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Despite remanufacturing being a value-retention process capable of bringing both economic and environmental benefits to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the remanufacturing market is small, and the OEM share on the market is even smaller. There are trends in OEMs hesitating to initiate remanufacturing due to the lack of knowledge or often unjustified assumptions about how remanufacturing affects their business-as-usual. To further motivate OEMs to initiate remanufacturing, there is a need to extend the remanufacturing initiation theory to showcase how remanufacturing could be initiated in practice. Therefore, this paper aims to describe a remanufacturing initiation and demonstrate the initiation steps for OEMs by developing a remanufacturing initiation framework. The framework is developed based on a remanufacturing initiation led by an OEM of robotic lawn mowers. Based on the case study, a 5-step approach for initiating remanufacturing (5AFIR) framework—the remanufacturing sapphire—was developed to interpret and visualise the remanufacturing approach taken at the studied OEM. The framework steps consist of the following: (1) Select a product family, (2) involve actors prone to be impacted by remanufacturing, (3) iteratively identify prerequisites and assess the system performance, (4) develop a plan and industrialise remanufacturing, and (5) refine and validate the assessment in Step 3.

Remanufacturing is one of the main practices toward a circular economy and industrial sustainability. Remanufacturing is highly dependent on how circular products are designed and developed. Remanufacturing can also benefit from automation for efficiency, accuracy and flexibility. This paper, via a multiple case study, connects the three areas of remanufacturing, product design and automation and investigates how circular product design can facilitate automation remanufacturing processes. First, circular product design guidelines are discussed with regard to remanufacturing. Second, potential areas for automation at three remanufacturers of electric and electronic equipment are pinpointed. Finally, design guidelines are connected to the identified potential automation areas in each remanufacturing process and discussed together. According to our results, the main incentives for automating remanufacturing processes are mainly related to the work environment, efficiency and quality. In addition, several design guidelines can facilitate automated remanufacturing processes, for instance, the standardization of components, fasteners and remanufacturing tools across different models and brands can also facilitate automated remanufacturing, where products can easily and nondestructively be disassembled by a robot or a machine.

As environmental issues attract more concern, shifting towards sustainable manufacturing that includes remanufacturing has become a strategic solution to enable a profitable business while improving environmental performance. The aim of this paper is to investigate the economic feasibility of remanufacturing at different supply chain locations for a robotic lawn mower manufacturer attempting to expand their business. Through a case study, five potential location categories were identified, of which two were deemed economically feasible: spare parts warehouse (OEM) and decentralized (dealers). The other three alternatives were deemed inferior in comparison, or only plausible, but identified as risky through a sensitivity analysis.

The Swedish strategic innovation programme, Produktion2030, is a national long-term effort towards global industrial competitiveness addressing Swedish industry’s transition towards climate goals of the European Green Deal while simultaneously realising smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 (I4.0). This paper investigated the extent of sustainability implementation and implications of I4.0 technologies through a nation-wide quantitative survey in Produktion2030’s 113 collaborative research projects. The analysis showed that 71% of the assessed projects included environmental aspects, 60% social aspects, and 45% Circular Economy (CE) aspects. Further, 65% of the projects implemented I4.0 technologies to increase overall sustainability. The survey results were compared with literature to understand how I4.0 opportunities helped derive sustainability and CE benefits. This detailed mapping of the results along with eight semi-structured interviews revealed that a majority of the projects implemented I4.0 technologies to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste in operations and incorporate CE practices in business models. The results also showed that Swedish manufacturing is progressing in the right direction of sustainability transition by deriving key resilience capabilities from I4.0-based enablers. Industries should actively adopt these capabilities to address the increasingly challenging and unpredictable sustainability issues arising in the world and for a successful transition towards sustainable manufacturing in a digital future.

