OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT PROJECT

ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN
ASSEMBLY LINE

GROUP 5
SECTION A
MBA (IB) 2018-20

By: Anshika Khattar 11A | Harshita Saluja 22A | Mansi Aggarwal 29A |
Shinjini Goswami 47A| Loic 61A | Maxime 65A

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

In 1913, “Henry Ford created the first moving assembly line. A mechanical process that adds
parts to an object as it is moved through a system. It allows for faster manufacturing time than
by-hand created products. The Model T was moved through a conveyor system as workers
attached different parts to it. Using these steps enabled the car to be created at much faster
speeds and helped boost the number of cars created per work day”.

“Before the assembly line was created, it took many workers over 12 hours of hard labor to
create one Model T. Because of the cost of labor involved, the price of cars was very high and
the average citizen could not afford to own one. After the assembly line, workers were able to
produce Model T's very easily. It was much cheaper, efficient, and less time consuming. Each
Model T only took about 93 minutes to completely assemble; a drastic difference to the prior
time period. Because of the cheaper cost of producing each car, the price dropped for the citizen
trying to buy it.”

“The assembly line was important during this time due to its purpose in mass production. But,
to this day is still used as the main form of manufacturing and is a big factor in commerce
around the globe. It allowed vehicles to be produced less expensively for both the consumer
and the company. It saved the companies money by helping them pay less for their labor per
vehicle produced. It allowed the consumer to have a vehicle as part of their everyday life. The
ease of production also led to companies charging less for their vehicles and that is what
allowed more consumers to obtain a vehicle.”

“Manufacturing assembly systems are subject to many technological transformations because

of the volatile demand pattern tied to the products being manufactured. New technologies and
manufacturing environments such as cloud manufacturing, ubiquitous design and
manufacturing, and augmented reality have emerged following virtual manufacturing and some
are partially practiced in industry.”

With the development of technology the Manufacturing sector is witnessing a resurgence,

primarily through the rise of use of Automation, Robotics and advance manufacturing
techniques in the sector.

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Right from advanced robotics in Research and Development Labs to Computer vision in
Warehouses, technology has been making an impact in every step of manufacturing process.

Static Technologies have become a thing of past as the Assembly line invites changes through
the following dimensions & aspects of a typical manufacturing process:

1. Automation via Robotics

2. New factory designs that lower manufacturing’s environmental impact
3. Software Optimized Efficiency

These measures have played a role in revolutionizing Assembly Lines by implying elimination
of human element and replacing them with automatic controls that guarantee a level of
accuracy and quality that is beyond human skills.

Computer Advances have resulted in assembly lines that are entirely run by computers
controlling industrial robots of all kinds, which are performing not only repetitive, elementary
tasks but are also sufficiently intelligent via feedback mechanisms instilled in them to regulate
or adjust their own performances to suit changing situations. Especially in the Automobile
industry, assembly lines consist of machines that re run by machines. Human functions, though
still required have been reduced down to those of quality control, repair and routine inspection,
as well as for highly specialized tasks. In fact, rather than minimizing the human skills needed
to oversee these systems, today's automated assembly lines require more highly skilled
workers.

With our Analysis of Assembly Lines, we have studied the importance of determining the steps
necessary for manufacturing each product component and the final product while designing an
Assembly Line. It is of consequence to simplify the material movement, ensuring no cross
flow, backtracking or repetitious procedure. Various aspects of Manufacturing, like Work
Assignments, Number of Machines and Production rates are programmed so that all operations
along the Assembly line are compatible.

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 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 LITERATURE

A lot of work has been done with regard to the evolution of the assembly line in the past
industrial revolutions in the past few centuries. The first mention of the concept of assembly
lines comes as early as the 12th century, where ships were produced in the Venetian arsenal by
workers, where one ship could be completed each day at the peak of production. Since then,
assembly have come a long way, from Ford’s conveyor- type automated assembly line to the
modern assembly lines, such as those ok Coca Cola’s, which deploys robotics and maximum
automation wherever it can. [1]

With the advent of technology, several innovations have taken place in the conventional
assembly lines. The recent phase of technological innovations which have been relying
significantly on information technology and robotics enabled smart solutions, has given rise to
the “Industrial Revolution 4.0”, and also referred to as the “Computer Integrated
Manufacturing (CIM)”. This started by the integration of robotics into the production line from
the 70s to the 90s, along with low skilled labour as helping hands, and today the level of this
integration has flexibly peaked to a great extent. [2] Today, the assembly line has several
innovations to its credit, which are proposed to be integrated in a manner as indicated in the
diagram below. [3]

