Local Manufacturing - Strategic Operationalisation Of Lean Methods In Manufacturing-related Small And Medium-sized Enterprises (SME)

The economic, social and ecological crises of recent years have shown that a change in our understanding of production and value creation is necessary. A more even distribution of production capacities can promote social and economic stability. The ability to produce locally unavailable products or spare parts at short notice (e.g. manufacturing medical-products during the pandemic) avoids CO2 emissions due to transport and increases local production sovereignty and resilience. This means that production structures need to become more dynamic and responsive for spontaneous demand. Increasing local production at the place of need seems to be a solution that addresses the problems raised. When looking at currently available local production structures, small and medium-sized enterprises can be found at most locations. Unfortunately there is still a lack of productivity compared to industrial production in this enterprises. One form of overarching organisation and corporate culture that is largely established as standard in industry is the Lean Business Model. The introduction of such a strategy offers potentials for increasing the productivity and performance of a company regardless of its size. However, the methods and principles are not consistently applied in small and medium-sized enterprises. In the context of this work, studies were identified that deal with the feasibility of implementing Lean Methods in the manufacturing sector worldwide. The results were bundled into a new data model and subjected to a secondary analysis. The aim is to obtain a complete assessment of all lean implementation methods according to VDI2870 Holistic Production Systems. The suitability of the implementability in small and medium-sized enterprises is extended by an evaluation with regard to the target dimensions time, costs and quality. This creates a new possibility for strategic operationalisation of the Lean Methods for manufacturing companies

The Impact of Openness on Value Co-creation in Production Networks

AbstractThe increasing number and economic importance of production networks is one sign of the on-going paradigm shift from industrial production to value co-creation. This transformation can be described by using the notions of a value creation taxonomy, which is introduced in this paper and gives a structured overview of relevant aspects of the underlying conversion from top down to bottom up economics. In order to gain a deeper understanding of this transformation process, the specific design, characteristics and challenges of those networks will be investigated with regard to their time-dependence using a life cycle model.The present study contributes to a fundamental understanding of the importance of openness as a key success factor of value co-creation in production networks. It gives a systematic characterization of what is meant by “openness” concerning the value creation system, the value creation process and the value creation artifact. Furthermore, an adjusted life cycle model is presented, which may support both, assessment and configuration of openness within those networks by deriving adequate and phase-specific measures

A Linear Programming Model for Renewable Energy Aware Discrete Production Planning and Control

Industrial production in the EU, like other sectors of the economy, is obliged to stop producing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. With its Green Deal, the European Union has already set the corresponding framework in 2019. To achieve Net Zero in the remaining time, while not endangering one's own competitiveness on a globalized market, a transformation of industrial value creation has to be started already today. In terms of energy supply, this means a comprehensive electrification of processes and a switch to fully renewable power generation. However, due to a growing share of renewable energy sources, increasing volatility can be observed in the European electricity market already. For companies, there are mainly two ways to deal with the accompanying increase in average electricity prices. The first is to reduce consumption by increasing efficiency, which naturally has its physical limits. Secondly, an increasing volatile electricity price makes it possible to take advantage of periods of relatively low prices. To do this, companies must identify their energy-intensive processes and design them in such a way as to enable these activities to be shifted in time. This article explains the necessary differentiation between labor-intensive and energy intensive processes. A general mathematical model for the holistic optimization of discrete industrial production is presented. With the help of this MILP model, it is simulated that a flexibilization of energy intensive processes with volatile energy prices can help to reduce costs and thus secure competitiveness while getting it in line with European climate goals. On the basis of real electricity market data, different production scenarios are compared, and it is investigated under which conditions the flexibilization of specific processes is worthwhile

Digital Twin Fidelity Requirements Model for Manufacturing

The Digital Twin (DT), including its sub-categories Digital Model (DM) and Digital Shadow (DS), is a promising concept in the context of Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0. With ongoing maturation of its fundamental technologies like Simulation, Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data, DT has experienced a substantial increase in scholarly publications and industrial applications. According to academia, DT is considered as an ultra-realistic, high-fidelity virtual model of a physical entity, mirroring all of its properties most accurately. Furthermore, the DT is capable of altering this physical entity based on virtual modifications. Fidelity thereby refers to the number of parameters, their accuracy and level of abstraction. In practice, it is questionable whether the highest fidelity is required to achieve desired benefits. A literary analysis of 77 recent DT application articles reveals that there is currently no structured method supporting scholars and practitioners by elaborating appropriate fidelity levels. Hence, this article proposes the Digital Twin Fidelity Requirements Model (DT-FRM) as a possible solution. It has been developed by using concepts from Design Science Research methodology. Based on an initial problem definition, DT-FRM guides through problem breakdown, identifying problem centric dependent target variables (1), deriving (2) and prioritizing underlying independent variables (3), and defining the required fidelity level for each variable (4). This way, DT-FRM enables its users to efficiently solve their initial problem while minimizing DT implementation and recurring costs. It is shown that assessing the appropriate level of DT fidelity is crucial to realize benefits and reduce implementation complexity in manufacturing

