Quantification of End-of-life Product Condition to Support Product Recovery Decision

This paper proposes concept to decide end-of-life (EoL) product recovery option, followed by methods to quantify product condition. A case study is presented using refrigerator crankshaft to illustrate the implication of product condition on product recovery decision making. The product condition comprises wear-out life of the product, change of dimension and cleanliness level. The advantage from the proposed concept is twofold - firstly, knowledge learned and embedded resources from EoL products able to get back to the product life cycle chain as a closed loop and, secondly, the most favourable EoL product recovery option can be made wisely. With thorough understanding of EoL product condition, it enables original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to make quick and informed decision.