Computers in Industry 56 (2005) 105–124
`
`www.elsevier.com/locate/compind
`
`Integration of reverse logistics activities within a
`supply chain information system
`
`Marc Chouinarda,b,*, Sophie D’Amoursa, Daoud Aı¨t-Kadia,b
`
`aDe´partement de Ge´nie Me´canique, Faculte´ des Sciences et Ge´nie,
`Centre de Recherche sur les Technologies de l’organisation Re´seau (CENTOR),
`Universite´ Laval, Que., Canada G1Y 7P4
`bCentre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Re´adaptation et en Inte´gration Sociale (CIRRIS),
`Institut de Re´adaptation en De´ficience Physique de Que´bec, 525 boul. Hamel, Que., Canada G1M 2S8
`
`Received 22 December 2003; accepted 5 July 2004
`Available online 21 September 2004
`
`Abstract
`
`This article deals with problems related to the integration of reverse logistics activities within an organization and to the
`coordination of this new system. Reverse logistics activities refer to the recovery and processing of unused products and to the
`redistribution of reusable materials. For better control and management of these activities, new approaches and information
`support system are proposed here. A new organizational system, which represents the course of the operational processes and the
`management of the organization’s resources (labor, material, etc.), and an information system architecture are proposed for a
`rehabilitation center.
`# 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
`
`Keywords: Reverse logistics; Business process reengineering; Information systems
`
`1. Introduction
`
`The recovery and processing of unused products are
`concerns which increasingly affect organizations, be it
`to improve customer service or to meet environmental
`pressures. Mail-order, online purchases and after-sales
`
`* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 418 656 2131x12244;
`fax: +1 418 656 7415.
`E-mail address: marc.chouinard@centor.ulaval.ca
`(M. Chouinard).
`
`services, such as the maintenance of guaranteed pro-
`ducts, are all situations which contribute to the increase
`of returns within an organization. Also, environmental
`regulations require them to gradually reduce their
`consumption of non-renewable resources and to
`decrease the amount of waste materials produced.
`Some recent regulations require certain industries to
`recover their products once they have reached the end of
`their useful life or when they are unused. This increase
`in return rate will have significant effects on the current
`practices of these industries.
`
`0166-3615/$ – see front matter # 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
`doi:10.1016/j.compind.2004.07.005
`
`Page 1 of 20
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`
`Until recently, organizations did not pay much
`attention to their returns. Commercial returns are the
`most common, but returns of guaranteed products, by-
`products, packaging and returns of unused products
`can also be found [1]. At present, returned products are
`generally collected at the point of sale, inspected and
`sorted by employees to the best of their knowledge.
`Moreover, the employee determines if the return is
`accepted and the actions to be taken (credited amount,
`exchanges, etc.). Thereafter, a certain amount of time
`can pass before further actions are taken in regards to
`these recovered products. These products are gen-
`erally reintroduced directly into the market as new,
`and when this is not possible, resold at discounted
`prices or simply disposed of. In fact, because of the
`uncertainty factors
`related to returned products
`(quality, quantity and time) [1–5], each business unit
`seeks to minimize the impact of returns on their
`current activities, which are generally associated with
`the distribution of new products. Therefore they will
`choose the simplest and quickest disposal means for
`the returned products, without concern for other
`means of reintroducing the product into the market.
`Thus, they function primarily on a local level. Hence,
`these activities are generally sources of cost rather
`than income.
`Given economic and environmental contexts,
`some organizations are becoming aware of
`the
`importance of focusing their efforts on activities
`surrounding the return and processing of unused
`products. They seek to structure, organize, support
`and plan these activities so as to make more efficient
`use of available resources (labor, new, recovered and
`processed or, in this paper, valorized material, etc.).
`Valorization activities refer here, as for Thierry et al.
