Characteristic of a Proactive Assembly System

Paper in proceeding, 2008

Abstract: Competitive assembly systems must cope with frequent demand changes, requiring drastically shortened resetting and ramp-up times. Characteristics of assembly systems capable of rapid change are e.g. Flexibility; Robustness, Agility, and ability to handle frequent changes and disturbances. This paper proposes proactivity as a vital factor of semi-automated assembly systems to increase speed of change. Proactive systems utilize the full potential of human operators and technical systems. Such systems have ability to dynamically change system automation levels, resulting in decrease of time consumed for assembly tasks. Proactivity criteria for assembly systems are reviewed based on theory and industrial case studies