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Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 34 – 39

The 24th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering

Assessment of end-of-life strategies for automation technology components

Mercedes Barkmeyera*, Alexander Kaluzab, Nico Pastewskia, Sebastian Thiedeb,
Christoph Herrmannb
a
Festo AG & Co. KG, Ruiter Straße 82, 73734 Esslingen
b
Chair of Sustainable Manufacturing & Life Cycle Engineering, Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF), Technische Universität
Braunschweig, Langer Kamp 19b, 38106 Braunschweig
* Mercedes Barkmeyer. Tel. +49 711 347-52861; fax: +49 711 347-5452861. E-mail address: mercedes.barkmeyer@festo.com

Abstract

Automation technology components (ATCs) are often used in highly individual applications by manufacturing companies. The
large variety of different use scenarios creates high uncertainty concerning most suitable end-of-life strategies. Typical strategies
that can be implemented during the products end-of-life stage are reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling. As each of these
strategies has a different effect on the products economic and environmental performance an assessment method is needed that
respects relevant parameters. Most publications illustrate methods for environmental or sustainable product assessment. Much less
is known about how end-of-life strategies can be assessed for a product. For this reason, the article discusses a procedure for the
assessment of end-of-life strategies with an examplary prototype tool for pneumatic cylinders.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of the of the scientific
scientifi committee
c committee of the 24th of theConference
CIRP 24th CIRPonConference on Life Cycle Engineering.
Life Cycle Engineering

Keywords: Assessment of end-of-life strategies; Reuse; Repair; Remanufacturing; Recycling; MorphoCheck; Automation technology components

1. Introduction multiple product life cycles. The results are intended to derive
information about the performance of the end-of-life strategies
Striving for a circular economy is a key element of future for the analyzed ATCs. The aim is to support decision-making
resource availability and resource conservation. Access to raw within product development. Furthermore, the results might be
materials at stable prices is a crucial point for companies in used for the sustainability assessment of different end-of-life
highly material-intensive sectors. Those companies are strategies with regard to an entire product portfolio.
operating and sourcing on global markets and are part of
complex global value chains that consists of multiple tiers [1]. 2. Theoretical background and state of research
Providers of automation technology components typically
provide a broad product portfolio to act as suppliers for multiple Towards assessing end-of-life strategies for ATCs from an
applications. Often, automation technology components environmental and economic perspective, the state of research
(abbreviated as “ATCs” in the following) are also part of will be presented. Building upon an introduction about general
environmental burdens associated to manufacturing processes. terms and streams in the research field, the focus of this section
But providers of ATCs currently have only limited influence on lies on methods for environmental and economic evaluation.
the product’s life cycle after ATCs have been sold to customers. The consideration of end-of-life strategies of products is
In the light of a circular economy it is the goal to evaluate strongly linked to the concept of a circular economy, e.g.
how different end-of-life strategies for ATCs perform from an promoted within the European Union. Its overall goal is the
environmental and economic perspective. Therefore, a increase of reuse and recycling opportunities for products
methodological framework is proposed that allows to analyze towards reducing environmental impacts and increasing the

2212-8271 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 24th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering
doi:10.1016/j.procir.2016.11.220
 Mercedes Barkmeyer et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 34 – 39 35

competitiveness [2]. In this context “closed-loop supply chains a combined approach that relates to the specific case should be
are supply chains where […] there are flows of products back considered.
to manufacturers” [3]. This is valid e.g. for reuse, repair and The benefit of closed-loop systems over open-loop systems
remanufacturing strategies. Additionally, a circular economy has been studied by Rose et al. They identify wear out life and
can be achieved by open-loop systems that encompass the technology cycles as crucial for the selection of appropriate
recycling of products towards a subsequent production of end-of-life strategies. Their findings indicate that open-loop
products that uses secondary materials as an input [4]. While recycling is beneficial when long technology cycles occur [8].
closed-loop strategies such as reuse, repair and Cooper and Gutowski link end-of-life strategies according to
remanufacturing (see Fig. 1, green ovals and box) enable the design strategies, e.g. easy access to components that
extension of product life cycles, recycling as a material experience wear out [9].
recovery strategy leads to new product life cycles. Figure 1 also Pandey and Thurston follow an entropy approach to
depicts the difference of two possible open-loop strategies for determine the effective age of remanufactured products that
ATCs: the recycling of an ATC and the recycling of a become especially relevant in large-scale treatment systems,
production line that contains an ATC. where it is not known how and with which intensity the product
was used in its first life cycle [10]. Another aspect in the
assessment are efficiency increases due to technology cycles
that might influence the performance of closed-loop towards
open-loop strategies [9, 11].
Besides environmental impacts of end-of-life strategies
economic impacts need to be considered as well. Life cycle
costing (LCC) is an established method in this field.
Lichtenvort & Rebitzer distinguish between

x Conventional LCC: assessing cost related to the actors

along the analyzed product or system life cycle
x Environmental LCC: Incorporation of external cost, not
directly related to actors of the product life cycle
x Societal LCC: Extension of environmental LCC by future
external costs [12]