An integration of remanufacturing into an original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) value chain can enhance circularity. In order to realize a transition towards circularity, it must be economically beneficial. This paper aims to compare and economically evaluate several remanufacturing scenarios with varied retailer involvement, to identify how an electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) manufacturer can perform remanufacturing profitably. To meet the aim of this paper, data was gathered through more than 50 semi-structured and unstructured interviews, including workshops with a robotic lawn mower manufacturer and eight of its retailers in Sweden, and through a literature review in the fields of remanufacturing, acquisition of cores (used products), and sales of remanufactured products. The scenarios consist of a decentralized, with minor or no involvement of an OEM, and six centralized, where an OEM manages remanufacturing. Here, looking at a case of the centralized scenario, the remanufacturing process is performed at the OEM manufacturing plant in a European low-wage country, while cores are acquired in Sweden. This research concludes that the OEM’s economic benefits are greater in remanufacturing scenarios with low involvement of retailers. However, succeeding with acquisition and sales without retailers requires establishing new retail channels, which also leads to uncertainties.

Data driven organizations such as Amazon and Uber have raised the capabilities and expectations of customers to a new level by providing faster and cheaper products and services. The reviewed literature documented that 10-15% of the online products are returned and in many cases such products are not shelf-ready due to product obsolescence or slight wear and tear, thereby reducing profits. Many of these products are disposed of in landfills. There were very few publications that documented how integration of digitized product life cycle into the business model improves product returns and the remanufacturing processes. As societies continue on, environmentally responsible, digital journeys with connected devices and people, reverse supply chains and remanufacturing will play increased importance in fulfilling customers expanded expectations. The networks are evolving, wherein, data are collected from all phases of the product lifecycles from design, prototype, manufacturing, usage aftermarket, returns remanufacturing and recycling. The objective of this papers authors was to describe how all phases of product life cycles can be digitized to improve global reverse supply chains and remanufacturing. The authors performed a literature review and developed case studies to document current and to predict future transformational waves that will become increasingly used in many industrial sectors. The authors made recommendations about the importance of improved product design, reduced processing costs and increased use of remanufactured products based upon data on returns to manufacturers and service providers. This paper contributes to research by providing a framework of a digitized product life cycle integrated with the business process phases including remanufacturing and supported with real-world case studies for practitioners and academicians. The authors outlined potential future topics for academic researchers and practitioners, for expanding usage of digital tools in real-time predictive analytics to improve remanufacturing systems efficiency and quality. Funding Agencies|The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research [2014/16]

The automotive market is changing. For many years, cars with internal-combustion engines were dominant. Recently, more cars with alternative drive trains have become available, and their market share has increased, a trend that has had an effect on the remanufacturing industry for automotive parts. This paper aims to describe and evaluate the challenges and opportunities in the coming years for the remanufacturing industry as a result of the increasing number and share of electric vehicles. Both theory and empirical data have been used to meet this aim. From theory, the two different drive train concepts of the internal combustion engine and the battery electric vehicle are described, along with the major differences from a remanufacturing standpoint. These differences and effects are described, evaluated, and fully or partly confirmed by industry experts. The results show that future market actors are unset today, less space-consuming machinery parks will be needed, major investments into knowledge and equipment (especially for testing) will be required, and the necessity to handle different kinds of end-of-use/life solutions, especially the recovery for the electric vehicle battery packs, will be a challenge. As future development is still uncertain, the authors recommend that market actors investigate the challenges and opportunities highlighted in this paper and watch future developments carefully. Funding agencies: Open access funding provided by Linköping University. Additional acknowledgement goes to the financing of this research from the “CarE-Service” project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 776851 and the “SE:Kond 2 LIFE” project (2019-04463), funded by the Swedish Governmental Agency.

Remanufacturing is the industrial process of returning used products (cores) to a like-new or better condition. During this industrial process, the cores go through several process steps, e.g., inspection, disassembly, cleaning, reprocess (repairs), storage, reassembly and final testing. Manufacturing companies also see remanufacturing as a way to become more circular and sustainable in economic, environmental and social terms. Technological advancements within the robot industry have increased the possibilities for using more automation within the remanufacturing industry, while recently, the remanufacturing of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) has grown around the world. This paper aims to identify the automation potentials of the remanufacturing of EEE. A multiple case study at four EEE remanufacturing companies was conducted to meet this aim. The case study, along with previous research, shows examples of EEE remanufacturing steps that are mainly performed manually. The results from this research show the possible automation potential for the process steps of cleaning, disassembly and reassembly at the four remanufacturing case companies.

