrective action, (7) actions to prevent a recurrence, and (8) closure with an 8D
report and congratulations to the cross-functional team template for the design, engineering,
and supplier production sites. Therefore, this study developed a systematic and holistic way of
producing radar system design costing strategies for maritime products with improved quality
for remanufacturing value-added benefits for the organisation and a longer life cycle of
remanufactured units.
This research studied radar systems remanufacturing suppliers’ cost estimation issues using the
costing requirement questionnaire and benchmarking analysis of manufacturing processes to
develop a parametric cost trade-off tool for the remanufacturing activities. The research used
case studies to present the development and implementation of the Eight Disciplines (8D)
investigation tool for addressing product design and development issues for remanufacturing.
The novelty in case studies is the development of an 8D analytics template for product
managers and practitioners in the remanufacturing and production companies to improve the
quality and reliability of the radar systems. This study used mathematical costing modelling to
enhance the ability to research various cost estimation models. This leads to higher quality cost
estimation using a comparison between an analogy, parametric, and detailed cost drivers of the
radar systems, which is the research output. This thesis introduces the 8D Template, a tailored
8D problem-solving framework integrated with 5 Whys specifically for maritime radar
systems. By applying this framework across four case studies, the research achieved a
substantial £603,198 reduction in warranty costs. Additionally, analysing radar design
configurations and life cycle costs led to a high-level breakdown structure, revealing cost tradeoffs and enabling an estimated 15% reduction in Non-Recurring Costs (NRC) and 12% in Unit
Through-life Costs (UTC). Establishing a design costing knowledge hub facilitated accurate
cost estimates through identified parametric equations, while targeted design improvements on
high-failure components further reinforced cost and quality efficiencies.
The remanufacturing of radar systems for the maritime sector has garnered increasing interest
in recent years due to the need to address the end-of-life stages for high-value products. This
study reviewed design costing frameworks, cost trade-off techniques, and cost estimation
methods which can be used in the maritime sector to develop cost estimation tools for radar
systems. This study used benchmarking analysis of maritime best practices to identify how product life cycle costing solutions can be used to reduce design, operational, remanufacturing,
and production costs to improve profit, minimise downtime of radar systems and maximise the
reliability of the radar system components. This research finding will help remanufacturers in
the maritime sector to find new growth and business opportunities by increasing the cost and
improving quality using templates to resolve design or product issues, such as gearbox triple
seal, pulley and improved photodiode for remanufacturing units.
| Date of Award | 4 Jun 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Supervisor | Winifred Ijomah (Supervisor) & James Windmill (Supervisor) |
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