Strategic Reverse Production System Design

Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

This grant provides funding to develop methodology and tools for the design and extension of reverse production systems. The methodological basis is mathematical programming, specifically mixed-integer linear programming. The model uses a robust objective function that minimizes the maximum deviation of the robust solution from the best solutions for a set of scenarios. The approach builds on previous research in reverse production systems in four ways. First, it extends the scope of the system to overlay decisions in the forward production system. Second, it considers multiple commodities. Third, it develops richer representations of uncertainties that have a major impact on the decision-making. Fourth, it addresses reverse production systems with several independent players that may have conflicting goals. The strong links between the principal investigators and organizations involved in recycling for carpet and electronics will allow these tools to be tested and refined in a variety of contexts. Production systems that support the recovery, processing and resale of materials and sub-components at the end of their useful life are an important part of the U.S. and world economy. There are estimated to be 73,000 firms employing 350,000 people, generating revenues of US$53 billion/year in remanufacturing alone. Working with companies, non-profits, and government agencies, successful results from the research enable better decision making for strategic reverse production system design, with practical application to recycling and reuse in the carpet and electronics industry. They will contribute to the knowledge base for complex supply chain decision-making, both by making the problem representation richer, and by developing new approaches for solving large-scale mathematical programming problems in the context of supply chain design. The students and our industrial partners will gain exposure to a rich class of problems of significant importance to modern industrialized societies and a set of techniques that can be brought to bear on a wide range of decision-making problems.