The consumption of resources is at an alarmingly high level, and there is a high need for resource-efficient alternatives to manufacturing. Remanufacturing is one way to reduce the use of both materials and energy, while still providing products with a like-new condition. This paper aims to define critical areas to assess when applying remanufacturing to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The research was conducted by interweaving remanufacturing’s role in a circular economy (CE) with a single case study at a robotic lawn mower OEM. The case study was split into three parts that separately investigated customer demand, product design and economic sustainability, respectively, all in the area of remanufacturing. This paper addressed the research gap in OEM strategy towards a CE with remanufacturing, defining five critical areas to assess when applying remanufacturing to OEMs: customer, product, sustainability (economic, environmental and social), business model, and production system. The findings of the paper could be useful for many OEMs willing to shift to a CE with remanufacturing.

The objective of this paper is to explore what challenges exist when setting requirements for an Integrated Product Service Offering (IPSO). An IPSO, sometimes called Product Service System, is a concept with increased interest from manufacturing companies. It consists of a combination of products and services that, based on a life cycle perspective, have been integrated to fit targeted customer needs. In order to achieve a successful IPSO, it is important to collect aspects from many actors, something which sometimes is challenging for companies moving towards providing IPSOs. The four challenges found when setting requirements in IPSO development are; identification and inclusion of relevant aspects from relevant actors throughout the IPSO’s life cycle, understanding of the underlying aspects for all requirements for all elements of the offering, prioritization of requirements, and the difficulty to track how requirements affect each other between different elements in the IPSO. The methodology used to find these challenges was a combination of a structured literature review and an interview study at three manufacturing companies moving towards providing IPSOs.

A key process in a closed-loop supply chain is managing and challenging the transportation and packaging management. Strict environmental regulations in connection with transport of environmentally hazardous substances (e.g. oil) are offering a high cost-saving potential in connection with an optimised transportation and packaging concept. The aim of this case orientated paper is to provide the framework for the management of reverse flow of materials in automotive industry. The emphasis is placed on the remanufacturing activities. To obtain and verify the necessary information for the above mentioned problems, different methods and techniques have been applied: 1) Relevant, available literature in connection with this matter was studied; 2) Data and documents was requested directly by relevant market actors; 3) The clustered data was analysed and samples were highlighted; and 4) The data was evaluated and recommended courses of action were given. The results show that the main problems appear in the area of forward and reverse logistics: Packaging concepts which do not protect the product in an optimal way (forward / reverse logistics). Moreover, packaging concepts which do not protect the environment against potential negative influence of a used part (reverse logistics) A best practice for the transportation of engine components is given and evaluated: An engine in a metal frame with oil-pan. Securely attached by bolts. Packed in plastic bag.

Remanufacturing is a viable way to prolong the useful life of an end-of-use product or its parts. Despite its economic, environmental, and social benefits, remanufacturing is associated with many challenges related to core (used product or its part) availability, timing and quality. The aim of this paper is to study how lean production could be used to tackle remanufacturing process challenges and contribute to shorter lead times. To meet this aim, we conducted a literature review and case studies of four remanufacturing companies. The case companies remanufacturing challenges were: (1) a lack of material requirements planning system, (2) poor core information, (3) a lack of core material, (4) poor spare parts information, (5) a lack of spare parts material, (6) insufficient quality management practices, (7) large inventories, (8) stochastic remanufacturing processes, (9) a lack of supply-demand balance, and (10) insufficient automation. These challenges contribute to long and variable remanufacturing process lead times. To tackle remanufacturing challenges, seven lean-based improvements with a major effect on improvements in lead time were suggested: standard operations, continuous flow, Kanban, teamwork, employee cross-training, layout for continuous flow, and supplier partnership. Providing that the suggested improvements are implemented, a possible lead time reduction of 83-99 per cent was projected. Funding Agencies|Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems [2013-03333]

