Capabilities & Solutions for Remanufacturers

Engineers at the Center for Remanufacturing and Resource Recovery have decades of experience derived from research into virtually every aspect of modern industrial remanufacturing — from advising on reman policy directions to analysis of raw materials through sustainable production design and evaluation of end-of-life products. Our industry experience and technical capabilities enable C3R to deliver consistently on-target solutions to reman customers worldwide.

Policy Analysis & Review

C3R has years of experience serving as benchmarking service and an analysis and information clearinghouse for NGOs, industry, and policy decision-makers on an individual company, national, and international basis.

Currently C3R is acting in a evaluation and consulting role for several major U.S.-based manufacturers, including Caterpillar, who are looking to refine and/or expand their current reman operations. For example, C3R will evaluate the efficiency and cost effectiveness of remanufacturing facilities and production processes. Then, based on that analysis, our research team provides the client with specific recommendations to better align their reman operations with company policies regarding efficiency, environmental impact, and long-term sustainability.

C3R also works closely with the U.S. Council on Competitiveness to help define national policy on remanufacturing for the domestic reman industry. In cooperation with the Remanufacturing Industries Council, C3R helped organize the Strategic Dialogue on Remanufacturing Policy conference, held Jan. 24-25, 2011, in Washington, D.C. This invitation-only policy review session was co-hosted by the council and the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Global remanufacturing is a third area of policy focus for the center. For many years, C3R has maintained a close professional relationship with the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), working to advance progress in reman and sustainable manufacturing. More information on our role in this initiative is available at the OECD website.

Product Evaluation for Sustainable Design

C3R researchers develop tools and methods to create sustainable product systems that assist manufacturers in becoming more competitive and enhance environmental quality. Areas of concentration include Reverse Engineering, Design for Remanufacture, Competitive Benchmarking, and Total Cost of Ownership. Related capabilities include developing and promoting the use of product and process design strategies that assist companies in creating closed-loop, sustainable production systems that maximize product reuse and remanufacturing.

Condition Assessment & Reliability Analysis

C3R offers expertise in assessing the health of components and predicting their remaining useful life through the development of Test Fixture Design, Test Protocols, and Signature Analysis. Related capabilities include:

Applying science to provide fact-based criteria to enhance business decision making.
Extending product life, enhancing profit margins and promoting global competitiveness among remanufacturers.

Structural & Material Analysis

Determining how products "age" and how to restore them successfully is a key concern in remanufacturing. C3R's standard capabilities in this area include: Material Salvage, Finite Element Analysis, Failure Analysis, Dimensional Restoration, Structural & Material Analysis, and Structural Analysis. Related capabilities include:

Analyzing how the physical and mechanical properties of components "age" or change with use.
Providing product designers with information on how a product will function throughout its lifetime.
Providing remanufacturers with condition assessment and the knowledge to modify their processes accordingly.

Clean Technologies

Research at C3R often involves developing practical, economical, and environmentally responsible technologies using Surface Cleaning, Waste Minimization, Surface Finishing, and Pollution Prevention. Related capabilities include:

Working to make remanufacturing operations more sustainable — economically and environmentally.
Applying research and technical knowledge to develop and implement accessible and environmentally responsible manufacturing processes.

Operational & Technical Assessment

Finding opportunities for companies to improve business and process efficiency using Quality Systems, Production Control, Information Technology, Industrial Assessment, Facility Design, Lean/Six Sigma, and Ergonomic Health and Safety. Related capabilities include:

Providing process assessment, quality system development, and logistical support.

Outreach, Training & Technical Education

C3R is committed to delivering comprehensive and focused technical training to industry members. To promote industry outreach, C3R representatives regularly deliver presentations and seminars at major reman trade shows, such as the Automotive Parts Remanufacturers Association's annual International BIG R Shows in Las Vegas. For the 2010 BIG R event, C3R presentations included:

Opportunities for Remanufacturers
Calculating the True Cost of Cleaning
Reducing Energy Consumption
Economic Downturn Improvement Priorities

In its education program, RemanU®, C3R offers workshops in a variety of technology areas valuable to the remanufacturing industry. The cornerstone objective of each workshop is to offer hands-on training that will provide immediate benefits to remanufacturers and their businesses.Standard training offerings include the following subject areas:

Surface Cleaning/Surface Finishing Technologies

This workshop provides information on environmentally responsible, alternative cleaning and finishing processes. Surface cleaning is a critical and costly operation in most remanufacturing operations. However, many traditionally-used chemicals have been banned or are considered hazardous and require costly waste management. C3R has experience helping small and medium-sized businesses identify and implement alternate cleaning technologies and has developed a number of techniques to improve surface quality in remanufacturing. This course offers remanufacturers ideas to solve specific cleaning problems.

Quality Systems in Remanufacturing Operations

This course focuses on the quality assurance problem-solving tools needed in a remanufacturing environment. These tools can help a remanufacturing business achieve process stability and improve the ability of a process to meet specifications through the reduction of variation. A good quality assurance program will reduce scrap and rework, assist in defect prevention, reduce quality costs, increase productivity, and increase margins. Participants gain insight into improving their operations with an effective quality program.

Facility Planning

This training session details the many facets of facility planning and offer insight into the evaluation methodologies required to improve remanufacturing environments. Facility planning determines how to use a company's fixed assets to meet the company's objectives, and it requires a continuous process of evaluation and change to meet the needs of a dynamic remanufacturing environment. The session covers topics including strategic planning, data collection, material flow analysis, production planning, and inventory management.

Production Planning

This session focuses on production planning and control methodologies, models, and accepted practices to enhance the ability of small to medium-size manufacturers to schedule more efficiently. Participants learn techniques to develop part families for planning purposes and the use of standard times as a method for capacity planning.