Economic analysis of product end-of-life strategies to achieve design for sustainable manufacturing

In terms of sustainable manufacturing, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling of end-of-life products are widely recognized as preferable product end-of-life strategies over direct disposal. Different end-of-life strategies basically, require distinct processes, techniques and management during a product´s end-of-life phase. Consequently, specific and efficient implementation of various appropriate end-of-life strategies of an entire product is the only way to achieve sustainable manufacturing whereby maximum value from end-of-life products can be recovered and, in addition, reducing environmental impacts. Moreover, product design plays the most critical role in achieving sustainability in a product´s life cycle. To this end, this paper intends to systematically incorporate an economic analysis of implementing various end-of-life strategies into product design to assist designers with decision-making. Firstly, in order to understand the implication of various end-of-life strategies from the product architecture perspective, Life Cycle Commonality Metrics (LCCM) has been proposed. Secondly, based on appropriate end-of-life strategies and Life Cycle Commonality Metrics (LCCM), an economic analysis is modeled to maximize the total recovered value from end-of-life products.