Usage mode and effects analysis to support disassembly process planning

The disassembly process is often considerably hampered by the property changes products exhibit at the end of their usage. Consequently, the properties of used products must be considered thoroughly when planning and operating disassembly systems. In order to achieve this, a computer supported method for analysing the effects of changed product properties on the disassembly process was developed. The method aims at predictively determining critical product changes, assessing their effects on resources and employees, disassembly sequences and aimed results of the process, as well as deriving effective ways of reacting in the disassembly process. The method introduced is demonstrated using the example of cathode ray tubes from used TV-sets and computer monitors. Copyright (C) 1998 IFAC.