Figure 1: Open- and closed-loop strategies for ATCs (based on [5]) Whereas Herrmann et al. evaluated maintenance strategies
during use phase from an environmental and an economic
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to assess the perspective [13], the current research will apply the presented
environmental impacts and resources used throughout a methods of LCA and conventional LCC in order to identify
product's life cycle, i.e., from raw material acquisition, via favorable end-of-life strategies for ATCs.
production and use phases, to the end of life. In its standardized
procedure according to ISO 14040 it consists of four phases – 3. Challenges of end-of-life strategies in the sector of ATCs
goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact
assessment as well as the interpretation phase [6]. The ATCs or capital goods in general differ from consumer
consideration of the end-of-life affects all phases of LCA. One goods because they are part of complex value chains as well as
main aspect is allocation, in this context referring to the complex machines and production lines. Furthermore, they
distribution of environmental burdens between different have a broad application range and are often customized and
products and life cycles. Nicholson et al. review different sold in small units. [1] In spite of the customization of ATCs,
allocation methods for an open-loop recycling [7]: the supplier’s knowledge regarding the use and end-of-life
phase is limited. Besides well-known key branches for ATCs
x Cut-off method: Loads directly caused by a product are (e.g. automotive, food and beverage, electronic, handling,
assigned to that product. biotech, pharma or process industry) there are far more possible
x Loss of quality method: Loads are assigned to products application fields that lead to knowledge gaps regarding how
according to their relative loss of quality in each step. the ATCs are used and to which intensity.
x Closed-loop method: Applicable if no significant loss is In nowadays companies it can be found, that end users have
experienced through recycling. to fill out a declaration of contamination when sending an ATC
x 50/50 method: Virgin material production and waste back to repair. Such declaration contains information about the
treatment are shared between first and last product in the chemicals the ATC got in contact with during usage. Besides
life cycle cascade toxic, flammable or acid chemicals even radioactive or
x Substitution method: Recycled material substitute’s biologically hazardous substances may come in contact with
primary, accounts for lost material and recycling burdens. the ATCs. [14] With such exemplary process relevant
information of the usage phase can be collected and helps to
They further point out that for most products there is no minimize health risks of workers during the end-of-life phase
strict classification of them within the life cycle cascade. Thus, and in the repair department, respectively.
36 Mercedes Barkmeyer et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 34 – 39

What is yet known about the end-of-life phase of ATCs is 4.1. MorphoCheck
that some industry sectors established their own after markets
for their production lines, e.g. through relocating whole plants MorphoCheck is an advancement of the morphological box
and production lines to developing countries in order to operate as it is not only a systematic way to identify path constellations
them once more. However, it is very probable that most end but also a method for end-of-life strategy assessment. For the
users have service providers who collect their defective assessment of end-of-life strategies a clear understanding of the
machines and also disassemble entire production lines when alternative strategies is relevant. MorphoCheck helps to
they are not needed anymore. For confidentiality reasons it consider possible end-of-use scenarios and helps to define
occurs that end users with knowledge-intensive value creation possible end-of-life strategies with a detailed perspective on
processes ask for evidence that the entire production line is each step.
destroyed after the disassembly and that sensible details are not First of all possible end-of-use scenarios have to be defined.
traceable anymore. When discussing end-of-life strategies, For ATCs the end-of-use scenarios “Defect of the ATC” and
most end users consider aspects regarding the entire production “System is not used anymore” were identified to be most
line, but rarely take each ATC of the production line into relevant in practice. As depicted in Fig. 1, the open-loop
account. To enable an end-of-life strategy from a supplier’s strategies “Recycling and new ATC” and “Ultimate recycling”
point of view it is necessary that the end users ATC is separated as well as the closed-loop strategies “Reuse”, “Local repair”,
from the production line. “Central repair” and “Remanufacturing” are considered for
In summary there are four major challenges regarding the ATCs in this article. In Fig. 3 the two practical relevant end-of-
end-of-life of ATCs to point out: use scenarios are linked to these six possible end-of-life
strategies with a black circle (●).
x Knowledge gap of use and end-of-life phase at the supplier Secondly, the probability of occurrence of the different end-
x OEMs/end users have own after market for machines/lines of-life scenarios (X %, Y %) in combination with the end-of-
x Service providers collect defective ATCs and disassemble life strategies (a-g %) can be defined on the basis of derived
lines and machines best practice data. If a defect is the reason for the ATC’s end-
x ATCs have to be removed separately of-life, a local repair, a central repair e.g. in the supplier’s
headquarter, remanufacturing or the disposal of the old and
4. Procedure for the assessment of end-of-life strategies purchase of a new ATC are logical consequences.