Natural resources are being depleted at an alarming rate, also resulting in increased emissions and pollution. The call for a circular economy and sustainable strategies is now louder than ever. Remanufacturing can alleviate our environmental impact while still providing opportunities for profitable business. However, there is a need for a framework detailing the necessary steps for a successful remanufacturing start-up. This paper aims to identify the essential and supportive factors an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) must consider when transitioning part of its business to remanufacturing. Such factors could aid both current actors in the industrial setting as well as make way for further investigations and more advanced frameworks from the scientific field. The task is carried out through a novel combination of prior research on production development and remanufacturing, with support from a case study performed at an electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) manufacturer. This paper concludes that the first essential factors to be addressed when switching orientation towards remanufacturing can be contained in four categories: core acquisition and reverse logistics, labor skill and availability, remanufacturing facilities, and remanufacturing process and technology. Secondary supporting factors include design for remanufacturing and information feedback, remanufacturing process improvements, remanufacturing market knowledge, and organization, planning and control. Funding agencies: case company, Husqvarna AB; VINNOVA Challenge-driven innovation initiativeVinnova; project ElevatoRe: Elevate remanufacturing to EEE manufacturers strategy towards circular economy [2018-00330]

The lack of consumer acceptance of remanufactured products prevents the transition to a circular economy. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of importance of influencing factors to the consumer's purchase intention of a remanufactured robotic lawn mower. The results indicated that the consumer's purchase intention can be measured as a function of attitude, social pressure and the availability of remanufactured products, among which attitude had the highest effect on the purchase intention. The attitude was significantly predicted by the expected product quality, perceived risk and price advantages, among which expected product quality has the highest effect.

When including sustainability aspects in product development challenges may arise. The aim of this paperis to expand current knowledge about challenges faced by manufacturing companies when includi ...

As service renders an increasing share of companies revenues and affects a products environmental performance, the effectiveness of the services carried out is important. The aim of this paper is to analyse the service information transfer in the service development process at two automotive companies in order to explore its inefficiencies, and to promote steps to make it more efficient in the future. The work process during service development was mapped, focusing on the information transfer, including databases utilized and types of instructions produced. The studies show that some information provided to the service designers is insufficiently detailed and some databases are incompatible, causing rework in the service development process. Further, the information provided to service technicians comes in multiple formats, causing inefficiency in the service process, and feedback to the service designers is too time consuming. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Realizing the importance of remanufacturing for sustainable development due to the large scale of the economy and its increasing pressure on the environment, the Chinese government has been strongl ...

This paper explores existing design strategies, guidelines and product features that enable functional recovery operations like repair, refurbishing or remanufacturing. A circular economy demands for products to be kept as valuable as possible for as long as possible. Therefore, recovery operations should be easy to perform in an efficient manner, which is influenced by product design. As a result of the literature review conducted, this paper presents a categorization of functional recovery guidelines for product design and identifies the need to plan for recovery at early design stages.

Automotive remanufacturing companies are nowadays facing a wide range of challenges. Typical challenges from the point of view of suppliers, producers and customers. Several process steps are analysed and problem fields are dissected: From the core management, to disassembly and cleaning to machining and testing. The main fields of challenges analysed in this paper are: the vagueness in respect of fiscal value, environmental regulations and taxation of core parts, the important need for a continuing qualification of staff and engineers, an efficient core management, the adaption of pricing models and the competence to handle the growing variety and complexity. The focus of this analysis lies on activities of the independent after-market (IAM) for remanufactured products.

An increasing number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) are realizing that their products, earlier the foundation of their success, no longer stand alone in satisfying customer requirements. Customers now demand integration of services and bundling as well as increased active participation of OEMs during the use phase. Ericsson, a Swedish multinational OEM of communications technology and services, is an example of such a company. The objective of this paper is to describe, compare and discuss Ericsson's journey from a product provider to a PSS provider, e.g. by comparison with other industry examples. Furthermore, the paper highlights future challenges and opportunities for instance regarding business models, trends and product design.

