A Decision-support Model for Product End-of-life Planning

Abstract

In order to effectively implement closed-loop production, system engineers and managers must know where, how and when to close the resource loops at the product end-of-life (EoL). To enable them to do that, we developed a decision-support model for product EoL planning with an integrated perspective of the entire product life cycle. Underlying this model, a novel technique is employed to break down complex (closed-loop) production systems into smaller and simpler subsystems to be modelled. And through the application of dynamic programming (DP) and Monte Carlo simulation, the model enables robust optimisation of product EoL plans, to close the product life cycle loops in production systems, based on the economic and environmental performance. Case studies of a marine turbocharger and a flat-panel display (FPD) monitor were carried out to validate the applicability and effectiveness of the model for different types of products.