Towards Implementation of DfRem into the Product Development Process

Design for Remanufacturing (DfRem) is one of the key issues for companies which are engaging in or planning to go into remanufacturing. Successful integration of DfRem within the existing product development process requires not only the availability of appropriate design tools, but also the various forms of support within the business operations. However, thus far, there has not been any research that addresses the perspective of both. Therefore, a holistic approach, covering both the strategic level (what to do) and the tactical level (how to do), is presented in this paper to assist decision makers to take timely strategic actions as well as to select the appropriate DfRem tools, so as to promote effective and efficient remanufacturing implementation throughout product development stages. The strategic actions, such as cross functional communications, management support, and the DfRem tools, including platform design, DfRem checklist etc., are reviewed and classified according to the stages of the product development process where they can have the maximum impact on, so as to provide an orderly integrative process.