ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

"ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY –

A DISCUSSION "

1
Yogesh Mishra
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Poornima College of Engineering, Jaipur (Raj.)
Email: - yogesh.mishra@poornima.org

2
Piyush Tiwari
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Poornima College of Engineering, Jaipur (Raj.)
Email:- piyushpce053me@poornima.org

3
Ayush Arora
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Poornima College of Engineering, Jaipur (Raj.)
Email:- Sabyarora39@gmail.com

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Abstract
A dramatic reduction in the environmental impact of production practices can arguably be made by pursuing product
remanufacture in which, in contrast to material recycling, the geometrical form of the product is retained and its
associated economical and environmental value preserved. In order to support the design of re-manufacturable
products, it is necessary to identify and rank the various factors that affect and/or characterize a product’s re-
manufacturability. In this paper, results from survey among independent automotive remanufacturers are presented,
highlighting what a segment of the remanufacturing industry perceives as critical issues, as well as their relative
importance. The survey contained open-ended questions and its results provide insight in key concerns of a set of
remanufacturers. The results of the survey clearly indicate that the remanufacturing industry is struggling to keep up
with modern production practices from Original Equipment Manufacturers. It was also clear that a number of issues
dominate, but that the relative importance can vary among remanufacturers, especially with respect to design and
process issues.
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Key words
Remanufacturing, Quality control.
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INTRODUCTION:-
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:- “Take-Back” Legislation or “closed loop economy
As manufacturers become more and more laws”, which would require manufacturers to reclaim
environmentally conscious, they tend to investigate their product at the end of its lifecycle and recycle a
various means of producing their products in such a certain percentage of it (see, e.g., (Congress, 1992,
manner as to reduce environmental harm, while Fiksel, 1996)). Product reuse, as opposed to material
simultaneously keeping their costs down. Many recycling, would seem to be the more profitable
manufacturers with international markets are means of product disposition, both ecologically and
particularly concerned with proposed European economically, as the reprocessing and manufacturing

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 ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

expenditures (time, energy, cost, etc...) are avoided

(Amezquita, et al., 1995a, Berko-Boateng, et al., REMANUFACTURABILITY:-
1993, Haynsworth and Lyons, 1987, Navin-Chandra, Some of the most notable work in remanufacturing
1993). Remanufacturing is defined as the practice of was performed primarily by Robert L. (Kutta and L.,
disassembling, cleaning, refurbishing, replacing parts 1978, L., 1983, Lund, 1984, Lund, et al., 1980, L. and
(as necessary) and reassembling a product in such a Denney, 1977, Lund and Skeels, 1983a, Lund and
manner that the part is at least as good as, or better Skeels, 1983b) who performed a survey in the early
than, new. By remanufacturing a product, the product eighties among remanufacturers. In 1978, Kutta and
may be returned to service with a reasonably high Lund documented this survey capturing some of the
degree of confidence that it will endure (at least) issues important to remanufacturers (Kutta and Lund,
another full life-cycle. The largest gain in enhancing 1978). However, we discovered in our interviews with
reusability and re-manufacturability can be made in remanufacturers that many changes have occurred in
design (Congress, 1992). In order to assist the the industry since then (e.g., the restructuring of
product designer to develop parts which can be automotive companies into platforms and the trend
remanufactured at the end of their first life-cycle, a towards mass customization of products). This
system of efficient and effective mechanicaldesign discovery provided us the impetus to verify whether
metrics is currently being developed in our the issues typically listed in the literature are still valid
laboratory. These metrics would objectively, and in the current day and age. Therefore, the objectives of
quantifiably, measure the mechanical re- the work presented in this paper are twofold:
manufacturability of their product, providing the a) to identify and/or verify general issues of concern in
designer with immediate feedback as the design the remanufacturing industry, specifically in the
progresses. A good example of efficient and effective automotive branch, and
metrics in a different domain, which proved b) to identify specific issues critical in a
successful, are those postulated and validated by remanufacturability assessment and quantify their
Boothroyd and Dewhurst regarding the assembly of importance.
products (Boothroyd and Dewhurst, 1991). Their In order to achieve our objectives, some surveys were
success lies in the simplicity of the usage of the performed:-
metrics (e.g., everybody can count the number of · The first survey, a preliminary survey, was
parts in an assembly) connected to the fact that their distributed at the Automotive Parts Rebuilders
metrics are valid and indeed provide a good measure Associationís Electrical Clinic in Orlando, Florida in
for the assemblability of a product. In order to April of 1995. This survey presented several very
develop a similar system of metrics for assessing broad questions about remanufacturing which were
remanufacturability, it is necessary to develop a intended to solicit the broadest range of responses
better understanding of:- possible. Section presents the results obtained from
a) what criteria need to be measured, and this survey, as well as a discussion on the dominating
b) how important these criteria were, relative to one issues that were identified as being particularly
another. significant to the current state of remanufacturing.

