A MODIFIED ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS DESIGN EVALUATION METHODS FOR PRODUCT RECOVERY

The absence of existing standards for product recovery planning and the associated difficulty in prioritising the conflicting design requirements are among the main challenges faced during product design. In this paper, a concept for the Design for Multiple Life-Cycles (DFMLC) is proposed to address this situation. The objective of the DFMLC model is to assist designers in evaluating design attributes of Multiple Life-Cycle Products (MLCP) at the early design stage. The methodology adopted for the evaluation of MLCP design strategies has been based on a modified Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Two mapping matrices of the design guidelines and design strategies concerning MLCP design attributes were developed for the modified AHP model. Disassemblability (> 21 %) was found to be the most important design element for MLCP followed by serviceability (> 20 %) and reassembly (> 12 %).