`[6], to repair, refurbishing, remanufacturing, canni-
`balization (dismantling for reusable material), and
`recycling activities that prolong the life cycle of
`product [7]. With an adequate integration of reverse
`logistics activities, in an economic or environmental
`context, organizations will be able to notice a double
`effect with their supply chain [1,8,9]. First, while
`focusing efforts on returns of products and their
`processing, competitive strategies will be set up
`which, at various levels, will contribute to a better
`performance of current activities of the supply chain,
`concentrated until now primarily on the distribution
`of new products [7,10]. Secondly, the new supply
`
`Page 2 of 20
`
`chain, which integrates reverse logistics, will orient
`itself
`to ensure a robust management of any
`additional activities. The aim of this new supply
`chain is to ensure clean and adequate distribution of
`recovered products. Organizations will
`thus be
`interested in the emergent field of reverse logistics.
`It
`is in this perspective that
`the public health
`insurance of the Province of Quebec (Canada), which
`handles a great part of the distributed mobility aids
`(wheelchairs in our context) in this market, intends to
`improve the efficiency of activities related to the
`recovery and the processing of unused products. This
`organization, the Re´gie de l’assurance maladie du
`Que´bec (RAMQ), applies and manages various
`programs related to the healthcare system. The
`mobility aid program for people with reduced mobility
`is one of them. At present, 13 rehabilitation centers
`have been mandated and have their costs defrayed by
`the RAMQ to ensure the distribution and maintenance
`of its wheelchairs and they have been responsible for
`the recovery and processing of unused ones, since June
`2000.
`However, one of these establishments, the Quebec
`Rehabilitation Institute (QRI), has been performing
`these additional activities on a voluntary basis for
`nearly 10 years. They started when they realized the
`potential impacts that these activities could have on
`their operation. Thus, with the goal to improve its
`internal management and contribute to this initiative
`undertaken by the RAMQ, the QRI created a research
`project concerning the valorization of wheelchairs.
`The present research is part of this project.
`Within this project, a reengineering of the business
`process was carried out. This reengineering created a
`new organizational structure, which represents the
`operational processes and the management of the
`organization’s resources (labor, material, equipment,
`etc.), and an information system architecture to
`integrate all activities. The context that led to this
`business process reengineering and some its results are
`presented in this paper.
`
`2. Creating an effective and efficient supply
`loop/sustainable development
`
`The integration of reverse logistics activities into
`the regular supply chain will result in a new logistic
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`
`107
`
`system which can be called a supply loop. Such an
`approach fits well with the notion of sustainable
`development. In brief, with this concept firms seek
`strategies for economic development under environ-
`mental and social constraints. Their objective is to
`satisfy present needs without compromising the needs
`of future generations [11]. The reintroduction of
`recovered products in the market, in their original
`form or following valorization activities, reflects this
`approach by reducing the consumption of non-
`renewable resources. Thus, there will be less waste
`created, which will reduce these materials negative
`impact on natural resources.
`Until recently, the concept of sustainable develop-
`ment was used mainly in the design phase to reduce the
`environmental impact of a product in its production
`and distribution process as well as in its use. However,
`the responsibilities of organizations in regards to their
`products are constantly expanding. Organizations must
`satisfy customer needs not only by the quality of their
`products, but also by supporting them with various
`after-sales services, such as maintenance. Jacqueson
`[12] and Ryan [13] refer to the ‘‘dematerialization’’ of
`products and activities within an organization. Some
`organizations see themselves forced to recover unused
`products from their customers. They must then not only
`deal with environmental concerns in terms of the
`production, distribution and utilization stages for their
`products, but also in terms of
`their
`return and
`processing. Two concepts of sustainable development
`can then be noted [7]:
`
` Sustainable development – product perspective:
` Sustainable development – organizational perspec-
`
`Concept applied at the design stage of the product.
`
`tive: Concept applied to ensure effective and
`efficient activities related to the recovery and
`processing of recovered products.
`
`2.1. Sustainable development – product perspective
`
`In the design stage of products, organizations
`will seek to reduce negative environmental impacts of
`their products by meeting some of the following
`challenges:
`
` Reduce
`
`resources.
