Thesis
Achieving quality medical equipment in developing countries through remanufacturing
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2021
- Thesis identifier
- T16779
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201674213
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- Remanufacturing restores a used product to at least, its original equipment manufacturers (OEM) performance specification from the customer’s perspective and gives the resultant product a warranty that is at least equal to that of newly manufactured equivalent product. It is a wise option as it offers high quality products at lower price since remanufactured products are substantially cheaper than new products of equivalent quality. Remanufacturing also has social, economic, and environmental benefits since it has the potential to become a source of revenue, create jobs and reduce environmental pollution. While remanufacturing is common in industries such as automobile and aviation, its application and benefits in the medical device industry have not been investigated. Medical devices are crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries but are inequitably distributed globally, such that there is acute shortage in developing countries with consequent high mortality rates over disease and adverse health conditions that could be treated if the right equipment were available. Several strategies have been considered to eliminate or mitigate this issue. However, neither has remanufacturing been considered a potential solution to this issue nor key factors in implementing medical equipment remanufacturing for developing countries been identified. This study proposes remanufacturing as a potential sustainable solution to this issue. The research was conducted in 3 phases following a multiphase mixed methods design. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data while pre-figured thematic analysis, Decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique and confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to analyse the data. Main findings of this research include the following: (1) medical equipment remanufacturing can address 5 out of 11 causes of poor medical equipment availability accounting for 43.5% of the overall prominence. (2) A definition and decision support frameworks for medical equipment remanufacturing that could help to improve availability of quality medical equipment in developing countries (3) Major concerns in implementing medical equipment remanufacturing. (4) Impact of perception on the purchase intention for remanufactured medical equipment. This research is the first to identify the potential impact of remanufacturing in addressing medical equipment availability issues in developing countries, to characterise medical equipment remanufacturing towards this end. It is unique in its application of DEMATEL to the study of root causes of poor availability of medical equipment in developing countries and in applying behavioural science in understanding its purchase intentions.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Ijomah, Winifred
- Resource Type
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2020
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