In order to achieve a sustainable development, circular economy approaches and circular material flows are explored in industry. However, circular information flows remain essentially unestablished. The aim of this paper is to: 1) explore categories and types of product life-cycle information available for remanufacturing; 2) identify constraints for efficient product life-cycle information flow via remanufacturing; and 3) propose initiatives to facilitate product life-cycle information flow via remanufacturing. Data was collected through workshops and interviews at five remanufacturing companies. An accumulated Sankey diagram illustrates product life-cycle information flow, losses and bottleneck. Based on the analysis, possible initiatives to facilitate efficient product life-cycle information flow via remanufacturing are presented. Återprodukt, KEAP2

Context: We describe the new SEPIA (Swedish-ESO PI Instrument for APEX) receiver, which was designed and built by the Group for Advanced Receiver Development (GARD), at Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) in collaboration with ESO. It was installed and commissioned at the APEX telescope during 2015 with an ALMA Band 5 receiver channel and updated with a new frequency channel (ALMA Band 9) in February 2016. Aims: This manuscript aims to provide, for observers who use the SEPIA receiver, a reference in terms of the hardware description, optics and performance as well as the commissioning results. Methods: Out of three available receiver cartridge positions in SEPIA, the two current frequency channels, corresponding to ALMA Band 5, the RF band 158--211 GHz, and Band 9, the RF band 600--722 GHz, provide state-of-the-art dual polarization receivers. The Band 5 frequency channel uses 2SB SIS mixers with an average SSB noise temperature around 45K with IF (intermediate frequency) band 4--8 GHz for each sideband providing total 4x4 GHz IF band. The Band 9 frequency channel uses DSB SIS mixers with a noise temperature of 75--125K with IF band 4--12 GHz for each polarization. Results: Both current SEPIA receiver channels are available to all APEX observers., Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) recovery facilities have been set up for the last decade to promote a circular economy. Their activities focus on the reuse, remanufacturing and/or recycling of products. Currently, little information reaches designers regarding the requirements that these facilities have on product design. Therefore, most products are not designed to be properly recovered. The aim of this paper is to explore the nature of product life-cycle information from recovery organisations that could be shared in order to improve resource efficiency. The focus is on how information exchange can benefit the end-of-life phase of forthcoming designed products. Two levels of information have been identified, macroscopic and microscopic. Our study is illustrated with a detailed analysis of the French WEEE compliance scheme and an in-depth analysis of an IT remanufacturing facility in Sweden. Based on the cases studies we have identified current and potential information flows between different stakeholders that could benefit design for recovery.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how manufacturers can develop automatic end‐of‐life processes facilitated by product design methods, e.g. design for disassembly, recycling and remanufacturing. Also to illustrate this kind of product and end‐of‐life process development while maintaining economic and environmental values. Here, the cases of toner cartridges and liquid crystal displays are the focus.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology for this paper began with a literature study within the fields of design for automatic recycling and remanufacturing. It also includes the research performed at two different industrial companies using automation in their end‐of‐life processes. These companies were visited and interviewed several times, in order to understand their processes and what current problems they have in automation and product design.FindingsDesign implications on the end‐of‐life have been explored, and in particular, three general product trends are in conflict with automatic disassembly: products are getting more complex and more heterogeneous; products are getting sleeker; and products are using more proprietary joints. In addition, the three industrial cases describe different problems in industry and how they can be tackled. Although many manufacturers have adapted the design principles of DFM and DFE, there is still much to improve when it comes to designing for the product's end‐of‐life processes. These kinds of adaptations should increase in importance over time as more and more products and components are remanufactured and/or material recycled. These kinds of adaptations will also encourage an increase of products passing through more resource efficient end‐of‐life options.Practical implicationsManufacturers reading what design problems other companies are experiencing and what solutions can be found would facilitate their own businesses and willingness to start their own and/or improve their existing manufacturing business. This could then be in shape developing products for end‐of‐life processes which also would encourage them to start their own end‐of‐life process facilities.Social implicationsFrom a societal perspective, an increase in remanufactured products being placed on the market can increase the awareness and confidence of the consumers in non‐new products made from non‐virgin materials. This will increase the market for second‐life products and bring about economics of scale, which in turn will alleviate the problem of depletion of resources.Originality/valueMost previous research in this area treats the different end‐of‐life processes separately; material recycling and product remanufacturing are but two examples. However, in this paper the focus is more on the overall view of end‐of‐life processes, along with examples of more specific and detailed end‐of‐life processes, such as disassembly and cleaning.