`
`the
`
`consumption
`
`of
`
`non-renewable
`
`Page 3 of 20
`
` Favor recyclable materials.
` Opt for standardized materials.
` Integrate valorized components.
` Reduce the variety of components.
` Adopt a modular design.
` Reduce manual adjustments in order to decrease
`
`risk of error.
`
`Moreover, in order to ensure profitable after-sales
`service, including maintenance and activities related
`to the recovery and processing of the recovered
`products, organizations will have to pay closer
`attention to the reliability of their products, both
`new and valorized. Therefore, they must be able to
`estimate the reliability of their products at any time in
`their life cycle. To maintain this reliability at a de-
`sired level, organizations will also be interested in
`designing products that can be easily repaired, thus to
`maintainability of the products. Costs generated by
`maintenance activities could be reduced by using
`valorized materials, always of good quality and at
`lower cost. This approach will be made more possible
`by optimizing the dismantling process of recovered
`products, so as to recover maximum value and to
`reduce processing costs. This concept is presented by
`Johnson and Wang [14] as the ‘‘desassemblability’’ of
`a product.
`By approaching these various aspects at the design
`stage, the aim is to simplify and add value to activities
`related to production, after-sales service, recovery and
`processing,
`in an economic and environmental
`perspective, all
`the while meeting the quality
`standards of the organization.
`
`2.2. Sustainable development – organizational
`perspective
`
`sustainable
`The organizational perspective of
`development aims at supporting the memory of
`an organization to ensure a certain level of plann-
`ing for the recovery and processing of recovered
`products. This is done to reduce the impact of
`uncertainties generally met with reverse logistics. By
`insuring an adequate integration of reverse logistics
`activities with primary activities, organizations will
`be motivated to structure and organize them. This
`will lead organizations to the following challenges
`[15]:
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`
` Analyze possible markets for recovered products:
`
`Return policies to control the reverse flows of
`material.
`Closed and/or open loop.
`Processing alternatives for recovered products.
`
` Examine the requirements for the reverse logistics
` Define the performance criteria of the network.
` Determine the degree of integration of reverse
`
`network by outsourcing or not additional activities.
`
`logistics with the regular supply chain:
`Dedicated or integrated reverse logistics net-
`work.
`Centralized or decentralized network.
`Number of levels of the network.
`Dedicated resources or common resources with
`the regular supply chain.
`
` Define operational processes.
` Define required information.
` Establish and continuously improve the supply
`
`loop.
`
`In their approach, organizations could be con-
`fronted with various key goals:
`
`by establishing new business relationships.
`
`connected to reverse logistics.
`
`generated data by each actor in the supply loop.
`
`of recovered, valorized and new products.
`
`processes that they require through their life cycle.
`
` Increase possibilities for reuse of recovered materials
` Standardize procedures, more particularly those
` Provide adequate support for employees’ tasks.
` Ensure collection, exchange and processing of the
` Manage activities by considering the coordination
` Follow and control products in all operational
` Maintain a certain level of quality to products
` Establish return strategies to improve the possibi-
` Plan, to a certain extent, activities related to the
`
`through their life cycle.
`
`lities and policies for recovery of products.
`
`processing of recovered products.
`
`to establish decision-making criteria. These criteria
`can be grouped under two categories; circumstances
`associated to the product and those associated to the
`organization.
`The circumstances associated to the product refer
`more specifically to the:
`
` Technical specifications of the returned product.
` Reason for the return.
` Condition of the returned product.
` Failure law of the product.
` Disassembly sequence.
` Impacts of
`
`the reintegration of
`materials in the market.
`
`the recovered
`
`The circumstances of concern for the organization
`refer to the following points:
`
`the installations (equipment,
`
` Characteristics of
` Possible markets for the recovered materials in the
` Legislative constraints.
` Clean disposal of the recovered materials.
