Brownfield Factory Layout Planning using Realistic Virtual Models

To stay competitive in an increasingly digitalised and global context, manufacturing companies need to increase productivity and decrease waste. This means their production systems must improve; something they can achieve in a multitude of ways. For example, increasing the level of automation, improving scheduling and improving product and process flows. Often, these production system improvements entail redesigning the system to incorporate these ensuing changes; a unique and temporary endeavour that is often structured as a project. One part of the production system design process is layout planning, in which the positions of operators, workstations, machines and other parts of the system are decided. This planning process can have a major impact on the overall efficiency of operations.In industrial settings, factory layout planning is often conducted in brownfield settings. In other words, in operational facilities. Since every production system and facility is unique, so is every factory layout planning project. Each such project has different preconditions, existing knowledge, availability and quality of data, lead-times, expectations and driving forces, to name just a few. If factory layout planning were treated as a design problem (more subjective than mathematical in nature), it would be hard to produce a mathematical solution for an optimal layout that would also work in reality. Instead, if a layout is developed and adapted to all real constraints and factors while it is being developed, the result would more likely be installable and work as expected.The long-term vision of this thesis is of a future in which sustainable manufacturing industry continues playing a vital role in society, because its contribution is more than just economic. A future in which the manufacturing industry is appreciated and engaged with by the local community; in which high performance is connected to the successful adoption and efficient use of digital tools in developing and improving existing brownfield production systems. This thesis aims to ensure that manufacturing industry adopts realistic virtual models in its brownfield factory layout planning processes. It does this by identifying and describing common challenges and how they may be reduced by developing and using realistic virtual models. This leads to improvements in the planning, installation and operational phases of production systems.The findings of this thesis show that brownfield factory layout planning represents a significant proportion of industrial layout planning. Its challenges lie mainly in the areas of data accuracy and richness. There are difficulties in grasping scale and perspective, communicating ideas and gathering input in the layout planning phase. By applying 3D laser scanning to provide accurate data and virtual reality to provide immersion and scale, realistic virtual models have been created. These reduce or eliminate the challenges stated above and allow more employees to be involved in the layout planning process. This, in turn, results in the identification of flaws in the layout and improvements in the early stages, rather than during or after installation. There is also an overall improvement to brownfield factory change processes, with costs that pale by comparison to the total cost of layout changes

Virtual Engineering Using Realistic Virtual Models in Brownfield Factory Layout Planning

As more pressure is put on manufacturing companies to increase productivity and reduce waste as a means to remain competitive due to increased globalization and digitalization, many companies find themselves investing in their production systems, leading to changes in their existing factories and production systems. This process is usually performed with 2D CAD drawings and data of varying quality, leading to several challenges along the way. This longitudinal research follows up on eight years of industrial studies where researchers have applied 3D laser scanning and immersive virtual reality to improve the brownfield factory layout planning processes in real industrial scenarios, a novel approach in the research field. By interviewing key stakeholders at each company and analyzing the findings, challenges in data availability and accuracy of existing data, grasping scale and perspective, and challenges gathering input and communicating around planned changes are identified and shown to be substantially alleviated by the application of the technological tools and allowing more people to be part of the factory layout planning process. By using virtual engineering, industries can improve their brownfield factory layout planning process and take wellinformed decisions leading to sustainability benefits via fewer costly mistakes, improved employee engagement, and less need for travel

A tool for holistic assessment of digitalization capabilities in manufacturing SMEs

In a constantly evolving global market, manufacturing companies need to be flexible and adaptive to survive. Digital twins of production systems have been proposed as one part of the solution, however this comes with multiple challenges. Manufacturing SMEs have limited resources and need to direct their efforts in this area wisely. This paper presents a tool for holistic assessment of an SME manufacturer\u27s level of digitalization, in order to visualize current gaps and guide digitalization efforts over a production system\u27s life cycle. The tool was empirically developed together with Manufacturing SMEs and has strengthened their digitalization awareness and capabilities

Increasing Eco-Efficiency Awareness for Ship Loading Process Using Virtual Reality and Gamification