We present performance of the first ALMA Band 5 production cartridge, covering frequencies from 163 to 211 GHz. Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) Band 5 is a dual polarization, sideband separation (2SB) receiver based on all Niobium (Nb) superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junction mixers, providing 16 GHz of instantaneous RF bandwidth for astronomy observations. The 2SB mixer for each polarization employs a quadrature configuration. The sideband separation occurs at the output of the IF hybrid that has integrated bias-T for biasing the mixers, and is produced using superconducting thin-film technology. Experimental verification of the Band 5 cold cartridge performed together with warm cartridge assembly, confirms that the system noise temperature is below 45 K over most of the RF band, which is less than 5 photon noise (5 hf/k). This is to our knowledge, the best results reported at these frequencies. The measurement of the sideband rejection indicates that the sideband rejection is better than 10 dB over 90% of the observational band.

There has been increased focus on recycling in Sweden during recent years. This focus can be attributed to external environmental factors such as tougher legislation, but also to the potential gains for raw materials suppliers. Recycling centres are important components in the Swedish total recycling system. Recycling centres are manned facilities for waste collection where visitors can bring, sort and discard worn products as well as large-sized, hazardous, and electrical waste. The aim of this paper was to identify and describe the main flows and layout types at Swedish recycling centres. The aim was also to adapt and apply production theory for designing and managing recycling centre operations. More specifically, this means using lean production principles to help develop guidelines for recycling centre design and efficient control. Empirical data for this research was primarily collected through interviews and questionnaires among both visitors and employees at 16 Swedish recycling centres. Furthermore, adapted observation protocols have been used in order to explore visitor activities. There was also close collaboration with a local recycling centre company, which shared their layout experiences with the researchers in this project. The recycling centres studied had a variety of problems such as queues of visitors, overloading of material and improper sorting. The study shows that in order to decrease the problems, the recycling centres should be designed and managed according to lean production principles, i.e. through choosing more suitable layout choices with visible and linear flows, providing better visitor information, and providing suitable technical equipment. Improvements can be achieved through proper planning of the layout and control of the flow of vehicles, with the result of increased efficiency and capacity, shorter visits, and cleaner waste fractions. The benefits of a lean production mindset include increased visitor capacity, waste flexibility, improved sorting quality, shorter time for visits and improved working conditions. Original Publication:Erik Sundin, Mats Björkman, Mats Eklund, Jörgen Eklund and Inga-Lill Engkvist, Improving the layout of recycling centres by use of lean production principles, 2011, WASTE MANAGEMENT, (31), 6, 1121-1132.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2010.12.021Copyright: Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam.http://www.elsevier.com/

We describe the design, performance, and commissioning results for the new ALMA Band 5 receiver channel, 163–211 GHz, which is in the final stage of full deployment and expected to be available for observations in 2018. This manuscript provides the description of the new ALMA Band 5 receiver cartridge and serves as a reference for observers using the ALMA Band 5 receiver for observations. At the time of writing this paper, the ALMA Band 5 Production Consortium consisting of NOVA Instrumentation group, based in Groningen, NL, and GARD in Sweden have produced and delivered to ALMA Observatory over 60 receiver cartridges. All 60 cartridges fulfil the new more stringent specifications for Band 5 and demonstrate excellent noise temperatures, typically below 45 K single sideband (SSB) at 4 K detector physical temperature and below 35 K SSB at 3.5 K (typical for operation at the ALMA Frontend), providing the average sideband rejection better than 15 dB, and the integrated cross-polarization level better than –25 dB. The 70 warm cartridge assemblies, hosting Band 5 local oscillator and DC bias electronics, have been produced and delivered to ALMA by NRAO. The commissioning results confirm the excellent performance of the receivers.

