Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems

Maik Nübel; Jonah Schulz; Carl-Philipp Immanuel Oltmanns; Matthias Schmidt

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-21154-5_17

Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems

Maik Nübel^*
, Jonah Schulz
, Carl-Philipp Immanuel Oltmanns
, Matthias Schmidt

^*Corresponding author for this work

Institute for production technology and systems

Leibniz University Hannover

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Remanufacturing offers the potential to reduce dependency on raw material suppliers and represents an element in the transition toward a sustainable circular economy. A key challenge is the synchronization of disassembly and assembly processes, which is essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of remanufacturing systems. One promising approach is to increase productivity by reducing the disassembly depth through the omission of certain disassembly steps. However, such a reduction must be closely aligned with the requirements of the subsequent assembly process.

This paper investigates the impact of varying disassembly depths on the assembly process. Therefore, the process is presented, and the corresponding workload distributions are systematically analysed. The findings demonstrate that decreasing disassembly depth results in reduced throughput times and enhanced workload flexibility within the process. This flexibility arises from the dynamic use of subassemblies and contributes to workload balancing within the assembly system. A final simulation-based validation highlights these effects and demonstrates the potential role of subassemblies in generating efficient and effective remanufacturing systems.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Safe and Sustainable Value Creation by Design : Proceedings of the 21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM 2025) September 10–12, 2025, Bologna, Italy, Volume 2
Editors	Holger Kohl, Günther Seliger, Franz Dietrich, Giampaolo Campana
Number of pages	9
Volume	2
Publisher	Springer
Publication date	10.05.2026
Pages	151-159
ISBN (Print)	978-3-032-21153-8
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-032-21154-5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-21154-5_17
Publication status	Published - 10.05.2026
Event	21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing- GCSM 2025 - University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Duration: 10.09.2025 → 12.09.2025 Conference number: 21 https://gcsm.eu/home-2025/

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2026.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Research areas and keywords

Engineering
disassembly depth
load flexibility
Remanufacturing

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Automotive Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-032-21154-5_17Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

Nübel, M., Schulz, J., Oltmanns, C.-P. I., & Schmidt, M. (2026). Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems. In H. Kohl, G. Seliger, F. Dietrich, & G. Campana (Eds.), Safe and Sustainable Value Creation by Design: Proceedings of the 21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM 2025) September 10–12, 2025, Bologna, Italy, Volume 2 (Vol. 2, pp. 151-159). (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-21154-5_17

Nübel, Maik ; Schulz, Jonah ; Oltmanns, Carl-Philipp Immanuel et al. / Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems. Safe and Sustainable Value Creation by Design: Proceedings of the 21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM 2025) September 10–12, 2025, Bologna, Italy, Volume 2. editor / Holger Kohl ; Günther Seliger ; Franz Dietrich ; Giampaolo Campana. Vol. 2 Springer, 2026. pp. 151-159 (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering).

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Nübel, M, Schulz, J, Oltmanns, C-PI & Schmidt, M 2026, Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems. in H Kohl, G Seliger, F Dietrich & G Campana (eds), Safe and Sustainable Value Creation by Design: Proceedings of the 21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM 2025) September 10–12, 2025, Bologna, Italy, Volume 2. vol. 2, Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, Springer, pp. 151-159, 21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing- GCSM 2025, Bologna, Italy, 10.09.25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-21154-5_17

Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems. / Nübel, Maik; Schulz, Jonah; Oltmanns, Carl-Philipp Immanuel et al.
Safe and Sustainable Value Creation by Design: Proceedings of the 21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM 2025) September 10–12, 2025, Bologna, Italy, Volume 2. ed. / Holger Kohl; Günther Seliger; Franz Dietrich; Giampaolo Campana. Vol. 2 Springer, 2026. p. 151-159 (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering).

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review

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T1 - Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems

AU - Nübel, Maik

AU - Schulz, Jonah

AU - Oltmanns, Carl-Philipp Immanuel

AU - Schmidt, Matthias

N1 - Conference code: 21

PY - 2026/5/10

Y1 - 2026/5/10

N2 - Remanufacturing offers the potential to reduce dependency on raw material suppliers and represents an element in the transition toward a sustainable circular economy. A key challenge is the synchronization of disassembly and assembly processes, which is essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of remanufacturing systems. One promising approach is to increase productivity by reducing the disassembly depth through the omission of certain disassembly steps. However, such a reduction must be closely aligned with the requirements of the subsequent assembly process. This paper investigates the impact of varying disassembly depths on the assembly process. Therefore, the process is presented, and the corresponding workload distributions are systematically analysed. The findings demonstrate that decreasing disassembly depth results in reduced throughput times and enhanced workload flexibility within the process. This flexibility arises from the dynamic use of subassemblies and contributes to workload balancing within the assembly system. A final simulation-based validation highlights these effects and demonstrates the potential role of subassemblies in generating efficient and effective remanufacturing systems.

AB - Remanufacturing offers the potential to reduce dependency on raw material suppliers and represents an element in the transition toward a sustainable circular economy. A key challenge is the synchronization of disassembly and assembly processes, which is essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of remanufacturing systems. One promising approach is to increase productivity by reducing the disassembly depth through the omission of certain disassembly steps. However, such a reduction must be closely aligned with the requirements of the subsequent assembly process. This paper investigates the impact of varying disassembly depths on the assembly process. Therefore, the process is presented, and the corresponding workload distributions are systematically analysed. The findings demonstrate that decreasing disassembly depth results in reduced throughput times and enhanced workload flexibility within the process. This flexibility arises from the dynamic use of subassemblies and contributes to workload balancing within the assembly system. A final simulation-based validation highlights these effects and demonstrates the potential role of subassemblies in generating efficient and effective remanufacturing systems.

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ER -

Nübel M, Schulz J, Oltmanns CPI, Schmidt M. Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems. In Kohl H, Seliger G, Dietrich F, Campana G, editors, Safe and Sustainable Value Creation by Design: Proceedings of the 21st Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM 2025) September 10–12, 2025, Bologna, Italy, Volume 2. Vol. 2. Springer. 2026. p. 151-159. (Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering). doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-21154-5_17

Disassembly Depth as a Determinant of Reassembly Performance in Remanufacturing Systems

Abstract

Bibliographical note

UN SDGs

Research areas and keywords

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Access to Document

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Cite this