The world is striving for a sustainable future as United Nations proposed the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to reduce the environmental impact and increase societal wellbeing by 2030. In this endeavor, eco-efficiency is considered as one of the key concept to facilitate the successful transition to the sustainable development with the focus to reduce the ecological impact of industry through efficiency improvements. The shipping industry is largely involved in this challenge with a target set by International Maritime Organization to cut emissions from individual ships by 40% from 2008 levels by 2030. The ship loading process is believed to have great impact to the overall eco-efficiency as it is not only a time consuming process but also determines the fuel consumption of the transportation. In this study, we aim to incorporate virtual reality (VR) technology and gamification theories to raise the eco-efficiency awareness in the shipping loading process. A VR application for ship loading process was developed using a real world case in the Baltic sea region. Eco-efficiency concept is introduced in different levels based on the gamification theories. Maritime professionals tested the VR application and provided their feedback. The results are positive that combining VR and gamification can be useful to train operators with eco-efficiency in ship loading operations. It also shows a huge potential to support the shipping industry in this transition towards a more sustainable future. A VR application for ship loading process was developed using a real world case in the Baltic sea region. Eco-efficiency concept is introduced in different levels based on the gamification theories. Maritime professionals tested the VR application and provided their feedback. The results are positive that combining VR and gamification can be useful to train operators with eco-efficiency in ship loading operations. It also shows a huge potential to support the shipping industry in this transition towards a more sustainable future. A VR application for ship loading process was developed using a real world case in the Baltic sea region. Eco-efficiency concept is introduced in different levels based on the gamification theories. Maritime professionals tested the VR application and provided their feedback. The results are positive that combining VR and gamification can be useful to train operators with eco-efficiency in ship loading operations. It also shows a huge potential to support the shipping industry in this transition towards a more sustainable future. The results are positive that combining VR and gamification can be useful to train operators with eco-efficiency in ship loading operations. It also shows a huge potential to support the shipping industry in this transition towards a more sustainable future. The results are positive that combining VR and gamification can be useful to train operators with eco-efficiency in ship loading operations. It also shows a huge potential to support the shipping industry in this transition towards a more sustainable future

Supporting Discrete Event Simulation with 3D Laser Scanning and Value Stream Mapping: Benefits and Drawbacks

Discrete Event Simulation (DES) has been applied to analyze and understand production systems for many decades, however the models created may not accurately represent the spatial data of the system. 3D laser scanning can be utilized to capture and digitalize the spatial data of production systems, giving proper references for the simulation model. This paper evaluates the benefits and drawbacks of using a DES model supported with Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and 3D laser scanning to analyze a low volume production system. Results show benefits in several steps of a DES study, mainly at the cost of simulation speed

On Brownfield Layout Planning

As manufacturing companies strive to increase productivity and decrease waste, to stay competitive in an increasingly global and digitalised context, their production system must improve. Improvements to production systems can be achieved in many ways, including increased levels of automation, improved product and process flows and improved scheduling. Changes to the production system often also imply the need to redesign it. This is often done within a project structure, as it is a unique and temporary endeavour. Layout planning is a part of the production system design process in which the positions of workstations, machines, and other parts of the system are decided. This can have a major impact on the overall efficiency of operations.In an industrial setting, factory layout planning is often carried out in brownfield settings, where investment requires changes to areas of the facility already in use. Because every facility and production system is unique, so is each factory layout planning project. They all have different conditions, knowledge, availability and quality of data, lead-times, driving forces and many other factors. Classifying brownfield factory layout planning as a wicked problem; any solution which assumes existing data is both accurate and sufficient to deliver an optimal answer will fail when implemented, as real layout needs to be adapted to a multitude of different factors, requirements and restrictions during development. These factors are not fully understood until the problem is being solved.The long-term vision of this thesis is to reduce the number and severity of errors in the area of brownfield factory layout planning in the manufacturing industry. Its aims are formulated as a step towards realising the long-term vision of identifying how the research community has handled brownfield factory layout planning and what challenges operational stakeholders encounter during a brownfield factory layout planning process. These aims are addressed using mixed-methods research applied in four different industrial studies; their results are combined and presented in this thesis.The findings show that a large portion of the factory layout planning conducted in industries is in the brownfield setting and most often on parts of facilities. This allows planners to make the most of what already exists, for the sake of economic and environmental sustainability. On the other hand, the research community has focused more on layout planning solutions for full facilities and with little involvement of expert users. Involving expert users and effective utilisation of new technologies has shown promise in taming the wicked problem aspects of brownfield factory layout planning. A new mindset and new approach to brownfield factory layout planning could be the start of an improved process with lower risk and improved solutions, thus yielding higher stakeholder satisfaction

