Utilizing a systems engineering approach to evaluate end-of-life opportunities for complex automotive seat subassemblies.

摘要

Automotive shredder residue is a byproduct of the automotive recycling infrastructure and represents 15% of the overall weight of a vehicle. The byproduct is currently diverted to landfill and although the potential for recycling exists, none are currently being utilized within Canada at this time. Consequently, the possibility of dismantling vehicle seats separately from the current vehicle dismantling process in order to remove a large portion of automotive shredder residue before the shredding process is investigated using an industrial engineering systems approach. In order to understand the structural make-up of the vehicle a thorough disassembly was performed and all operations, part types, weights and material compositions were recorded. Disassembly and dismantling times were calculated using time measurement studies and relationships were identified between process times and seat characteristics. Using this relationship a heuristic complexity based model was developed that relates the product components and connections to the disassembly and dismantling times. This model was then applied to develop a business model to determine the profitability of a vehicle seat dismantling facility. Issues such as government regulations, expenses and potential revenues are discussed to determine the economical viability of vehicle seat recycling.