As hardening competition in industry pushes manufacturing companies to deliver increased customervalue, communication with the customer during the use phase becomes paramount. This paperinvestigates whether warranty management could be a strategic tool for improved integrated product/service engineering (IPSE) as a firm moves from component to system solution supplier. The researchmethodology appliedwas amultiple case study, with four suppliers as focal firms, where buyer–supplierrelationships were investigated from a supplier perspective. Results show that advanced warrantymanagement, implemented as a strategic tool, can be a key to efficient IPSE.

For remanufacturing to be successful, there is a need to gain information on future market needs of remanufactured products, and match this to information on the magnitude of return flows. One of the major issues impacting remanufacturing is in the difficulty of obtaining used products (cores) that are suitable for remanufacturing. The timing and quantity of product returns is dependent on the type of product. Factors such as the mean product lifetime, rate of technical innovation, and failure rate of components all influence the return rate of products from end-of-use and end-of-life. The balance between product returns and demand for remanufactured products is a function of many variables, where the rate of technological innovation and the expected life of a product are the major influencing characteristics. The main contribution of this paper is the support that is provided in different supply and demand situations. By using a product life-cycle perspective, the supply and demand situations can be foreseen, and support given regarding possible strategies in these situations. Original Publication: Johan Östlin, Erik Sundin and Mats Björkman, Product Lifecycle Implications for Remanufacturing Strategies, 2009, Journal of Cleaner Production, (17), 11, 999-1009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.02.021 Copyright: Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. http://www.elsevier.com/

In this paper, we report about the development, fabrication, and characterization of a balanced waveguide hot electron bolometer (HEB) receiver for the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope covering the frequency band of 1.25-1.39 THz. The receiver uses a quadrature balanced scheme and two HEB mixers, fabricated from 4- to 5-nm-thick NbN film deposited on crystalline quartz substrate with an MgO buffer layer in between. We employed a novel micromachining method to produce all-metal waveguide parts at submicrometer accuracy (the main-mode waveguide dimensions are 90 times 180 mum ). We present details on the mixer design and measurement results, including receiver noise performance, stability and ldquofirst-lightrdquo at the telescope site. The receiver yields a double-sideband noise temperature averaged over the RF band below 1200 K, and outstanding stability with a spectroscopic Allan time more than 200 s.

Remanufacturing is an industrial process where used products are restored (remanufactured) to useful life. In comparison to manufacturing, remanufacturing has some general characteristics that complicate the supply chain and production system. For example, a company must collect the used products from the customers, and thus the timing and quality of the used products are usually unknown. Remanufacturing companies are dependent on customers to return used products (cores). In this paper, seven different types of closed-loop relationships for gathering cores for remanufacturing have been identified. The relationships identified are ownership-based, service-contract, direct-order, deposit-based, credit-based, buy-back and voluntary-based relationships. Building theory around these different types of relationships, several disadvantages and advantages are described in the paper. By exploring these relationships, a better understanding can be gained about the management of the closed-loop supply chain and remanufacturing. Original Publication:Johan Östlin, Erik Sundin and Mats Björkman, Importance of Closed Loop Supply Chain Relationships for Product Remanufacturing, 2008, International Journal of Production Economics, (115), 2, 336-348.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2008.02.020Copyright: Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam.http://www.elsevier.com/

Aims. In March 2008, the APEX facility instrument was installed on the telescope at the site of Lliano Chajnantor in northern Chile. The main objective of the paper is to introduce the new instrument to the radio astronomical community. It describes the hardware configuration and presents some initial results from the on-sky commissioning. Methods. The heterodyne instrument covers frequencies between 211 GHz and 1390 GHz divided into four bands. The first three bands are sideband-separating mixers operating in a single sideband mode and based on superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) tunnel junctions. The fourth band is a hot-electron bolometer, waveguide balanced mixer. All bands are integrated in a closedcycle temperature-stabilized cryostat and are cooled to 4 K. Results. We present results from noise temperature, sideband separation ratios, beam, and stability measurements performed on the telescope as a part of the receiver technical commissioning. Examples of broad extragalactic lines are also included.