Simulation in hybrid digital twins for factory layout planning

As manufacturing companies make changes to their production system, changes to the factory layout usually follow. The layout of a factory considers the positioning of all elements in the production system, and can contribute to the overall efficiency of operations and the work environment. The process of planning factory layouts affects both installation of the changes and operation of the production system, so the effects can be utilized for a long period of time. By combining 3D laser scanning, Virtual Reality, CAD models, and simulation modelling in a hybrid digital twin, this planning process can be noticeably improved yielding benefits in all phases. This is exemplified via a novel longitudinal industrial study using participant observation to gather data. Findings from the study show that the factory layout planning process can be innovated by smart use of modern digital technologies, resulting in better solution and more informed decisions with reduced risk

A stepwise implementation of the virtual factory in manufacturing industry

A big challenge for manufacturers today is to create a flexible and efficient production system. One way of managing this challenge is to establish a virtual factory, a virtual model of the production unit. Working smarter by using the advantages that digitalization implies enables production of personalized products at increasing speed. This paper explores how to implement such a concept by stepwise increasing the maturity of the virtual factory. Evaluated at a large-scale Swedish manufacturer, local needs and enabling technologies benchmarked at industry leaders have been identified and strategically mapped to their corresponding maturity step. This paper shows that the implementation of a virtual factory relies on standardized work procedures, ensuring its use as a decision aid throughout the company. Implementing a virtual factory in this manner will facilitate user-driven development and more accurate decision making, generating support for efficient production systems

Forming effective culturally diverse work teams in project courses

A culturally diverse student population at Master’s level is a reality at many universities today, as it is at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. However, a common issue is the lack of interaction between home and international students, which counteracts university goals of fostering intercultural cooperation. This paper will discuss and evaluate a pilot project in one Master’s program in production engineering, where activities around group diversity were integrated into a company-based project course. Students were assigned groups where a mixture of backgrounds and expertise were prioritised.The project used a number of group dynamics activities including a pre-survey of expectations of group work; negotiating a group contract; and continuous peer group assessment in order to develop and reflect on the skills required in a culturally diverse work team.From reflective essays that students wrote, as well as interviews carried out, the project and tasks were evaluated. The following themes were identified: attitudes to diversity; the importance of well-functioning communication; and attitudes and roles within the group.Results show that students found this a challenging but useful environment to work in and found the group dynamics activities helpful in negotiating this environment. Continuous peer group assessment, in particular, was seen as helpful in providing a forum for feedback and discussion on individual performance in the group and challenges for the group as a whole.Recommendations include constructive alignment within the program in terms of clear goals, activities and assessment, in order to build up these skills and awareness, not only in a single course but throughout the program

A VSM Approach to Support Data Collection for a Simulation Model

Simulation is a powerful tool to analyze and help in the decision making process of a production system. It is capable of delivering a dynamic analysis, both of the existing system and the future planned system. One major challenge with simulation projects however, is the time required at the initial stage when collecting data. For this study, Value Stream Mapping (VSM) has been selected as a complementary method for the data collection. VSM has been widely spread in industry, and it is a suitable method for identifying value streams and visualizing flows. In this study, the applicability of VSM for data collection is examined for a production system with complex and non-linear flows. The results of this study confirms that VSM can support in the data collection phase, but entails the support from subject matters