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It is predicted that manufacturing efficiency, through artificial intelligence, natural language
processing and robotic intervention, will increase at seven times the rate of growth seen in the
in the industrial revolution of the 90s. 3D- printing gives the manufacturer the ability to see
what the product looks like before it is actually manufactured. The ability to sketch a product
with AR/VR before printing it using 3D printing will decrease the chances of errors in the
assembly line, time of manufacturing and increase the precision of manufacturing in case of
products such as silicon wafers, semiconductors, ICs etc. Decentralized manufacturing of the
parts and usage of block chain technology and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software
for tracking resource location and status will help unite data from various regions and
consolidate the data thus brought together. This kind of modularity in the complex process will
help bring down the time of manufacturing, as demonstrated by Ford- from 12 hours to 90
minutes, leading to a reduces cost (and therefore, increased sales) of the Ford Model T from
$850 to less than $300. Taking the example of Ford forward, it has also invested heavily in
robotics to increase efficiency, such as the dirt detection system which checks for surface
irregularities and paint imperfections in the final assembly of the product [4].

Apart from the integration of the virtual with the real, different types of industries are also
looking at different types of innovations in the methods of production, as stated in a report by
the World Economic Forum (WEF) [5]. This caters to the unique demand of each industry and
the services expected by the customers thereafter, as illustrated in the diagram below.

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To Summarize:
Documents
The evolution of assembly
lines: A brief history
by Robert Corday
Smart production systems: a
new type of industrial
process innovation Smart
production systems: a new
type of industrial process
innovation
by Hartmut Hirsch-
Kreinsen, Faculty of
Economics and Social
Sciences
Dortmund, Germany
Future Factory : How
Technology is Transforming
Manufacturing
by CB Insight
Description Insights
It talks about how the concept of assembly Constant evolution
line comes from as early as 12th century by & technological
mentioning the ships which were produced advancements are
in the Venetian arsenal. It also talks about the key for
the Ford’s conveyor type automated improving assembly
assembly line and how Coca Cola deploys line
robotics and max automation.
It describes how recent phase of Huge potential in
technological innovations which have been Human & machine
relying significantly on information interaction. The
technology and robotics enabled smart world is progressing
solutions, has given rise to the “Industrial towards a more
Revolution 4.0”, and also referred to as the integrated systems
“Computer Integrated Manufacturing
(CIM)”
It talks about how the prediction that Technology plays a
manufacturing efficiency, through artificial vital role in
intelligence, natural language processing improving the
and robotic intervention, will increase at efficiency of
seven times the rate of growth seen in the in assembly line
the industrial revolution of the 90s.
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2.2 GAPS IN LITERATURE REVIEW

• Human machine interaction and potential effects.

• Management hierarchy of the potential ‘robotic’ interventions, and its work culture
impact.
• Geography and demography specific needs and innovations to cater to specific target
groups
• Cost and revenue projections or analysis of the technology
• Usage and feature promotion strategies for the same

2.3 REFERENCES FOR LITERATURE REVIEW

[1]. https://robohub.org/the-evolution-of-assembly-lines-a-brief-history/
[2].https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286929599_Smart_production_systems_a_new
_type_of_industrial_process_innovation_Smart_production_systems_a_new_type_of_industr
ial_process_innovation
[3]. https://www.cbinsights.com/research/future-factory-manufacturing-tech-trends/
[4]. https://corporate.ford.com/articles/history/100-years-moving-assembly-line.html
[5].http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_White_Paper_Technology_Innovation_Future_of_
Production_2017.pdf

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 CHAPTER 3
GAP IDENTIFICATION

After a detailed study of the available Literature, we have identified the following gaps in
the existing scenario:

• Human machine interaction and potential effects.

