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Networked RFID Systems in Product Recovery Management

Motivation

The Auto-ID Center's vision is to enable automatic unique identification of an object without manual intervention using RFID, storing all the other information about the object in networked database, and ensuring reliable and timely update of information based on physical operations along the product lifecycle.This approach will have a number of benefits in managing the flow of products and associated information throughout product lifecycle. One of the possible benefits of such Networked RFID system is in enhancing product recovery operations. Product recovery involves collection, sorting and re-processing of returned products to recover value from these products. Product recovery management is gaining a considerable importance due to environmental regulations such as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) in the European Union as well economical benefits brought about by recovering value from returned products.

Product recovery management is characterised by a high level of uncertainty in product returns flow in terms of time, quantity and quality due to the lack of information associated with such products. This is because the amount and complexity in managing item level information is increasing due to very high variants and customised products. Therefore, every single product reaching the product recovery stage is unique in terms of its design, manufacturing, constituent parts and quality. As a result, extensive information about returned products is required during product recovery.

Many companies find that the acquisition of information required to make various decisions during product recovery is problematic. The required data is not available due to the progressive loss of product information throughout its lifecycle as shown in figure 1.

The EPC Network - essentially the Networked RFID approach - developed by the Auto-ID Center can enable a device to scan and identify a product and then, access crucial information about it, such as when and where it was made; where it was shipped from; and how it was handled; used and maintained. This information will enhance the effectiveness of the decisions taken during the product recovery stages.

Research Aim

The aim of this research project is to examine the role of ready availability of product information - as derived from the EPC Network - in product recovery management. The EPC Network can play a crucial role in reducing the time delays in recovering value from the returned products by uniquely identifying a product throughout its lifecycle, monitoring and updating the state of product as it moves along its lifecycle and providing the relevant information in a timely fashion at the end-of-life stage for better management of such products.

This research aims to provide quantitative assessment of the value of information and co-ordination, enabled through the EPC Network, in product recovery management. In this context, we are investigating the role of the EPC Network in:

1. Product Recovery Decisions (whether to reuse, remanufacture, recycle, etc.)
2. Remanufacturing Inventory Management.

EPC Network in Product Recovery Decisions

When a product is returned by its user, there are several ways by which value can be recovered from it - the product can be reused as is, reused after remanufacturing, recycled to recover its material contents, or incinerated for energy recovery. The choice of appropriate product recovery decision greatly depends upon the availability of relevant product information during the decision-making process. In the case of products that are apparently valuable, this information is collected by performing extensive inspection and testing (see figure 2). This information gathering process is labour intensive and time consuming which causes delays in recovering the value from returned products.

The EPC Network can bring two-fold benefits by providing product information in a timely manner:

(a) decision improvements - being able to make informed decisions in a timely manner, and
(b) process improvements - being able to facilitate automation of disassembly processes,

thus improving the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of product recovery operations. Furthermore, improved product recovery operations will result in increased amounts of reuse of products and components in future.

EPC Network in Remanufacturing Inventory Management

Product remanufacturing involves disassembling a returned product to its constituent parts, differentiating between serviceable parts and scrap, and using a combination of serviceable parts and new parts to rebuild the product. An essential operational issue of remanufacturing is inventory management which involves planning of disassemblies (when, what and how much to disassemble). These inventory planning decisions are complicated due to the lack of timely information associated with returned products.

There appears to be a significant potential for the EPC Network to reduce inherent uncertainties in remanufacturing by providing relevant information in a timely fashion. As shown in figure 3 , products can be immediately pre-sorted into different categories based on their preliminary quality information obtained from the EPC Network after check-in. Good quality products are prioritised for testing and remanufacturing. This will reduce time delays in processing the returned products with high economic value leading to higher inventory turns. Moreover, there will be less uncertainty about intrinsic condition of returned products available on the shop floor. Therefore, manager can take better decisions about when to start testing and remanufacturing of returned products without stocking high inventory.

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For further details about this project, please write to Ajith Parlikad at ajith.parlikad@cantab.net