` Rate of return.
` Demand for valorized materials.
` Policies for the return and processing of recovered
` Stock level.
` Change in the business relationship with one of the
`
`labor, etc.).
`
`supply loop.
`
`products.
`
`actors of the supply loop.
`
`These criteria will have a significant influence on
`the efficiency and effectiveness of
`the network
`configuration. By taking these criteria into account
`in order to structure, organize and plan reverse logistics
`activities, the aim is to correctly match supply (returns)
`with the demand for valorized materials. This will
`allow a better control of costs in addition to the
`economic and environmental gain generated by the
`reintroduction of recovered materials in the market.
`
`relate to the uncertainties
`these factors
`All
`regarding the return of products. In order to better
`support
`the conditional nature of the procedures
`associated with reverse logistics activities, i.e. to more
`adequately consider the various factors that influence
`the course of the operational processes, it is necessary
`
`2.2.1. ‘‘Push–pull’’ approach for the recovery
`and processing of recovered products
`To better match supply and demand for valorized
`products, it is more appropriate to manage activities
`with a ‘‘push–pull’’ approach. This is a hybrid
`concept which is based on long-term planning for
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`109
`
`certain stages of the operational processes (push)
`but which also allows the launching of other acti-
`vities in reply to an order (pull) [16]. A decoupling
`point coordinates the two portions of the system. This
`comes from the desire to benefit as much as possible
`from the advantages of these two modes of manage-
`ment:
`
` Push: prevents demand variability in the system.
` Pull: decreases inventory levels.
`
`This approach is well adapted to the context of
`reverse logistics where the variability of activities is
`considerable and for which it can be desirable to profit
`from economies of scale. The activities of an organ-
`ization must be adequately defined so as to carry out
`the processing of recovered products with effective-
`ness and efficiency, all the while taking demand into
`account and the capacities and constraints of the fa-
`cilities. With this goal, two approaches can be cons-
`idered.
`The first approach consists of directing the product
`towards the processing alternative which best fits the
`sorting criteria. However,
`this approach does not
`always permit optimal asset recovery (Fig. 1).
`The second approach consists of directing the
`product towards the most favorable alternative. When
`the circumstances of the organization (demand, stock
`level, etc.) do not support the best alternative, the
`product will be stored to eventually be revalued and
`sorted for the next best processing alternative. This
`approach could be considered for products judged as
`critical to the organization (Fig. 1).
`The management of material and information flows
`is a determining factor
`for
`these approaches,
`particularly with regard to stock levels. Inventory
`control will be of particular importance for certain
`situations [17]. As supply chain and reverse logistics
`processes could be complementary, inventory control
`for new and valorized products is necessary. However,
`this requires that all activities related to the processing
`of recovered products are closely controlled.
`
`2.3. Current difficulties in the management of a
`supply loop
`
`With current approaches for the management of
`this extended supply chain, organizations do not have
`
`Page 5 of 20
`
`adequate means to fully benefit from all possible
`business opportunities. Moreover, organizations often
`do not possess a complete data warehouse which
`would feed the processes of decision-making at each
`stage of the products life cycle. Consequently, it is
`difficult
`to ensure an optimal utilization of
`the
`products throughout their useful life.
`the
`Information systems should now consider
`eventuality that a product can be reintroduced at a
`different level of an organization’s activities. New
`approaches for follow-up and control and the addition
`of new information must
`therefore be envisaged.
`Information to be stored will be extensive in order to
`correctly integrate and coordinate the various activ-
`ities of the supply loop. This information will have to
`be defined taking into account the operational, tactical
`and strategic of decision-making levels of
`the
`organization, thus considering the way to structure,
`organize and plan an organization’s activities.
`For the management of the returns and processing
`of recovered products, organizations need to be able to
`[18]:
`
` Store and process data for any given product.
` Integrate available information into decision-mak-
` Use information for the follow-up and improvement
`
`ing at the time of activities.