The developed procedure for the assessment of end-of-life

strategies contains several steps (Fig. 2): First of all an
allocation of steps to each end-of-life strategy has to be
conducted (A). This method is named as “MorphoCheck” in
the following. After an analysis of the economic and
environmental input per end-of-life strategy (B) and the
extension per end-of-life strategy (C), the results are visualized
in different diagrams (D).

Figure 3: MorphoCheck as a basis for the assessment of end-of-life strategies

(MorphoCheck 1-2)

Thirdly, each possible step per end-of-life strategy has to be

determined based on literature or the experience of experts.
Herrmann et al., for instance, developed a reference model for
closed-loop supply chains that defines the basic process steps
“Re-Distribute”, “Source Codes”, “Identify/Sort”, “Re-Make”,
“Deliver Cores”, “Re-Integrate Product”, “Plan Reverse Flow”,
“Enable Reverse Flows” as substantial for reverse logistics
[15]. Based on literature knowledge, the knowledge of experts
and industry specific vocabulary, 30 detailed steps of the
discussed strategies were defined and listed in the left column
of the MorphoCheck (see Fig. 4).
In the second column from the left, the steps are marked and
classified regarding their cost category (grey) and
environmental impact (green). For the allocation of costs
within the LCC it is necessary, that steps, that take place at
different stakeholders, are highlighted in different colors.
Figure 2: Procedure for the assessment of end-of-life strategies Processes that take place at the end user are marked in blue.
Red marked steps indicate that the ATC is on transportation,
white marked steps take place at the supplier and orange
 Mercedes Barkmeyer et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 34 – 39 37

marked steps take place at the recycler. Figure 4 shows the on actual market prices. Another example for type specific
MorphoCheck 3-6 for the discussed end-of-life strategies. costs is the disassembly time of the ATC into its parts. To
determine disassembly and recycling cost computerized tools
such as the RRR Agent can be used [16]. A pragmatic way to
model the disassembly time is to disassemble the ATC in real
life and measure the time. Examples for weight specific costs
are transportation costs, packaging or storage costs.
The green highlighted boxes in the MorphoCheck show
which environmental impact (EI) is considered for which step.
Type specific environmental aspects are related to the ATC
itself and its spare parts, respectively. The EI of spare parts for
repair can be modeled through a full or simplified LCA. Weight
specific environmental impacts are caused by transportation
options. In order to approximate the environmental impacts of
each transportation option, the distances from the end user to
the second market distributor for used ATCs (s2M) and to the
nearest local repair center (sLR) have to be assumed due to the
company’s facilities. Formula (1) describes the environmental
impact of the transport to the local repair center (EILR) by truck.
The distance one ATC travels from an end user to the central
repair center of a company can be covered by plane (sair_i) or
truck (sTruck_j), depending on the distance. These distances are
measured and weighted with the country’s specific transport
volume factor per year (Tvi/Tvall). Formula (2) describes the
environmental impact of the transport to the company’s central
repair center (EICR) with i > 1000 km and j < 1000 km.

EI LR 2 s LR EI Truck (1)
ª n ª º n ª Tv j ºº
Tvi
EI CR EI LR  2 ««¦ « s air _ i EI air»»  ¦ « s Truck _ j EI Truck _ j »» »» (2)
¬ i 1 ¬«Tvall ¼ j 1 ¬«Tvall ¼¼

4.3. Analysis of extension per end-of-life strategy

As the closed-loop strategies extend the ATCs lifetime, the

Figure 4: MorphoCheck as a basis for the assessment of end-of-life strategies energy demand of the ATC during lifetime and the lifetime
(MorphoCheck 3-6)
itself is needed for the calculation of the environmental impacts
per strategy.
Instead of applying the 50/50 method or the cut-off method
The calculation of the energy consumed in the pneumatic
of open-loop recycling of LCA where the environmental
drive system is usually based on the intake of compressed air
impact is partitioned on two systems at a defined place, this
under standard conditions [17]. As in standard mode, the
method treats a product that is operating multiple lifetimes as
cylinder chambers are always filled up to the supply pressure
one system until the “Ultimate recycling” takes place.
level, the air consumption Vcylinder of a drive can be estimated
solely on the basis of its geometrical data. For pneumatic
4.2. Analysis of input per end-of-life strategy
cylinders with piston rod the air consumption can be calculated
with Formula (3) using psystem = 6 bar, patm = 1 bar, Tnorm = 273
When analyzing the input costs per strategy, a separation
K and Tsystem = 293 K.
between the categories fixed costs, type specific and weight
specific costs is necessary for the calculation (see classification p  p (3)
3 T
 d piston_ rod
2 2 system atm norm
of cost category in column two and three of the MorphoCheck V cylinder 2 d cylinder l Hub
p
4
atm
T system
in Fig.4). Fixed costs depend on product independent
processes. In order to estimate the fixed costs per step, the
working time that is needed per step has to be estimated in The energy demand of the pneumatic cylinder is determined
hours. The values can be based on the experience of experts or by multiplying the air consumption Vcylinder and the air pressure
can be derived from similar existing processes in the analyzed indicator (0,120 kWh/m³i.N.), which is an efficiency parameter
company. Type specific costs differ depending on the type of for the generation of 1m³ compressed air volume, using
the ATC. The removal of a pneumatic cylinder or a pneumatic electrical energy for the compressor [18].
maintenance unit from a system, for example, takes less time The strategies “Reuse”, “Local repair”, “Central repair” and
than the removal of an electrical cylinder or controller. The “Remanufacturing” extend the product’s lifetime by a certain
payout amount of the used ATC to the owner could be based factor. In the analyzed industry sector, repaired products
38 Mercedes Barkmeyer et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 34 – 39

