Introduction
When purchasing things for work or home, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about environmental issues. This covers what happens to the product after they’ve used it. When designing and manufacturing your items, consider options such as reuse and remanufacturing.
Reuse encompasses any process in which non-waste items or components are reused for the same purpose for which they were designed.
Remanufacturing is the process of restoring used products to a ‘like new’ working state, usually with an accompanying warranty. Its environmental benefit is the recovery of a significant amount of the resources utilized in the original manufacture of a used product.
This article discusses how to reuse and recycle products, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of remanufacturing. It explains the many types of remanufacturing and what you need to know about quality standards, as well as the associated obstacles and opportunities.
What exactly is remanufacturing?
Remanufacturing is a procedure that restores an end-of-life item or product to ‘as new’ or greater performance levels than the original product.
Products suitable for remanufacturing include those that:
use technology that will last a long time;
have a high inherent material value as well as a high production cost;
are sold in markets that accept ‘as new’ products;
can be picked up and delivered;
contain a long-lasting core that can be reused multiple times;
can be disassembled to its constituent parts.
The remanufacturing process may not be inexpensive or quick. Remanufacturing entails the following stages in general:
collection of the refurbished product;
preliminary evaluation for quality and usability;
cleaning of components that will be kept;
replacement or repair of broken or missing components;
restoring to operational condition;
quality and safety testing.
Remanufactured devices often include a warranty that guarantees operation for a set amount of time.
Reduced production costs and environmental implications are among the business advantages of remanufacturing. You may be able to charge a ‘as new’ price for the refurbished product as well.
What distinguishes remanufacturing from recycling?
Remanufacturing preserves a product’s full form, whereas recycling entails disassembling the object and melting, smelting, or reprocessing its constituent pieces into new forms.
These could be the same (closed loop recycling) or new items (open loop recycling).
What distinguishes remanufacturing from product reuse?
Reuse is the process of reusing whole things or components of whole products in one piece. This includes the following:
direct reuse – very likely by someone else in a different way;
refurbishment, such as cleaning or lubricating the product;
repair – repairing a flaw.
The benefits and drawbacks of remanufacturing
Supply chain improvements and improved product development can benefit both remanufacturers and original equipment manufacturers. You can develop stronger long-term ties with your customers than businesses that rely on disposable, one-time products.
The benefits of remanufacturing
Remanufactured goods can also provide you with a better profit margin than new goods because they allow you to:
Promote new product and service offers;
Adopt cutting-edge production procedures, such as learning new skills, investing in people, and enhancing material traceability;
Collect important data for product design and function improvements, and improve after-sales activities
Remanufacturing might also help your company save money. You may reduce the cost of raw materials, energy, and water by examining how your goods are built and their environmental consequences at all stages of their life cycle. You’ll also save money by lowering the quantity of rubbish you generate.
Businesses concerned with social responsibility gain from remanufacturing. It is safer than the recycling business, encourages problem-solving abilities, is more gratifying than assembly-line work, and employs conventional industry skills.
Remanufacturing’s disadvantages
Cost – Because remanufactured items have a relatively high labor cost, it is generally cheaper to buy new products than to recondition existing ones using traditional purchasing strategies. Low-cost imports of higher-quality items from other countries pose a danger to remanufacturing.
Image – consumers’ view of remanufactured goods as’second class’ can impede sales growth in some fashion-oriented, lifestyle, or prestige products such as automobiles, white goods, or textiles.
Adaptability – remanufacturing is not always the best sustainable method for reusing things, such as when costly reverse engineering of original products is required, there is a skills shortage, or environmental advantages are greater through the recycling or design for recycling process.