`
`of products and required activities (design, produc-
`tion, distribution, maintenance,
`recovery and
`processing of the recovered products).
`
`The following sections suggest how to integrate
`reverse logistics activities into the operations of the
`Quebec Rehabilitation Institute.
`
`3. Case study: context of the Quebec
`Rehabilitation Institute
`
`The Quebec Rehabilitation Institute (QRI) is the
`second largest establishment in terms of the volume of
`wheelchairs distributed in the Province of Quebec. As
`with other establishments, the QRI is confronted with
`voluntary returns by customers or their families, in
`particular following the replacement of the mobility
`aids (MA) or the death of the customer. Ten years ago,
`the QRI encountered a significant warehousing
`problem for returned MA. As these products are the
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`
`Fig. 1. Push–pull approach for the management of the reverse logistics activities of an organization [7].
`
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`111
`
`property of the RAMQ, certain rules must be followed
`for their disposal. At that time, employees disapproved
`of the fact that, although several returned MA were
`still in very good condition, they were required to
`deliver only new MA to customers who met
`the
`admissibility criteria of the principal mobility aids
`payer, the RAMQ. Customers were then confronted
`with a delivery delay of often more than 2 months. It
`was to rectify this situation that the QRI, with the
`consent of the RAMQ, became interested in the
`reallocation of the recovered MA.
`The possibility of reallocating recovered wheel-
`chairs has improved customer accessibility for such
`MA, for which demand continually increases [19,20],
`along with the aging population [21]. The delivery
`delay for a valorized MA (reallocation of recovered
`MA after refurbishing) is generally 2 weeks and can
`even be as short as 1 day in certain situations. Some
`customers who are not eligible for a new MA are given
`the alternative of a valorized one.
`Following a general agreement between the
`RAMQ and all the rehabilitation centers of Quebec
`in June 2000, the customer or a family member is now
`required to return the MA when it is no longer in use.
`They must sign a contract
`to do such. Thus, all
`establishments have seen an increase in their return
`rate and must now handle the recovery and processing
`of recovered MA in a way that allows for correct reuse
`or disposal. This strategy was justified by a possible
`increase of customer accessibility for the mobility
`aids, while maintaining the free nature of the service
`for insured people and through its contribution to
`the environmental objectives of
`the government.
`During the first year of
`this agreement, 4317
`devices were recovered and 1084 of them were
`reallocated by the rehabilitation centers [22]. Savings
`of close to 2 million dollars have been seen by the
`RAMQ. For the period between 15 June 2000 and 31
`March 2002, the RAMQ saved 4.35 million dollars
`[23]. However, at the present time each establishment
`operates in an autonomous way. For
`the QRI,
`approximately 1500 MA have been recovered in
`the two first years of this agreement and 71% of them
`have seen their useful
`life prolonged: 46% were
`dedicated to reallocation, 14% were used for internal
`loans and 11% were disassembled for the recovery of
`some of their parts. At the QRI, demand for valorized
`MA is now greater than 30% of the allocation of
`
`Page 7 of 20
`
`wheelchairs, whereas it was 15% in the first year of
`the agreement.
`
`3.1. Difficulties for the Quebec Rehabilitation
`Institute
`
`The recent decision by the RAMQ for all
`rehabilitation centers of the Province of Quebec to
`recover unused MA from customers has raised several
`questions regarding its implementation. In fact, the
`unused MA needs to be identified for recovery, the
`customer has to be located and the actors who will be
`responsible for the recovery and processing of the MA
`need to be designated. At present,
`the various
`establishments operate in an autonomous manner.
`However, the valorization processes at each of these
`facilities have not yet been precisely defined. It is
`currently being done on a voluntary basis and, for
`certain establishments, during the slack periods of the
`technical staff responsible for the preparation and
`maintenance of the MAs. The recovered wheelchairs
`are mainly reallocated, after
`some adjustments,
`disassembled for spare parts or are simply disposed
`of. The decision to take the valorization alternative is
`made by employees, generally mechanics, to the best
`of their knowledge. In effect
`there is neither a
`decision-support tool nor an information system to
`enable employees to correctly consider all the factors
`influencing the processing activities of the recovered
`MAs.
