Embedding Levels of Automation in Manufacturing Strategy

Paper in proceeding, 2008

Research has shown that alignment between manufacturing strategy and decisions regarding automation are often of an ad hoc nature, i.e. the support for automation decisions is poor. Thus, there is clearly a need for developing support tools to find an appropriate level of automation for more efficient and robust production systems. The aim with this paper is to present a methodology for embedding levels of automation as part of the manufacturing strategy formulation process. The methodology for formulating automation strategy presented in this paper contains five steps where the chosen level of automation is aligned with the manufacturing strategy. Together they form an automation strategy, which secures a desired direction of the firm and also supports robustness and reliability of the manufacturing system due to the holistic approach chosen.