Carbon ber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) is one of the most commonly used materials in the aerospace industry today. CFRP in pre- impregnated form is an anisotropic material whose properties can be controlled to a high level by the designer. Sometimes, these properties make the material hard to predict with regards to how the geometry affects manufacturing aspects. This paper describes eleven design rules originating from different guidelines that describe geometrical design choices and deals with manufacturability problems that are connected to them, why they are connected and how they can be minimized or avoided. Examples of design choices dealt with in the rules include double curvature shapes, assembly of uncured CFRP components and access for non-destructive testing (NDT). To verify the technical content and ensure practicability, the rules were developed by, inter alia, studying literature and performing case studies at SAAB Aerostructures. The research was done through a collaboration between Linköping University and SAAB Aerostructures in a state-funded project. This ensured a balanced approach between academic advancement and usefulness in commercial projects.

With a Product-Service System (PSS), the producer often has control of its products during multiple life-cycles, and thus there are more incentives for design for service and remanufacturing in comparison to traditional sales. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of PSS regarding information feedback transfer in the product life-cycle including remanufacturing. The paper explores two industrial cases where PSS does not yet act as a facilitator for transferring information feedback from remanufacturing to product designers. However, the full potential of PSS is not yet utilized at the companies, and their products are neither designed for PSS nor remanufacturing. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

International audience; WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) recovery facilities have been set up for the last decade to promote a circular economy. Their activities focus on the reuse, remanufacturing and/or recycling of products. Currently, little information reaches designers regarding the requirements that these facilities have on product design. Therefore, most products are not designed to be properly recovered. The aim of this paper is to explore the nature of product life-cycle information from recovery organisations that could be shared in order to improve resource efficiency. The focus is on how information exchange can benefit the end-of-life phase of forthcoming designed products. Two levels of information have been identified, macroscopic and microscopic. Our study is illustrated with a detailed analysis of the French WEEE compliance scheme and an in-depth analysis of an IT remanufacturing facility in Sweden. Based on the cases studies we have identified current and potential information flows between different stakeholders that could benefit design for recovery.

International audience; Product-Service Systems (PSS) were developed as more sustainable alternatives to traditional product sales, especially through better and moreintensive use of materials. Some companies currently use this business model successfully, while others are still in the process of transformingto PSS. The change from providing a product to providing a service has proved to be rather difficult and actual sustainable benefits have beenquestioned.The research described in this paper was part of the ServINNOV project. The initial idea was to find out if, and how, indicators could help inthe move to PSS. Indicators could give a clearer picture of the situation and monitor progress during the transition period. Indicators could alsohelp companies focus on their core activities, and determine whether a PSS offering really helps them to become more sustainable. The studycovers an overall view of sustainable indicators, with a focus on environmental issues.The research for this paper was carried out through both theoretical and empirical studies. Empirical findings were obtained from interviewswith three companies, all of them working with PSS on different levels. The results will guide transition to provide more sustainable PSS

Aims. The new APEX telescope, located on Llano Chajnantor in Northern Chile, will have high resolution spectroscopic instruments covering the wavelength region from 0.20 to 1.30 mm (210-1500 GHz). Methods. In May 2005, the first facility receiver for the band 0.79-1.07 mm (279-381 GHz) was installed together with backends providing down to 60 kHz spectral resolution. This instrument that operates in double sideband mode uses superconducting tunnel junctions (SIS) as mixing elements operating at 4 K to achieve close to quantum-limited noise performances. The receiver is cooled by a closed-cycle cooling machine that allows continuous operation. The receiver design minimizes moving parts and is fully operated by remote to improve its reliability and the ease of use. Results. The double sideband (DSB) receiver temperatures are in the range 50-70 K, which typically results in a DSB system noise temperature of about 100 K in excellent weather conditions and between 100-200 K in good weather conditions.

Functional sales have both economic and environmental benefits—especially when the functional sales contracts are used in connection with product remanufacturing. This paper elucidates these benefits and provides an argument for why products to be used for functional sales should be remanufactured. To achieve an efficient remanufacturing process, the products aimed for remanufacturing should be adapted for the process as much as possible. The analyses of remanufacturing facilities for household appliances and automotive parts revealed that the cleaning and repairing steps are most critical in the remanufacturing process. To facilitate these two steps, the product designers should focus on giving the products the following properties: ease of access, ease of handling, ease of separation and wear resistance.