In (Amezquita, et al., 1995a), we identified design AN INTRODUCTORY LOOK INTO

characteristics which facilitate remanufacturing from REMANUFACTURING PRACTICE:-
literature and general practice. We discussed The survey presented in this section represents an
principal driving factors for remanufacturing, as well introductory look at the major issues affecting
as identifying existing remanufacturing guidelines, remanufacturing. Therefore, the questions were left
philosophies, and practices. In (Amezquita, et al., very open, in order to solicit the broadest range of
1995b), we outlined our research approach taken for responses. Once the responses were gathered, the
the establishment of remanufacturability metrics and issues would then be formally identified, and would be
gave preliminary list of measurables that affect further investigated to determine their significance.
remanufacturability in the form of a worksheet. The questions which asked on the survey form were as
Overall, we noted that the technology base for follows:
remanufacturing is sparse compared to, say,
manufacturing or material recycling.

FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES OF THIS PAPER:- 1) What Makes A Product More Difficult To
In our opinion, tapping into the knowledge base which Remanufacture Than Another?
has developed in this field over the past several 2) Which Operations Are Most Costly?
decades will facilitate the identification of valid 3) What Makes Disassembly Most Difficult?
criteria for assessing product’s We define efficiency as 4) What Makes Cleaning Most Difficult?
a measure of swiftness and effectiveness as a measure 5) What Makes Inspection Most Difficult?
of completeness and correctness. 6) What Makes Refurbishing Most Difficult?

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 ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

7) What Makes Part Reassembly Most Difficult?

With the generous assistance of the Automotive Parts

Rebuilders Association (APRA), survey forms were
distributed at the 1995 APRA Electrical Clinic, in
Orlando, Florida, as well as being sent out in the
APRA Newsletter, “The Electrical Connection”
shortly after the clinic. In addition to the surveys,
several company representatives who attended the
clinic were informally interviewed.

SURVEY RESULT:-
Out of approximately 80 surveys that were distributed
at the clinic in addition to those published in the
“Electrical Connection” following the clinic, 28 Figure 2– Responses to Question 2: Most Costly
surveys were returned. Each category identified in the Operations
survey questions were counted to determine how many Source:- Amezquita, T., Hammond, R. and Bras, B.,
of the 28 responses identified the same answer to the 1995
question (more than one response was permitted). The
count was then converted into a percentage of
responses, and was plotted as a Pareto chart. In this
fashion, a Pareto chart of the responses was generated
for each question on the survey in order to provide an
ordered list of the issues identified by the companies
which responded to the survey. These Pareto charts, as
seen in Figures 1 through 7, provide visual insight into
what the critical issues in remanufacturing are, as well
as and introductory look at how important these
criteria are relative to one another. In the Section 2.3,
much of the information in the figures is refined and
collected to indicate the major points made in the
survey. It is important to note at this point, that these
responses were made without suggestions or
reminders as to what the issues should be. It is entirely
possible that the survey results may be different if the
representatives were presented with a common listing
of problems. Consequently, if the representatives had

gotten the survey in conjunction with such a listing,

the responses might have been somewhat different. It Figure 3- What Makes Disassembly Most Difficult
is also important to note that these answers are
particular to the Electrical Rebuilders, and assuch, it Source:- Amezquita, T., Hammond, R. and Bras, B.,
may or may not apply to other remanufacturing sectors 1995
, such as other automotive parts which are more
mechanically or hydraulically oriented systems.The
major difference between these systems is not in what
criteria is used, but in how highly these criteria are
prioritized.

WHAT MAKES A PRODUCT MORE

DIFFICULT TO REMANUFACTURE :-

Figure 1 – Responses to Question 1: Difficulties To

Remanufacturing

Source:- Amezquita, T., 1996., Berko-Boateng, V. J.,

Azar, J., De Jong, E. and Yander, G. A., 1993.

