Marco Bortolini, Maurizio Faccio, Francesco Gabriele Galizia, Mauro Gamberi and Francesco Pilati
Industry 4.0 emerged as the Fourth Industrial Revolution aiming at achieving higher levels of operational efficiency, productivity and automation. In this context, manual assembly…
Abstract
Purpose
Industry 4.0 emerged as the Fourth Industrial Revolution aiming at achieving higher levels of operational efficiency, productivity and automation. In this context, manual assembly systems are still characterized by high flexibility and low productivity, if compared to fully automated systems. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose the design, engineering and testing of a prototypal adaptive automation assembly system, including greater levels of automation to complement the skills and capabilities of human workers.
Design/methodology/approach
A lab experimental field-test is presented comparing the assembly process of a full-scale industrial chiller with traditional and adaptive assembly system.
Findings
The analysis shows relevant benefits coming from the adoption of the adaptive automation assembly system. In particular, the main findings highlight improvements in the assembly cycle time and productivity, as well as reduction of the operator’s body movements.
Practical implications
The prototype is applied in an Italian mid-size industrial company, confirming its impact in terms of upgrades of the assembly system flexibility and productivity. Thus, the research study proposed in this paper provides valuable knowledge to support companies and industrial practitioners in the shift from traditional to advanced assembly systems matching current industrial and market features.
Originality/value
This paper expands the lacking research on adaptive automation assembly systems design proposing an innovative prototype able to real-time reconfigure its structure according to the product to work, e.g. work cycle, and the operator features.
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Marco Bortolini, Maurizio Faccio, Mauro Gamberi and Francesco Pilati
The kitting feeding policy creates kits with the parts of each product to assemble. Each kit contains elements with heterogeneous physical properties imposing heterogeneous…
Abstract
Purpose
The kitting feeding policy creates kits with the parts of each product to assemble. Each kit contains elements with heterogeneous physical properties imposing heterogeneous logistic facilities and management solutions for storage and handling. The purpose of this paper is to present and apply a two-step procedure to design the part warehouse layout and to assign locations in case of kitting with high-variety part attributes. The proposed procedure aims at reducing the kitting travelled distance, shortening the picker paths, best positioning the components in the warehouse to enhance the possibility of creating kits through a single corridor access. The saturation of the warehouse and the minimization of the required storage space are also considered.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting from part categorization, the proposed two-step procedure, of general applicability, designs the component warehouse, sizing the corridors (Step 1) before clustering the kits in terms of part commonality and best-assigning clusters to corridors (Step 2) with the goal of reducing the travelled distance and saturating the available storage space.
Findings
A comparison model considers the traditional versus the proposed warehouse layout highlighting the potential saving in the picker travelled distance. A case study taken from the harvesting machine agricultural sector exemplifies the applicability and the practical implications of this research.
Originality/value
Elements of originality are the warehouse design strategy and the assignment model for parts based on their physical attributes and their occurrence in the assembly kits. Finally, the case study taken from industry, with a high number of components and part categories, adds value to the research making the proposed procedure able to address large-scale industrial problems.
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Luca Barbazza, Maurizio Faccio, Fabio Oscari and Giulio Rosati
This paper aims at analyzing different possible assembly systems, including innovative potential configurations such as the fully flexible assembly systems (FAS), by defining a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at analyzing different possible assembly systems, including innovative potential configurations such as the fully flexible assembly systems (FAS), by defining a novel analytical model that focuses on the concept of agility and its impact on the whole system performance, also evaluating the economic convenience in terms of the unit direct production cost.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a comparison model derived by Newton’s second law, introducing a quantitative definition of agility (acceleration), resistance of an assembly system to any change of its operative state (inertia) and unit direct production cost (force). Different types of assembly systems (manual, flexible and fully FAS) are analyzed and compared using the proposed model, investigating agility, system inertia and their impact on the unit direct production cost.
