Towards automatic validation of operation times in manual processes: Two industrial cases

Konferensbidrag (offentliggjort, men ej förlagsutgivet), 2020

For manual operations in assembly or production logistics is valid time data a prerequisite for
engineering applications as well as cost efficient utilization of resources by enabling accurate
planning and control of the operations. Recent development in digital technologies can support
a shift to a real-time and automatic gathering and analysis of operation times for manual
materials handling and assembly operations. Still, questions arise on the use of such technologies
for the case of measuring operation times, while considering e.g. personal integrity, data quality,
as well as alignment to operational KPIs and engineering applications. This paper introduces
two manufacturing engineering cases at two companies with a basic digital infrastructure in
place and where operational KPIs are used for performance measurement and improvement.
The first case presents a company in the early stages of its digitalization journey where process
mapping, modelling and simulations of a real production situation builds the base for further
investments in real-time data gathering solutions. The second case presents a situation of an
engineering laboratory exploring and developing solutions to be fit for further introduction to
the real production sites. These two case examples illustrate two distinct ends of a digital
maturity spectrum, each one with specific challenges in introducing systems for automatic
validation of operation times in manual processes. The cases are discussed in relation to the
three earlier posed questions and related to challenges concerning operational dimensions (e.g.
efficiency, flexibility, data quality, continuous improvement), human aspects (e.g. integrity,
safety), technology aspects (e.g. data security, interoperability) and cost aspects (e.g. investment
cost, running cost).