`The RAMQ gives a lump sum to establishments for
`each recovered MA. For
`the reuse of valorized
`products (MAs and parts), the RAMQ defrays only the
`labor required for the adjustment of the MA and the
`use of new material, and this only for when there will
`be a reallocation of the MA. Dismantling activities of
`recovered MAs are thus not covered and neither are
`those costs related to the reconditioning of the product
`before adding it to inventory. In the current context, it
`is difficult, even impossible, to judge if the costs
`defrayed by the RAMQ fully cover the expenditures
`met by the establishments. In fact, it is difficult for
`managers to evaluate the performance and the impacts
`of
`reverse logistics activities, since the current
`information system does not take all aspects into
`account.
`For the QRI, the agreement between the RAMQ
`and all rehabilitation centers has contributed to an
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`
`increase in the importance given to valorization
`activities, since customers are now required to return
`their MA when they are no longer needed. The QRI has
`even dedicated a repair shop to handle the activities
`associated with the sorting and processing steps
`(valorization shop). This increase in valorization
`activities has had an impact on all operational
`processes, as much from an administrative as a
`technical point of view. More specifically, it has had
`a direct influence on the management of human and
`material resources, on the quality of customer service,
`on supply and maintenance strategies and, finally, on
`the administrative processes related to invoicing,
`archiving and data processing. Notably, the current
`approaches do not permit
`the tracking of MAs
`throughout their useful life. The stored information is
`specific to the use of new materials and serves primarily
`for accounting purposes. Moreover,
`the current
`information systems at
`the QRI do not
`take the
`activities associated to return and processing of
`the recovered products into account. Information is
`therefore incomplete for effective decision-making,
`which is made more difficult owing to the fact that data
`are not systematically gathered during activities at the
`QRI.
`the QRI began business process
`In this way,
`reengineering and reconsidering its
`information
`system, with the intention to support a harmonious
`integration of all their activities.
`
`3.2. Business process reengineering
`
`The aim of the review of the operational processes
`at the QRI and of their information support system is
`to ensure better management and to decrease the
`complexity of recovery, processing and redistribution
`activities. This will
`increase the possibility of
`recovering all unused MAs and improve potential
`profits relating to the processing and reintegration of
`MAs into the supply loop, whether in their original
`form or as parts. With this goal, a closer follow-up of
`products and activities is necessary, in order to be
`more capable of controlling quality and yield. In fact,
`by employing new approaches and means, it will be
`possible for the QRI to be aware of state of the
`organization (demand, stock level, etc.) and the
`condition of the product for effective decision-making
`in reverse
`logistics
`activities. A ‘‘push–pull’’
`
`Page 8 of 20
`
`approach, based on concepts introduced earlier in
`this article, has been proposed for the QRI situation.
`To integrate its operations, an information system
`architecture has been elaborated.
`
`3.2.1. Push–pull approach for the processing of the
`recovered MAs
`In the QRI context, it is sometimes necessary for
`recovered MAs to be processed twice, in particular for
`those dedicated for reallocation. Wheelchairs are
`highly personalized equipment,
`i.e.
`specifically
`adjusted for the customer. Minimal adjustments must
`therefore be made to the MA before putting it in
`inventory,
`in order
`to avoid unnecessary work.
`Moreover,
`the quantity and the composition of
`inventories must be adequately maintained and
`controlled in order to meet
`the various needs of
`customers, without keeping a too great of range of
`relatively bulky MAs. The suggested approach (Fig. 2)
`for the coordination of all activities of the QRI is
`detailed in the present section.
