Assessment Based Information Needs in Manual Assembly

To handle the complex and flexible manufacturing of today it is vital to have well functional information systems for the operators so that they know when, what and where to assemble. The current designs of assembly work instructions differ much between companies, but also between plants within the same company. The digitalization trends and initiatives such as Industry 4.0 show the manufacturing industry the advantages to incorporate new methods and tools into their businesses. Even though manufacturing IT systems are designed to be adaptive to product and volume changes, they are still widely characterized by their rigid structures. Making large changes to manufacturing IT systems with comprehensive structures is complex and requires large amounts of resources. Therefore, it is important for the manufacturing companies to make the correct investments. In previous studies, two current state analyses have been conducted with the aim to map manufacturing engineering processes and IT systems producing assembly work instructions in a mass customization context. This paper presents results from the third part of a longitudinal study which focuses on identifying operators’ information needs in manual assembly of heavy vehicles. This third study aims to identify the information gap between the current state and the wanted state by assessing information needs at 13 assembly stations in three plants belonging to a global production network. The purpose is to identify design requirements for future assembly information systems enabling the practical use of the digitalization

Enhancing Future Assembly Information Systems – Putting Theory into Practice

The manufacturing industry is in a changing state where technology advancements change the mindset of how manufacturing systems will function in the future. Industry 4.0 provides manufacturing companies with new methods for improved decision-making processes and dynamic process control. Despite this ambition, the manufacturing industry is far away from implementing this approach in practice. Assembly information systems will play an even more vital role enabling information transfer from product design to shop floor assembly in the future. To prepare the industry for these changes that are foreseen and for those that are yet to be discovered, a learning factory environment is vital. Such an environment is intended to support the industry during the development of assembly information systems. This paper presents an industrial demonstrator which incorporates well-known methods for improving assembly work stations with the perspective on assembly information systems. These methods are still not widely used in manual assembly intense manufacturing companies. This demonstrator illustrates how established theories can be practically used when designing future assembly information systems. The demonstrator will be used to validate functionalities and requirements for future assembly information systems

Prerequisites for Development of Products Designed for Efficient Assembly - a Study about Making Knowledge Productive in the Automobile Inustry

This thesis deals with the development of the competence tocreate assembly efficient products. The assembly-relatedknowledge that is resident within an organisation is ofinestimable value and should be used, refined and developed inorder to obtain assembly efficient products. The question ishow competence development can be promoted organisationally.This thesis has adopted the working hypothesis thatmodularisation promotes competence in the development ofassembly efficient products. This position is based on theliterature regarding competence development,competence-promoting organisations, and concurrentengineering. The empirical research reported in this thesis is along-term case study carried out at Volvo Car Corporation. Inthe licentiate thesis that preceded this doctoral thesis, itwas suggested that assembly work should be based on modules.The further topics researched in this thesis includeexamination of a modularisation process, examination of thecommunication interface between the assembly organisation andthe product development organisation, the effects ofmodularisation on the assembly process, and an investigation ofthe development of two assembly efficient products. The product of the research is a model representing theorganisational prerequisites for developing competence in thecreation of assembly efficient products. The key elements inthe model are a transparent organisational structure, clearintention in the organisation, and accommodation ofcross-functional exchange. Modularisation is a means ofcreating a transparent organisational structure that makes itpossible for members of the organisation to understand thecontext in which they work, which is a basic requirement fordeveloping competence. A structure for cross-functionalcooperation should be put in place to facilitatecross-functional exchange and learning. To succeed indeveloping assembly efficient products, an organisation mustalso clear signal that this is its intention. Visions, goalsand strategies must express this ambition. Only then will themembers of the organisation have the mindset that enables themto use their full potential to develop competence in creatingassembly efficient products. Keywords:competence-promoting organisation, transparentorganisation, modularisation, assembly efficiency, automobileindustryNR 2014080

Use of Assembly Information in Global Production Networks

Competition on the world market has forced manufacturers worldwide towards higher quality and performancetargets in production systems. Therefore, the manufacturers need to be more cost efficient in their processes. Dueto the rapid changes in technology and market demands the assembly operators meet a high amount of productvariants every day. Earlier research has shown that depending on how information is presented to the assemblyoperator the quality on produced items. Therefore, a case study has been performed to understand how assemblyinformation is treated at different productions sites in different countries in one production network. The case studyhas been carried out through a web survey addressed to 12 different production sites in seven countries. The casestudy is also compared with a previous case study addressed to production sites in Sweden. Since the study isfocused on Global Production Networks the focus of the study is put on how diversity appears within a productionnetwork. The case study shows that diversity may not just be perceived between countries and different productionsites, it can also be perceived within one production site

Multi-Variant Truck Production - Product Variety and its Impact on Production Quality in Manual Assembly

The trend of diversifying product portfolios increases the challenges for global manufactures to keep production processes robust and maintainhigh quality. Manufacturing trucks with high level of customization increases the vulnerability to quality deviations in the assembly process.By studying eight manual assembly stations, at a truck manufacturing plant, it was found that high product variety has negative impact onproduction quality and that high production complexity is connected to high product variety. The study also showed that if operators do nothave proper information systems, with accurate data, they need to trust their own knowledge and skills. Results imply that more research isneeded to address how the production of products with high variety can be handled to lower the exposure to quality deviations

Challenges of handling assembly information in global manufacturing companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe challenges the manufacturing industry is currently facing when developing future assembly information systems. More specific, this paper focuses on the handling of assembly information from manufacturing engineering to the shop floor operators. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple case studies have been conducted within one case company between 2014 and 2017. To broaden the perspective, interviews with additionally 17 large and global manufacturing companies and 3 industry experts have been held. Semi-structured interviews have been the main data collection method alongside observations and web questionnaires. Findings – Six focus areas have been defined which address important challenges in the manufacturing industry. For manual assembly intense manufacturing company, challenges such as IT challenges, process challenges, assembly process disturbances, information availability, technology and process control, and assembly work instructions have been identified and hinder implementation of Industry 4.0 (I4.0). Originality/value – This longitudinal study provides a current state analysis of the challenges the manufacturing industry is facing when handling assembly information. Despite the vast amount of initiatives within I4.0 and digitalization, this paper argues that the manufacturing industry needs to address the six defined focus areas to become more flexible and prepared for the transition toward a digitalized manufacturing industry

Global Truck Production - The Importance of Having a Robust Manufacturing Preparation Process

Global production networks (GPN) are generally hard to manage due to spread of processes and systems. The amount of product variants adds to the complexity. This study, based on interviews and questionnaires, shows an improvement possibility by standardizing the process for preparing assembly work instructions on a global level. Furthermore, several factors that are negatively affected by not having a standard implemented are identified. The empirical findings suggest that a standardized manufacturing preparation process could improve knowledge and information transfer within a GPN. A standardization of the manufacturing preparation process would also decrease diversification in terms of double work and possibility to simplify infrastructure and to reduce the amount of support systems used