Enabling the material flow analysis in disassembly systems using object-centric process mining

The growing importance of sustainable manufacturing highlights the need for disassembly systems, which enable the reuse of high-quality components from end-of-life (EOL) products, thereby reducing the demand for raw materials. However, the economical viability of disassembly is often constrained by high costs, especially with an increased disassembly depth. For optimal decision-making, companies must analyze and understand disassembly material flows, as these directly impact the costs, which is challenging due to their variability and complexity. Object-centric process mining (OCPM) provides a promising solution for this analysis but requires structured object-centric event logs (OCELs). This paper presents a seven-step procedure to generate OCELs tailored to specific disassembly systems, enabling the OCPM-based material flow analysis. Incorporating concepts such as disassembly sequence planning, the procedure systematically converts the elements of disassembly systems, such as EOL products, into OCEL-compatible data elements. The procedure is validated by applying it to an automotive use case of a learning factory, demonstrating its potential to enable the material flow analysis through the application of OCPM.