Date of Award
1996
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering (MSMANFE)
Department
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
First Advisor
Geoffery Boothroyd
Abstract
Government pressure, increased consumer awareness, and decreasing landfill space are affecting manufacturers. As product take-back becomes the norm, manufacturers will need tools to help them deal with end of life products.
Environmental policies are changing. Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and other countries are forming partnership strategies with manufacturers, aiming for resource management and eco-development. "Green" products and product reclamation are important parts of these programs.
Designing for disassembly can be profitable, but needs planning. Tools exist for determining economically optimized and environmentally optimized disassembly sequences for end of life products. However, there is a lack of a system that balances between a financial and environmental optimization. Such a sequence would be useful should government regulations come into existence which would financially penalize manufacturers for the amount of environmental pollutants they release or for companies that want to be environmentally friendly while at the same time fiscally sound.
The goal of the present work was to create an improved disassembly sequence optimization procedure. This new procedure will maximize environmental and financial returns. Suggestions for a factor correlating environmental damage units and monetary units are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Abbott, Andrew, "Design for Disassembly and Environment" (1996). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 773.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/773
Terms of Use
All rights reserved under copyright.