Agile Manufacturing: an evolutionary review of practices

Academics and practitioners have long acknowledged the importance of agile manufacturing and related supply chains in achieving firm sustainable competitiveness. However, limited, if any, research has focused on the evolution of practices within agile manufacturing supply chains and how these are related to competitive performance objectives. To address this gap, we reviewed the literature on agile manufacturing drawing on evolution of manufacturing agility, attributes of agile manufacturing, the drivers of agile manufacturing, and the identification of the enabling competencies deployable for agile manufacturing. Our thesis is that agile manufacturing is at the centre of achieving sustainable competitive advantage, especially in light of current unprecedented market instability coupled with complex customer requirements. In this regard, the emphasis which agile manufacturing places on responsive adaptability would counter the destabilising influence of competitive pressures on organisations performance criteria. We have identified five enabling competencies as the agility enablers and practices of agile manufacturing, that is, transparent customisation, agile supply chains, intelligent automation, total employee empowerment and technology integration, and further explored their joint deployment to create positive multiplier effects. Future research directions were also provided with respect to operationalisation of the five identified enablers and the potential for emergent technologies of big data, blockchain, and Internet of Things to shape future agile manufacturing practices

An intelligent robotic framework for the execution of contact assembly tasks

The deployment of robots for industrial automation has demonstrated a significant improvement in manufacturing processes through reducing manual labour participation, and in enhancing flexibility, efficiency and product quality. However, most robotic applications are limited to free-space, point-to-point and non-interactive operations, where a highly structured work environment is a necessity. This paper presents an intelligent robot control framework for enhancing an industrial robot's adaptability, flexibility, dexterity and thereby its intelligence. The paper begins by reviewing briefly the design of intelligent robotic systems and defining some criteria for achieving an intelligent robotic system. A conceptual framework comprising two essential parts, namely, the contact-state recognizer and the control strategy generator, is then proposed for robotic assembly. The implementation of the proposed framework for intelligent robotic assembly is also demonstrated by using an industrial robot. Indeed, the results show that the framework proposed in this paper is an effective tool for designing intelligent automatic assembly systems.link_to_subscribed_fulltex