Disassembly scheduling: literature review and future research directions

Abstract

Disassembly scheduling, one of the important operational problems in disassembly systems, can be generally defined as the problem of determining the quantity and timing of the end-of-use/life products while satisfying the demand of their parts over a planning horizon. This paper presents a literature review on this planning problem in disassembly systems. First, the basic form of the problem is defined with a mathematical formulation. To characterize the differences between assembly and disassembly processes, the effects of the divergence property are also explained with respect to the zero inventory property, indispensable surplus inventory, and mathematical representation. Then, we review the existing research articles on the basic problem and its generalizations. A systematic scheme for classifying problems is also suggested. Finally, we suggest several future research directions.