Disassembly Line Balancing Based on the Kano Model and Fuzzy MCDM Methods, the Case: e-Waste Recycling Line

Recovering, recycling, and remanufacturing end-of-life products (disassembly line) are appropriate methods of reducing the environmental impact associated with wastes. A disassembly line is a viable option for doing so. The objective of the disassembly line balancing problem (DLBP) is to coordinate disassembly line activities so that total operating times of workstations are nearly equal. The disassembly process mainly aims to reuse components in end-of-life products and thus reduce adverse environmental effects. This paper employs an approach based on the Kano model, Fuzzy AHP, M-TOPSIS, and PROMETHEE. Furthermore, using AND/OR precedence relationships, the optimal sequence of disassembly is obtained. Tasks are assigned to workstations according to priority and precedence relationships. An illustrative example of the proposed method is solved using both M-TOPSIS and PROMETHEE. Both methods lead to a decrease of two seconds in total cycle time. Despite yielding equal results, PROMETHEE is superior to M-TOPSIS in terms of complexity and ease of use. However, it takes longer to complete.