• Management hierarchy of the potential ‘robotic’ interventions, and its work culture
impact.
• Geography and demography specific needs and innovations to cater to specific target
groups
• Cost and revenue projections or analysis of the technology
• Usage and feature promotion strategies for the same

CHAPTER 4
OBJECTIVES

Based on the Literature review and subsequent gap identification, we have identified the
following as the Objectives of our study:

1. Analyzing the manual operations and assessing the impact of machines replacing
human labour.
2. Evaluating the role of technology in improving the efficiency of assembly line
processes like material handling, interior assembly and quality control.
3. Determining the role of technological changes in enhancing business model to diversify
customer base and gain market share.

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 CHAPTER 5
CHALLENGES & DRIVERS

CHALLENGES/BARRIERS

Unfortunately, it is not easy for a company to achieve the ideal dream and it faces multiple
problems, at different levels: financial, material, ethical. Some of the challenges are:

1. Dehumanization
Machines often replace skilled labour. Robots assemble cars that were once assembled by men
and women. Of course, people are always employed to perform tasks that machines cannot
manage and to take care of the machines themselves. However, these tasks are nowadays
performed by more qualified employees leaving little room for the labour force of the past.
Moreover, these tasks do not employ as many people as they used to.

2. Environmental Consequences
New technologies involve the use of new processes, new materials that are all the more harmful
to the environment. So, the emergence of nanotechnologies has led to pollution by thousands
of trillion tiny plastic particles in the oceans, rivers and even in our bodies (e.g. the study on
water bottles: Kinley/Aquafina...). Moreover, the ability to manufacture large-scale, high-
precision "smart" machines has made it possible to extend drilling and oil exploitation activities
to the areas of environment that were previously protected from such activities.

3. Computer Vulnerability
With the emergence of new technologies, new problems and threats are emerging. Indeed,
assembly lines are nowadays fully automated in large industries. Thus, the hackers can sneak
into manufacturing technology to steal company secrets - or worse, interfere with normal
manufacturing operations and stop the assembly line for the benefit of a competitor.

4. Obsolescence
Technology is advancing rapidly and the latest technological innovations are generally the most
expensive. Spending on new technologies, such as installing robots on a production line and
training workers in their use, creates an entry barrier that can prevent cash-strapped companies

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from modernizing their production. Moreover, once updated, with the cost invested, this same
company may not be able to change its technology once a new one has appeared.

5. Data Integration
We live in a world where data production is done in different ways. At the production level,
data is generated and collected from different sensors of machines, processes, products, quality,
logistics, and infrastructure data; all contribute to the explosion in data size. The use of IoT
devices has grown exponentially over the last decade, leading to the quantity, heterogeneity
and speed of data produced at the production level. The lack of standardization of data
management is one of the most important issues facing large companies. To ensure the proper
functioning of the company, it is necessary to have new methodologies for storage, processing
and management. New algorithms, models, products and visualization techniques are needed
to use the data and derive real benefits.

Fig. Illustration for integration of IOT in assembly line

6. Security
Safety is also a major concern and will be the major concern in the next 10 years. The trend
towards the use of intelligent devices in production is increasing. This use presents a very high
safety risk. Indeed, the monitoring of these devices, used in production, is also a challenge from
the point of view of software and hardware, which is often ignored. All devices, whether

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industrial machines, computers, tablets or smartphones, must be updated regularly to avoid
threats. A challenge that is not yet mastered today.

7. Process Flexibility
Thanks to technology, information flow, and the personalization and individualization of the
offer, product cycles are becoming shorter and shorter. This requires flexibility in production,
while remaining profitable. In order to ensure this flexibility, the production environment
should be adaptable at the process level. Today, the technology used is inadequate and does
not allow the flexibility of the process. Managing change at the production level is a major
challenge. Traditionally, these production processes and systems were developed and managed
in isolation in different departments. The challenge is to standardize and synchronize processes
between departments within the company to provide effective flexibility.

Fig. Mobilized robotics in Assembly line

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DRIVERS

Drivers vary from one organization to another. Below is a summary of some common
production indices that are used for production in assembly line:

1. Number of units (good or bad)

An essential measurement value in production is the number of products manufactured. The
number of units (good or bad) generally refers to either the number of products that have been
manufactured since the last machine configuration, or the total number of the production of all
workstations or the whole week. Many companies compare the production results of different
workers and positions in order to create a competitive spirit among employees.

2. Cadences
Machines and processes produce goods at variable rates. At different speeds, slower rates
generally penalize profits, while too fast rates make quality control more difficult. It is therefore
important that the operating speeds remain homogeneous.