`
`3.2.1.1. ‘‘Push’’ portion. Within the framework of
`the reverse logistics activities at the QRI, the first
`portion ‘‘push’’ refers here to the recovery, grading
`and sorting stages of recovered MAs (Fig. 2). In a
`more general way, it represents the decision-making
`point to place or not a recovered product (MA or part)
`in inventory. This decision is made according to stock
`levels, which have been determined by long-term
`forecasts, and the general state of the MA. The generic
`steps of this portion of the operational process of
`recovery and processing are now briefly introduced.
`First, in order to decrease the workload for the
`valorization shop and as
`the decision for
`the
`processing of some MA models is known immedi-
`ately, it is suggested that a list of predetermined
`alternatives be elaborated and regularly revised.
`Certain obsolete generations of MAs would then be
`directed towards recycling or wheelchair models of a
`supplier
`in bankruptcy,
`for example, could be
`systematically disassembled for parts to repair those
`in circulation. In this way, the mechanic will not be
`required to grade and sort all recovered MAs. The
`employee in charge of the recovery of the wheelchair
`will know, by means of this list of guidelines for the
`processing of a particular model, where to direct it and
`the appropriate warehousing space.
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`113
`
`Fig. 2. Management of the recovery and the processing of the QRI activities by a push–pull approach [7].
`
`Before processing the recovered MAs, a detailed
`evaluation of
`the activities required for an MA
`dedicated to one of the valorization alternatives will
`have to be completed. This information will be noted
`on an evaluation form. The aim of this evaluation is to
`ensure that the most appropriate decision is taken.
`When it
`is difficult
`to immediately choose a
`processing alternative from the consideration of stock
`levels, the overall state of the MA or the list of
`predetermined alternatives, an evaluation will be
`completed following the possibilities of asset recov-
`ery. The possible reuse of the MA in its original form
`will first be considered. If this first alternative is not
`appropriate, the possible dismantling of the recovered
`MA for the recovery of its parts (cannibalization) will
`be investigated. The possibility of recycling, which is
`not considered in the current context, can also be
`foreseen.
`The above mentioned evaluation (evaluation form),
`in view to a possible reuse of the MA, will indicate the
`parts to replace or to repair in order to refurbish it,
`without regards to the needs of the eventual customer.
`In addition to costs associated with the required
`material resources, the mechanic will determine the
`costs for
`labor by specifying the standard time
`required for each operation to be completed. A lower
`and upper limit will then be given according to the
`subsequent repairing activities that use either all
`
`valorized or all new parts. This information is
`significant since, at the present, the total cost for
`the valorization of an MA dedicated to reallocation has
`to be under a limit fixed by the RAMQ. At this point,
`when the mechanic considers the option of canniba-
`lization, the technical specifications of the wheelchair
`and the evaluation form will allow the mechanic to
`identify parts which can be recovered.
`The cannibalization alternative necessitates that
`after the mechanic identifies parts which can be
`recovered, he or she will estimate the costs and
`benefits that
`those activities could generate. By
`examining the stock levels for each part in good
`condition and evaluating costs associated with the
`dismantling time, the mechanic will then be able to
`determine if this option is feasible. If cannibalization
`is appropriate, the mechanic will begin the disassem-
`bling sequence.
`the mechanic will
`After
`this planning stage,
`continue with the processing of
`the wheelchair
`according to the information on its evaluation form.
`However, for MAs intended for reallocation, few
`modifications will be done at this stage, since the
`configuration of the MA will be adjusted to the
`requirements of the future customer. Before being
`placed in stock, the MA will be cleaned and only
`critical parts that affect appearance, will be replaced,
`primarily using valorized materials. The other parts to
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`be replaced or repaired will be identified according to
`the evaluation form and the form will be updated
`following these minor adjustments.
`In this way, MAs will be oriented in their life cycle
`by choosing the alternative which best respects the
`sorting criteria (first push–pull approach). However,
`some MAs intended for reallocation could also be
`reoriented towards another alternative. For example,
`an obsolete MA could be disassembled