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 ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Figure 4-What Makes Cleaning Most Difficult

Source:- Berko-Boateng, V. J., Azar, J., De Jong, E. and

Yander, G. A., 1993

Figure 7 – Responses to Question 7:What Makes

Reassembly-Difficult-Most

Source:- Berko-Boateng, V. J., Azar, J., De Jong, E. and

Yander, G. A., 1993

Figure 5 – Responses to Question 5: What Mak es

Ins pection Most Difficult

Source:- Amezquita, T., Hammond, R. and Bras, B.,

1995

A THINKING OF REMANUFACTURING
COMPANIES:-
In addition to the written survey, in this also some
interviews with remanufacturers are combined. When
the remanufacturing representatives at the 1995 APRA
Electrical Clinic, in Orlando, were told about the
prospect of creating a metric for manufacturers which
would let them determine how remanufacturable a
product is, several people were very skeptical that this
would be a good thing. Many of those skeptical felt
Figure 6 – Responses to Question 6: What Makes that Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
Refurbishing Most Difficult perceive remanufacturers as competition, and might be
predisposed to using such metrics to select designs
Source:- Berko-Boateng, V. J., Azar, J., De Jong, E. and which would make it difficult for remanufacturers to
Yander, G. A., 1993 disassemble and/or reassemble their products -
consequently ensuring that the remanufacturer would
not be able to cost-effectively remanufacture their
products. These skeptics point at an issue which they
have termed “Parts Proliferation”, which refers to the
practice of making many variations of the same
product - differing only in one or two minor areas.
However, these differences (such as electrical
connectors) are distinct enough to prevent

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 ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

interchanging these similar products. For example, for

a given model year, a car line may have one or more [2]Design Related Issues:
different alternators for each variation of the vehicle - Design related issues (including such topics as:
the alternator for the two-door model would not be complexity, fastening methods, means of assembly
able to be used to replace the alternator for the four- and disassembly, and so on) are another category of
door model. Not only can they not be used within the concern which affects most facets of remanufacturing
car line, but no other car-line made by the (see Figures 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7). These issues tended to
manufacturer can use the part either. To exemplify the be high on the list of concerns for several questions.
amount of parts proliferation in the eighties, consider Based on interviews, most of these issues cause more
the following numbers from Rayloc, a large time to be spent during the assembly and disassembly
automotive remanufacturer. In 1983, there were phase, or require additional specialized tooling.
approximately 3,400 different part numbers for brake Another design related issue that was repeated
products in Rayloc’s Atlanta remanufacturing plant. frequently during interviews with several
By 1995, there were approximately 16,500 different remanufacturers was, If [Remanufacturers] can take a
part numbers! Another issue that skeptics point to is product apart, it can be remanufactured At first, this
that manufacturers tend to use Design for Assembly statement would seem to indicate that the design
and Manufacturing processes which make it difficult should focus on disassembly to ensure that the product
for parts to be reused or remanufactured. For example, can be remanufactured. However from examining the
solenoids for starter motors are crimped into their interviews further, it becomes apparent that there is
housings. Not only is it difficult to remove the crimps, more to disassembly than just the process of taking the
in order to remanufacture the solenoid, but crimped product apart - there is a hidden assumption in this
fasteners cannot be recrimped without degrading the statement. If this phrase is restated to include this
strength of the crimp. However, almost all of the hidden assumption, it would sound like, If
representatives were enthusiastic about the prospect of [Remanufacturers] can take a product apart without
being able to use such metrics to determine how damaging important parts, it can be remanufactured.
remanufacturable their products are. By being able to The two key ideas that designers should extract from
measure the remanufacturability of the various this statement are non-destructive disassembly and
products, they would be able to make well founded preventing key parts from being damaged.
business decisions as to whether or not to
remanufacture given products. [3]Product Diversity:
Product Diversity (or “part proliferation”) is a
MAJOR POINTS THAT EFFECTS THE significant problem which tended to place highly in
REMANUFACTURABILITY:- most of the questions in the survey (see Figures 5, 6,
and 7). Once again, the general feedback we received
[1]Availability and Cost of Replacement Parts: on the survey and at the clinic focused on this general
Judging by the number of responses for these issue. The term “Part Proliferation” is used to describe
categories, availability and cost of replacement parts the practice of Original Equipment Manufacturers’
(including cores) seem to be of key concern overall producing multiple unique models of the same part for
(see Figures 1 and 2). Parts availability clearly a given car line, or by changing aspects of the part
dominates the responses on the question “What makes (making it unique) on a frequent basis - perhaps even
a product more difficult to remanufacture?” (see more than once per model year. Problems arising from
Figure 1). Much of the general feedback that was this practice range from having to keep a large
received, both from the survey and from the informal inventory of replacement parts, to having to keep track
interviews, tend to support this. There are several of several, non-standardized assembly and
issues which drive this concern, such as, part disassembly processes. An increase in the variety of
proliferation, a lack of cross referencing for assembly and disassembly processes also results in an
aftermarket supplier’s parts, domestic vs. imported increase of the number of process set-ups that have to
parts, and so on. Some of our more recent studies with be made, causing a reduction in throughput. Employee
local remanufacturers confirm that, although the total training also becomes a significant issue as a result, as
volume of products to be remanufactured remains they must be familiarized with all of the various,
high, the variety of products has increased unique parts and the processes for each new product. It
significantly due to faster OEM product development is interesting to note that the trend of parts
times, mass customization, part proliferation, etc., in proliferation started in the early eighties. Among
the past decade. Among other more minor issues, this others, this coincides with the move of major US
has led to an increase in the variety and a decrease in automakers to a platform organization and a move
the volumes and availability of needed replacement towards lean production. Between 1982 and 1990,
parts. The issue of availability and cost of Japanese automakers nearly doubled the number of
replacement part is strongly linked to the issue of models on the road, from forty-seven to eighty-four
product diversity (see below). models. Reacting to this condition, US automakers