3. Objective
Many organizations have production waste, production rate and quality objectives. This index
helps to motivate employees to achieve certain performance objectives.

4. Cycle
The cycle is the duration of a step or total time required to perform a job. By highlighting these
indicators, manufacturers can quickly identify where bottlenecks are occurring in a process.

5. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (TRS)

The overall efficiency of the installation is a parameter obtained by multiplying availability
with performance and quality in order to determine the resources consumed. Production
managers want OEE values to increase because they indicate better staff efficiency and
machine availability.

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6. Duration of immobilization
The downtime is considered one of the most important observable drivers - regardless of
whether it is due to a technical malfunction or a simple adaptation of the machine. When the
machines do not work, no money is generated; reducing downtime is thus a simple way to
increase profitability. Organizations that track downtime generally require machine operators
to enter a "stop code" using a keypad, button or bar code reader so that the most common causes
can be exploited later.

CHAPTER 6
DATA COLLECTION METHOD

Data has been sourced from resources such as World Economic Forum Digital Transformation
of Industries, A. T. Kearney reports, expert interviews etc. The research is descriptive in
nature. For deeper understanding of the technological trends in manufacturing industry, reports
from CB Insight & Ford’s 100 years moving assembly line report was studied. The data is
presented in the form of tables & flow charts for increased clarity & understanding. There was
primary research done for the cases mentioned.

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 CHAPTER 7, 8 & 9

CASE STUDY – ANALYSIS and RESULTS

Case 1: The automation of an assembly system: A business process re-engineering

(BPR) perspective

This paper deals with the adaptation of automation as a solution of business problems and
visualising thus changes from a business process re-engineering perspective. The expanding
level of mechanization in industrial offices is a cutting edge incline in assembling. The present
pattern of gathering computerization is obvious in both the arranging of new mechanical
production systems and the upgrade of a current one. The paper presents and addresses nine
reasons for automating:

● Increase labour productivity

● Reduce labour cost
● Mitigate the effects of labour shortages
● Reduce or eliminate routine manual or clerical tasks
● Improve worker safety
● Improve product quality
● Reduce manufacturing lead time
● Accomplish processes that cannot be done manually
● Avoid the high cost of not automating

The identification of the correct dimension of automation for best framework execution results
from a reasonable and all-encompassing way to deal with automation. The mechanical
production system configuration is frequently complex because of the high number of factors
included, for example, line proficiency, cost, unwavering quality standards and space. This
leads us to follow a structured approach to assembly re-design.

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The phases of the re-designing of the assembly line are depicted in the diagram as follows-

Steps involved in the experiment:

The initial step of the procedure was the as-is examination, where the present condition of
the business procedure in the organization has been broken down. Three instruments were
utilized to gather data relating to the as-is procedure:
● The collection of technical data from available document analysis
● The on field observation and the exchanges of view with the operators
● The operations simulation on a test bench.

The period term of this initial step was 20 days.

The second step is the procedure and design overhaul, where the current assembly
procedures have been mapped and after that rearranged so as to enhance the operational
productivity, to decrease Wastes (Muda), Unevenness or inconsistency (Mura) and Overburden
of individuals and machines (Muri).

The third step of the strategy is the operator preparation and alignment. Direct
experience, verbal transmission of information and the reorganizing of what employees
already know into a new configuration have been included in the operator training, even if
it takes place for a very short duration of time, such as five- seven days.

The last step of the methodology is the mass production where the new production process
is observed and analyzed in order to quantitatively evaluate the obtained improvement. The
duration of this phase was 20 days.

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Results:
The result was calculated on the basis of two parameters:
● The workstation saturation
● The employed workforce

The new line has shown an increase in saturation, and a decrease in the number of
employees required to handle the line from a total of eight in the initial line to six in the
redesigned one.

Case 2: Smart Adaptable Assembly Systems

This paper deals with the different ways in which automation may be incorporated into the
assembly line.

The advancements are divided into three parts:

Advances in assembly processes, which includes:

● Material handling
● Robotic assembly
● Autonomous processes
● Disassembly and remanufacturing

The following diagrams are representative of various process in Assembly line and
subsequently depict the advances incorporated in the Assembly Line.