Findings
The proposed agility definition and the proposed comparison model have been applied considering different sets of parameters as independent variables, such as the number of components to assemble (product model complexity) and the target throughput of the system. The main findings are a series of convenience areas which either, for a given target unit direct production cost (force), defines the most agile system to adopt or, for a given target agility (acceleration), defines the most economical system to adopt, as function of the independent variables.
Originality/value
The novelty of this work is, first, the analytical definition of agility applied to assembly systems and contextualized by means of the definition of the new comparison model. The comparison between different assembly systems on the basis of agility, and by using different sets of independent variables, is a further element of interest. Finally, the resulting convenience areas represent a desirable tool that could be used to optimally choose the most suitable assembly system according to one or more system parameters.
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Maurizio Faccio, Mojtaba Nedaei and Francesco Pilati
The current study aims to propose a new analytical approach by considering energy consumption (EC), maximum tardiness and completion time as the primary objective functions to…
Abstract
Purpose
The current study aims to propose a new analytical approach by considering energy consumption (EC), maximum tardiness and completion time as the primary objective functions to assess the performance of parallel, non-bottleneck and multitasking machines operating in dynamic job shops.
Design/methodology/approach
An analytical and iterative method is presented to optimize a novel dynamic job shop under technical constraints. The machine’s performance is analyzed by considering the setup energy. An optimization model from initial processing until scheduling and planning is proposed, and data sets consisting of design parameters are fed into the model.
Findings
Significant variations of EC and tardiness are observed. The minimum EC was calculated to be 141.5 hp.s when the defined decision variables were constantly increasing. Analysis of the optimum completion time has shown that among all studied methods, first come first served (FCFS), earliest due date (EDD) and shortest processing time (SPT) have resulted in the least completion time with a value of 20 s.
Originality/value
Considerable amount of energy can be dissipated when parallel, non-bottleneck and multitasking machines operate in lower-power modes. Additionally, in a dynamic job shop, adjusting the trend and arrangement of decision variables plays a crucial role in enhancing the system’s reliability. Such issues have never caught the attention of scientists for addressing the aforementioned problems. Therefore, with these underlying goals, this paper presents a new approach for evaluating and optimizing the system’s performance, considering different objective functions and technical constraints.
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Maurizio Faccio, Mauro Gamberi, Mojtaba Nedaei and Francesco Pilati
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the autoclave-pump pressured water distribution system. Pressured water is used in many manufacturing processes, as a raw material or…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the autoclave-pump pressured water distribution system. Pressured water is used in many manufacturing processes, as a raw material or as a service fluid for different applications.
Design/methodology/approach
The performances and the total installation costs of such systems are strongly related to its design and to its decision variables definition. The authors first identify the independent variables (i.e. the decision variables) and the dependent variables of the system and, second, propose a techno-economic mathematical method able to determine its minimum installation cost with an integrated approach.
Findings
The trade-off between the autoclave installation costs versus the pump installation costs is demonstrated. A sensitive analysis of the cost of the system as function of its decision variables has been performed to propose a practical graphical analysis tools to proper design the integrated pump-autoclave pressured water distribution system.
Originality/value
Many previous researches focus only on the pump system optimization or in the tank system optimization without an integrated approach. The wide utilization in industry of the autoclave-pump pressured water distribution system together with the lack of similar contributions in this area enforces the value of this research.
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Huseyin Selcuk Kilic and Mehmet Bulent Durmusoglu
– The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review on parts feeding policies and to provide the components of parts feeding systems via a classification structure.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review on parts feeding policies and to provide the components of parts feeding systems via a classification structure.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper determines the scope and components of parts feeding systems via a classification structure under three main components such as the storage of parts, transport of parts and feeding policy. Afterward, it is focused on parts feeding policies and the related papers are reviewed and analyzed according to their feeding policy types, objectives, solution methodologies and the application types.
Findings
A classification structure showing the components and scope of parts feeding systems is provided. Parts feeding policies are handled in detail and feeding policy types, objectives, solution methodologies and application types in the existing studies are presented in this paper. However, the paper highlights the open research areas and advances for academics and presents applied solution methodologies and case studies for practitioners.
