A Label Correcting Algorithm for Partial Disassembly Sequences in the Production Planning for End-of-Life Products

Abstract

Remanufacturing of used products has become a strategic issue for cost-sensitive businesses. Due to the nature of uncertain supply of end-of-life (EoL) products, the reverse logistic can only be sustainable with a dynamic production planning for disassembly process. This research investigates the sequencing of disassembly operations as a single-period partial disassembly optimization (SPPDO) problem to minimize total disassembly cost. AND/OR graph representation is used to include all disassembly sequences of a returned product. A label correcting algorithm is proposed to find an optimal partial disassembly plan if a specific reusable subpart is retrieved from the original return. Then, a heuristic procedure that utilizes this polynomial-time algorithm is presented to solve the SPPDO problem. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of this solution procedure.