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Advances in assembly systems, which includes:

● Mixed- model assembly systems, which means assembling different products/systems

in the same assembly line
● Reconfigurable assembly systems, which can be arranged according to our needs
● Evolvable assembly system
● Ramp-up process
● Line balancing
● Complexity of assembly systems
● Advances in inspection and quality control

Intelligent systems, including:

● Smart factories
● Augmented reality

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Case 3: Practical applications in automotive and manufacturing sector: Three examples

The examples of Hirotec, AW North Carolina and Black and Decker have been taken as an
illustration to show the benefits of automation and smart systems.

Hirotec, a Japanese automotive company, tackled unplanned downtime innovatively by paired

an IoT platform from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) partner PTC with HPE Edgeline
systems, boosting its operations technology capabilities with predictive analytics. Through this,
Hirotec increased continuous perceivability into its business tasks, which enabled the
organization to address issues that increased its proficiency and throughput.
The arrangement additionally prepared Hirotec to use AI to foresee and counteract emergencies
in basic frameworks.

Fig. CAD model of robot functioning on assembly line

Fig. Actual Implementation of Robotic Automation

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AW North Carolina, Inc. (AWNC), a manufacturer of automatic transmissions and
transmission components, is using smart manufacturing technology from Cisco to improve the
efficiency of its manufacturing plant. The organization highlighted that there has been zero
system downtime since the usage of Cisco's new innovation. The brilliant assembling stage
gave AWNC the chance to grasp distributed computing and actualize new enterprise resource
planning (ERP) and manufacturing execution systems (MES) to mechanize and examine
information and procedures.

Fig. AW North Carolina Assembly line

Power tool manufacturer Black & Decker turned to Cisco for wireless connectivity, and to
Aeroscout Industrial for its enterprise visibility solutions to provide an internet of things (IoT)
solution that increases visibility and decreases complexity in its manufacturing plant in
Reynosa, Mexico. The plant achieved an estimated 10% greater labor efficiency and better use
of labor critical resources, which improved utilization rates from 80% to 90%. It also resulted
in quality improvements with first-time pass defects per million opportunities reduced by 16%.

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 CHAPTER 10
RECOMMENDATIONS

Investment is at the heart of the growth strategy of companies and national economies. All
economic agents are called upon to modernize, renew and increase the production capacity of
national wealth, but it is for companies that investment is the main reason for existence and
even a vital necessity in view of competitive pressures.

The first difficulty then consists in clearly identifying the multiple dimensions that the
investment phenomenon, characterized by the risk-taking of companies in a largely uncertain
environment, is taking on today.

Thus the modernization of the production line is a significant investment that must be
carefully considered because it is very expensive. However, in the long term, this can provide
a competitive advantage sustainable.

• Performance: After investing in new technologies, it is essential to measure activity

and return on investment. To do this, it is necessary to compare the quality of the
finished product/service with the previous production.

• Training: Ensure that the new manufacturing process is known by all employees of the
company as well as all stakeholders (suppliers, management...)

• Maintenance: New technologies are technical tools that require know-how and acute
knowledge to ensure their maintenance and therefore the proper functioning of the
manufacturing process.

• Finance: From a financial point of view, technology makes it possible to be more

competitive and therefore to generate greater profits. That being said, it is
recommended to make good use of the profits generated in order to reinvest in the
company and increase the company's growth.

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• Constant evolution: Technology is an evolving entity. Thus it is generally accepted
that when a company is at the cutting edge of technology at the time T, it will be
obsolete in part just after that time. For example, a brand-new production line will be
out of date on the day it is commissioned. Indeed, between the time when it was
designed, manufactured, implemented and the time it was put into operation, the
technology has already evolved. For this reason, it is imperative that the company
is constantly in a process of research and development and innovation concerning
its supply chain.

• Ecology: At a time when robotization and respect for the environment must be
reconciled. Indeed, robotization within an assembly line must be seen as a tool that can
have a positive environmental impact.

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 REFERENCES

Case Study 1:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301701380_The_automation_of_an_assembly_syst
em_A_business_process_re-engineering_BPR_perspective

Case Study 2:

https://ac.els-cdn.com/S2212827116302943/1-s2.0-S2212827116302943-
main.pdf?_tid=67514639-59c7-4c9c-9945-
3d3a1555cdd8&acdnat=1551436022_90913215fa5cf3763043b567dee09f97

Case Study 3:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827116302943

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