Originality/value
This paper reveals the scope of parts feeding systems by presenting a classification structure including three main components and related subcomponents and provides a comprehensive literature review on parts feeding policies.
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Christian Finetto, Giulio Rosati, Maurizio Faccio and Aldo Rossi
This paper aims to provide a framework for the choice, design, set-up and management of a fully flexible assembly system (F-FAS). Many industrial applications for small batch…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a framework for the choice, design, set-up and management of a fully flexible assembly system (F-FAS). Many industrial applications for small batch productions require highly flexible automated manufacturing systems. Moreover, some extensions of the F-FAS concept are provided.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews recent findings regarding the F-FAS with a top-down approach, and defines an integrated implementation framework. This framework is structured into three strictly correlated phases, and the presented procedure is organized to be readily used for new industrial applications. Practical applications are presented to show how the system can satisfy flexibility demands in a variety of cases.
Findings
The proposed framework is organized in three steps: convenience analysis of the F-FAS compared to a traditional flexible assembly system; an optimal design of the feeder; a choice of the set-up and sequencing algorithm yielding the highest throughput. Following these steps, the F-FAS can become an effective solution for small batch productions with frequent reconfigurations. However, due to the limited throughput, the system is not well suited for large batches.
Originality/value
The presented framework allows to implement an F-FAS for a given industrial application, and to evaluate its efficacy with respect to other assembly technologies. Moreover, with the same implementation framework, the F-FAS concept can be applied to production fields that are different from assembly, as shown by the provided examples. This represents an important element of originality and of interest for its strong practical implications in different production environments.
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Antonio C. Caputo, Pacifico M. Pelagagge and Paolo Salini
The purpose of this paper is to develop analytical planning models to compare just-in-time (JIT) delivery and line storage (LS) alternatives for a continuous supply of materials…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop analytical planning models to compare just-in-time (JIT) delivery and line storage (LS) alternatives for a continuous supply of materials to assembly lines.
Design/methodology/approach
A mathematical model is developed to size resources and to determine total system costs.
Findings
The choice of assembly lines feeding policy requires a thorough economic comparison of alternatives. However, the existing models are often simplistic, neglecting many critical factors which affect the systems’ performances. As a consequence, industries are unsure about which system is best for their environment. This model allows to compare the cost and suitability of two major continuous-supply alternatives in any specific industrial setting. Results of the model application are case-specific and cannot be generalized.
Research limitations/implications
The model is aimed at single-model assembly lines operating in a deterministic environment. Although relevant quantitative cost drivers are included, some context-related qualitative factors are not yet included. The model assumes that the information about product structure and part requirements is known and that a preliminary design of the assembly system has been carried out.
Practical implications
Production managers are given a quantitative decision tool to properly assess the implementation of continuous material supply policies at an early decision stage, and determine which option is the best, also allowing to explore trade-offs between the alternatives.
Originality/value
With respect to previous simplified literature models, this new approach allows to quantify a number of additional factors which are critical for the successful implementation of cost-effective continuous-supply systems, including error costs. No other direct comparison of LS and JIT is available in the literature.
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Fatme Makssoud, Olga Battaïa, Alexandre Dolgui, Khumbulani Mpofu and Olayinka Olabanji
The purpose of this study is to develop a new mathematical model and an exact solution method for an assembly line rebalancing problem. When an existing assembly line has to be…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop a new mathematical model and an exact solution method for an assembly line rebalancing problem. When an existing assembly line has to be adapted to a new production context, the line balancing, resources allocation and component management solutions have to be revised. The objective is to minimize the number of modifications to be done in the initial line in order to reduce the time and investment needed to meet new production requirements. The proposed model is evaluated via a computational experiment. The obtained results the efficacy of the proposed method.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper develops a new mathematical model and an exact solution method for an assembly line rebalancing problem with the objective to minimize the number of modifications to be done in the initial line to reduce the time and investments needed to meet new production requirements.
Findings
The computational experiments show the efficacy of the proposed method.
Originality/value
These reconfiguration costs were analysed for different part-feeding policies that can be adopted in an assembly line.