Distributed Manufacturing: A High-Level Node-Based Concept for Open Source Hardware Production

Distributed manufacturing is presented as a means to enable sustainable production and collaboration. Rather than rely on centralised production, distributed manufacturing promises to improve the flexibility and resilience to meet urgent production demands. New frameworks of production, based on manufacturing models with distributed networks, may provide functional examples to industrial practice. This paper discusses efforts in distributed production in the context of Free/Open source hardware and devises a conceptual framework for future pilots at which open source machines, such as a desktop 3D printer, may be manufactured in a network of open/fab lab nodes

What are the Role and Capabilities of Fab Labs as a Contribution to a Resilient City? Insights from the Fab City Hamburg

Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the Ever-Given accident in the Suez Canal, which have led to local product shortages and negative social and environmental impacts, highlight the need to build resilience in areas that are highly affected by such events: in cities. One aspect of a multidisciplinary concept of resilient cities is the local manufacturing of physical products, which currently is mainly based on globally complex supply chains. The resilience of a city can be impaired if the supply of consumer goods can no longer be guaranteed, e.g., due to the fragility of supply chains. From this perspective, one of several pathways to a more resilient city is the emerging movement of open production sites (so called Fab Labs), where physical products can be produced or repaired in a distributed way by the consumers themselves. In metropolitan areas such as Hamburg, Fab Labs form networks including makerspaces, open workshops and educational institutions – so called Fab Cities. This article highlights the role of Fab Labs with regards to urban resilience and displays the capability of the Fab City Hamburg to contribute to the resilience of the city. To explore these capabilities, semi-structured interviews were conducted with makers and operators, and different Fab Labs were explored via participant observation. This article demonstrates that Fab Labs can contribute to a resilient city - especially from the perspective of manufacturing capability but also regarding the development of technical education. However, there are clear limitations with regards to the vertical range and manufacturing diversity

IMECE2008-66776 SQUARE FOOT MANUFACTURING -EVENT-DRIVEN MANUFACTURING BY MEANS OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL WORK SPACES

ABSTRACT This paper presents SQUARE FOOT MANUFACTURING (SFM) as new approach to realize changeability in the manufacturing process. SFM encompasses a down scaled manufacturing plant for machining small parts; it has reconfigurable structure and holds micro machining units (MMU) that are reduced in function and flexible in adjustment. Because they are sufficiently small it is easy to move these machine tools between individual operation steps and it is feasible to use more than one of them simultaneously machining one work piece

Production Planning And Control In Distributed And Networked Open Production Sites – An Integrative Literature Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has once again drastically highlighted the trend and need towards urban and distributed production in cities (so-called Fab Cities) and their importance for society in order to independently meet the demand for physical goods. For small but highly individualized products, the manufacturing process is now possible in distributed and open production sites (so called FabLabs) equipped with digital manufacturing machines. These places empower individuals, start-ups, SMEs or companies to innovate, produce and educate. However, many open production sites are operated independently of each other, reducing resource efficiency, capacity utilization and competitiveness. This strives against the trend of physical and digital networking, which the manufacturing industry has long since completed in order to use its capacities more efficiently. In this paper, an integrative literature review is used to hypothesize and verify that such production planning and control (PPC) for open, distributed and bottom-up controlled production networks has not yet been scientifically researched. As a result of the review, it appears that today's production can be divided into three main types. The first main type represents the closed factory with its own PPC. The second main type represents globally connected and distributed value networks (e.g., Industry 4.0, cloud manufacturing) that are controlled top-down. The third and largely unexplored main type consists of open, bottom-up controlled as well as locally distributed but globally connected open production sites. To increase the future competitiveness and resilience of a sustainable Fab City, the authors show that further research is needed on the controlling and governance of open and urban production sites which the authors present in a research agenda