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 ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

also increased their models on the road from thirty-six and reassembly (see Figures 5, 6 and 7, respectively).
to fifty-three in the same period of time (Womack, et As previously mentioned, much of this is due to the
al., 1991). Furthermore, the independence of diversity of unique products which the employee must
individual platforms within an automaker’s be familiar with, and the different assembly and
organization seems to have led to a reduction of shared disassembly techniques required for each. It is
components among automotive models, resulting in interesting to note that in two of the three categories
decreased standardization and increased parts (refurbishing and reassembly), skill was immediately
proliferation. followed by product diversity, which seems to
emphasize this point. The third category - inspection -
seems to be more related to the availability of the
[4]Cleaning: operator to identify which quality standards the
Cleaning was identified as one of the highest cost specific part must measure up to. In this category, skill
contributors to remanufacturing, second only to is followed by specification availability, which
replacement parts (See Figure 2). Not surprisingly, the exemplifies the fact that aftermarket remanufacturers
largest cause for cleaning costs was identified as must often define their own part specifications, as
complying with Environmental Protection Agency and these specification are mostly not available from the
other environmentally oriented legislation (see Figure manufacturer.
4). It is significant to note, however, that it is not clear
from the survey results what environmentally INSIGHT GAINED FROM THE SURVEY:-
regulated cleaning processes are being referred to - Although many issues were identified due to the open
solvent based cleaning, detergent based cleaning nature of this (first) survey, they can be grouped in a
and/or baking. few major categories, namely, the availability and cost
of replacement parts, the increased product diversity,
[5]Corrosion: cleaning, corrosion, employee skills, and design
Corrosion was identified, several times, as relating to related issues such as complexity, fastening methods,
different problems (see Figures 3, 4 and 6). It was means of assembly and disassembly, as well as
ranked highest in terms of complicating the increased part fragility due to reduced part size and
disassembly process. During the disassembly process, lighter duty materials. Many of these issues (e.g., the
corrosion can cause adjacent parts to stick together, design related issues) have been noted before in the
such as two halves of an alternator casing. Corrosion literature and the survey results verify that these issues
also posed problems for cleaning and refurbishing. are still of concern. However, some issues (e.g., the
Given that this is a survey performed among increased product diversity) have emerged more
remanufacturers of electrical products, it is not strongly in the eighties.
surprising that corrosion is treated somewhat higher in
priority than for a purely mechanical system. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:-
Corrosion prevents or degrades the performance of The author wishes to express his sincere gratitude to,
electrical contacts, which can create reliability Mr. Shailendra Kasera (B.Tech. M.Tech in
problems. As such, electrical rebuilders are very Mechanical) , Mr. Yogesh Mishra (B.Tech., M.Tech
careful to ensure that corrosion is removed and then in Mechanical) from mechanical department of
prevented via protective coatings. Poornima College of Engineering for contributing
valuable time, advice and assistance.
[6]Part Size and Lighter Duty Materials:
Part Size and Lighter Duty Materials Used were
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6
 ISSUES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS REMANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

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