Efficient disassembly operation is considered a promising approach toward waste reduction and End-of-Use (EOU) product recovery. However, many kinds of uncertainty exist during the product lifecycle which make disassembly decision a complicated process. The optimum disassembly sequence may vary at different milestones depending on the purpose of disassembly (repair, maintenance, reuse and recovery), product quality conditions and external factors such as consumer preference, and the market value of EOU components. A disassembly sequence which is optimum for one purpose may not be optimum in future life cycles or other purposes. Therefore, there is a need for incorporating the requirements of the entire product life-cycle when obtaining the optimum disassembly sequence.
In this study, we have applied a fuzzy method to quantify the probability that each feasible disassembly transition will be needed during the entire product lifecycle.