typically have a warranty of half of the lifetime of a new In Figure 6 it can be seen that the optimal end-of-life
product. Based upon this practical knowledge, the lifetime strategy depends on the desired lifetime: If the desired lifetime
extension for reuse and remanufacturing can be exemplarily lies in between 60 to 80 million cycles “Reuse” would have the
approximated with 30 % and 80 % of the lifetime of a new least total process costs. In between 80 to 90 million cycles
product. An overview of exemplary assumptions for the input “Local repair” and over 90 million cycles “Recycling plus new
and extension analysis is provided by Table 1. ATC” would be the most economic strategy.

Table 1. Exemplary assumptions for the input and extension analysis

Exemplary assumptions for the input and extension analysis
Salary per working time e.g. 50 €/h
Distance end user to second market s2M e.g. 50 km
Distance end user to local repair center sLR e.g. 500 km
Lifetime after reuse in cycles e.g. 0,3 * lifetime
Lifetime after repair in cycles e.g. 0,5 * lifetime
Lifetime after remanufacturing in cycles e.g. 0,8 * lifetime

5. Case Study for a pneumatic cylinder

The explained procedure will be illustrated with the input

data and visualization results of a pneumatic cylinder in the
following. For this exemplary case study only the GWP that Figure 6: Economic break-even analysis for a pneumatic cylinder
can be assessed with simplified LCA methods will be
considered as environmental impact category.

Figure 5: Pneumatic cylinder as exemplary application

Product specific parameters and assumptions that are input

data for the exemplary assessment are listed in Table 2.

Table 2. Product specific parameters and assumptions of a pneumatic cylinder

Product specific parameters and assumptions [19]
Figure 7: Environmental break-even analysis for a pneumatic cylinder
Dcylinder in mm
dpiston_rod in mm In order to identify the best end-of-life strategy, the staircase
lhub in mm profiles of the strategies have to be compared at a certain
Weight of the product in kg
amount of cycles. For the exemplary pneumatic cylinder the
end-of-life strategies are compared at a lifetime of 100 million
GWP of product in kgCO2eq
cycles (see dashed line in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7).
GWP of spare parts for repair in kgCO2eq This comparison of strategies can also be visualized with an
GWP of spare parts for remanufacturing in kgCO2eq eco-efficiency portfolio, developed by BASF [20]. The scale of
Lifetime in cycles the axis is inverted so that the top right-hand quadrant
represents the optimal strategy. A strategy is the more eco-
To visualize the costs related to the input and extension per efficient the less environmental impacts and the less costs are
end-of-life strategy a staircase profile is used. The sum of the caused [21]. The eco-efficiency portfolio in Figure 8 is set up
input costs characterizes the vertical step whereas usage costs with costs from a customer’s point of view. As a result of the
and lifetime define the horizontal line of the diagram. An eco-efficiency portfolio it is seen that the strategy “Reuse” and
analogous visualization can be done for the environmental the strategy “Recycling plus new ATC” are the cheapest
results. Figure 6 and 7 represent an economic and regarding their costs for the customer. However, the high
environmental break-even analysis for the second and third life environmental impact of the current end-of-life strategy
of the cylinder. Both visualizations have the restriction that the “Recycling plus new ATC” becomes strongly obvious through
axis label of cycles is displayed in million cycles and that the this graphical representation.
energy demand during lifetime is set to 0.
 Mercedes Barkmeyer et al. / Procedia CIRP 61 (2017) 34 – 39 39

uncertainty of occurrence of the end-of-use scenarios at the

customer (see Figure 3) proper data acquisition and a Monte
Carlo simulation are recommended for the further proceeding.
After decision makers identified the preferred end-of-life
strategy for each ATC and ATC type, the ideal end-of-life
strategy for the whole company could be defined as a next
major step.

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