New Method to Improve an Already-Operating Assembly-Line or to Find Out the Best Possible Configuration for a New Assembly-Line

摘要

The survey we are going to present comes from the request to optimize an industrial product pre-assembly chain. Considering the good results we obtained, we've built up a methodology and several instruments dedicated to assembly chains where the human presence is still important. The surveyed assembly line was made of an ever-moving conveyor belt with fixed workspaces along it. The requested targets were as follows: Decrease the number of waste products and pre-assembled product fixes by the end of the line; Improve workers' comfort and efficiency; Improve assembly time by leading the line to the saturation point; Decrease raw materials employ (fixing tapes, adhesives, etc.). There are many aspects to analyze (human factor, layout, equipments, work organization, ...) but they are all linked to each other, as well as there are many factors, linked to each other, that can be changed or modified in order to reach the target. The change of one of these factors, linked to each other, has effect on another factor, generating a reaction sequence on the system and you have to be in a position to foresee it on the whole. Following the analysis, we showed the state of the art, carried out the data processing and the specification of the instruments that make possible an objective results forecast about the changes in the surveyed system.