A stochastic analysis of asynchronous demand in disassembly processes of remanufacturing systems

Disassembly is the most critical stage of remanufacturing activities. The condition of parts disassembled for reuse/remanufacturing display a high variance. Hence demand for different parts found in a core cannot always be satisfied by a single core. At this point the question is whether or not to partially disassemble the second core. In this study, we concentrate on quantifying the potential benefits of this decision in a remanufacturing environment by using a queueing network model with kanban control. The model is solved by an approximate method, and the impact of profitability on partial disassembly decisions is studied by numerical analysis. [Received 18 September 2010; Revised 2 December 2010, 1 April 2011, 27 August 2011; Accepted 10 September 2011]