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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., Funding Agencies|Swedish Government Innovation Agency (VINNOVA), Formas [2018-01591]; XPRES initiative; Swedish Energy AgencySwedish Energy Agency

This paper evaluates the environmental performance of remanufacturing a toner cartridge and compares it with the production of a new toner cartridge. The comparison was carried out through a life cycle assessment and two impact categories: climate change impact and abiotic depletion. According to the LCA result, remanufacturing of a toner cartridge in Sweden has 86% less environmental impact in comparison to producing a new one. The electricity consumption in remanufacturing processes is the main environmental concern, although the calculations were based on cleaner mix energy in Sweden with low CO2 emission per kWh, in comparison to other countries., Automation in Repair and Remanufacturing (ARR)

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 there manufacturing 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., Funding: Funded by the Swedish Government Innovation Agency (VINNOVA, 2018-01591), Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency., Automation in Repairs and Remanufacturing (ARR)

Product design and development are essential for a circular transition. Circularity decisions, such as those concerning the type of material, assembly method, and expected lifespan, made during the early design stages will significantly influence a product’s quality, cost, esthetics, sustainability, and circularity performance over the product lifecycle. However, circularity is not often considered in the early stages of product design and development. This paper presents the development of the concept circularity evaluation tool (CCET), which aims to support the evaluation of alternative product concepts in terms of their circularity potential in the early stages of product design and development. The CCET was iteratively developed based on an extensive literature review of the success criteria for tool development, guidelines, and existing tools for circular product design and development and strong collaboration with manufacturing companies. The tool was tested and verified at four manufacturing companies in Nordic countries. The tool has been proven useful for evaluating the circularity of products and supportive in the decision-making process in the early stages of product design and development.

To achieve sustainable development goals, it is essential to include the industrial system. There are sufficient numbers of tools and methods for measuring, assessing and improving the quality, productivity and efficiency of production, but the number of tools and methods for environmental initiatives on the shop floor is rather low. Incorporating environmental considerations into production and performance management systems still generally involves a top-down approach aggregated for an entire manufacturing plant. Green lean studies have been attempting to fill this gap to some extent, but the lack of detailed methodologies and practical tools for environmental manufacturing improvement on the shop floor is still evident. This paper reports on the application of four environmental assessment tools commonly used among Swedish manufacturing companies—Green Performance Map (GPM), Environmental Value Stream Mapping (EVSM), Waste Flow Mapping (WFM), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)—to help practitioners and scholars to understand the different features of each tool, so in turn the right tool(s) can be selected according to particular questions and the industrial settings. Because there are some overlap and differences between the tools and a given tool may be more appropriate to a situation depending on the question posed, a combination of tools is suggested to embrace different types of data collection and analysis to include different environmental impacts for better prioritization and decision-making.

The purpose of this article is to empirically investigate the present state of the performance measurement systems (PMS) at 7 sites of 6 different large Swedish manufacturing companies. The methodology has both a bottom-up and a top-down perspective. Important findings are that the PMSs are very similar in how they function but differ a lot in what is measured., QC 20171211, XPRES, Sustainable and Resource Efficienct Business Performance Measurement Systems

QC 20171116, XPRES, INNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing development, Sustainable and Resource Efficienct Business Performance Measurement Systems

Industry is a key player in the transition to a more sustainable society. Nevertheless, even though several efforts have been made in practice and in academia, more research is needed in relation to implementing sustainable solutions. Accordingly, the aim of the paper is to understand how manufacturing organisations can develop their operations to improve their way to respond to and manage change projects driven by environmental requirements. A multiple international case study is conducted, including nine case companies. The paper explores how the key factors for managing environmentally driven change can be integrated in the organisation, from the project – the core process – and the cultural perspective. A model is developed that can be used for operations managers to support their strategic planning of environmental change projects., INNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing development

The essence of industrial waste management is evaluated in term of economy and resource efficiency. With optimal waste management system companies are able to make a correct assessment when balancing the economic benefits and environmental risks. However, the economic and environmental benefits need to be known and understood to allow individuals making correct waste management decisions. In this study the ability of individuals to assess the economic and environmental impact of ten common waste fractions in manufacturing was examined. These results can be used to direct educational efforts to increase industrial waste management efficiency and enhance recyclability., QC 20171116, INNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing development, MEMIMAN - Material Efficiency Management in Manufacturing

There are boundless upcoming factors that influence future of material waste in production. This broad range of factors needs to be scanned, categorized and analyzed in a structured way. This paper by a foresight study, aims to give an insight and increase awareness about external macro-level future trends concerning raw material consumption and waste generation in production. A limited pilot study indicated that technological forecasting and some reaction upon obvious trends are being taken, although in an ad hoc manner and without structured tools. However, political influences, economic visions and social-cultural shifts were seldom or never discussed. External macro trends and tendencies were examined through PEST analysis to identify potentials and opportunities influencing strategic decisions and innovation initiatives. It is vital to understand the whole picture of possible changes and not only considering the technological trends, but also other relevant development areas that might affect production in different ways., QC 20171116, INNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing development, MEMIMAN - Material Efficiency Management in Manufacturing, xpres

INNOFACTURE - innovative manufacturing development

Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Flexible Automation & Intelligent Manufacturing, held May 20-23, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas, and organized by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems, University of Texas at San Antonio; Includes bibliographical references; There are boundless upcoming factors that influence future of material waste in production. This broad range of factors needs to be scanned, categorized and analyzed in a structured way. This paper by a foresight study, aims to give an insight and increase awareness about external macro-level future trends concerning raw material consumption and waste generation in production. A limited pilot study indicated that technological forecasting and some reaction upon obvious trends are being taken, although in an ad hoc manner and without structured tools. However, political influences, economic visions and social-cultural shifts were seldom or never discussed. External macro trends and tendencies were examined through PEST analysis to identify potentials and opportunities influencing strategic decisions and innovation initiatives. It is vital to understand the whole picture of possible changes and not only considering the technological trends, but also other relevant development areas that might affect production in different ways.

• Importance of higher waste segregation for improving material efficiency.• Presentation of barriers towards improved material efficiency in a new categorization.• Material efficiency barriers are mainly internal.• Lack of material efficiency strategy implementation in the manufacturing companies., MEMIMAN, INNOFACTURE

Industry is a key player in the transition to a sustainable society. Still, even if several efforts have been made in practice and academia, more research is addressed in relation to implementing sustainable solutions. In accordance, the aim of the paper is to understand the management of environmentally driven projects in the manufacturing industry. A multiple international case study is conducted, including nine case companies. The study explores how the key factors for managing environmentally driven change relate to the organisational abilities. Apart from defining the supportive key factors, three important links for managing environmentally driven change are identified: how the requirements are introduced, the link between strategic and operational level and how the need for change is transferred to action and implementation. A model is developed that can be used for operations managers to consider the degree of proactivity in strategic planning of environmental change projects., To be submitted