International Journal of Human Factors in Manufacturing, 1994
This paper reports on a crucial learning experience relating to design principles applied in the ... more This paper reports on a crucial learning experience relating to design principles applied in the Volvo Car Corporation final assembly plant in Uddevalla, Sweden. These principles include the concept of holistic learning, specifically through the creation and transformation of complementary, interrelated physical, semantical, and cognitive structures. We report on the learning environment and learning aids, as well as the learning method applied to the assembly of onequarter of an automobile performed by one single person. Through the application of this learning concept, it proved possible to dramatically reduce the learning time required for long cycle time assembly work, making cycle times of 2 hours or more a practical proposition for fullscale automotive manufacturing today.
Industrial interventions that focus on increased productivity may impair the ergonomics, on a wor... more Industrial interventions that focus on increased productivity may impair the ergonomics, on a workstation or individual level. This paper presents a method that characterises work time consumption and physical work load of manual work, using video recordings synchronised with physiological measurements of, e.g. muscular activity, and postures. The underlying idea was that it is possible to amalgamate technical and human aspects resulting in a synergetic evaluation. The method was developed through two case studies within the Swedish automotive industry, where manual materials handling was studied. A methodological result was that the synchronising procedure was sufficiently precise to allow work activities to be assigned significantly different levels of physical work load. These different levels may be used to predict physical work load in the design and change of production systems. It was concluded that the method is accurate enough to be a useful tool in industrial interventions. r
ABSTRACT This paper explores materials planning procedures to ensure the materials’ availability ... more ABSTRACT This paper explores materials planning procedures to ensure the materials’ availability during production transfers. The paper defines a production transfer as the preparation, physical transfer, and start-up of relocated production. A structured procedure of materials planning during production transfer is developed based on theory, and then validated and refined based on the analysis of four case studies. The paper shows that there is a need for a structured procedure of materials planning during production transfers. It also explains the importance of activities that create prerequisites for the materials’ availability during production transfer, such as updating and adapting documentation, planning and control systems, and describes the activities that ensure the materials’ availability, such as preventive and corrective actions. A valid estimation of the time needed to reach a steady state and a combination of several preventive actions improves the ability to ensure that materials are available. The cases showed differences across company size, because large companies took more and farther-reaching preventive actions.
International Journal of Production Research, 2012
This paper focuses on parts presentation in manual assembly. Its aim is to determine how kitting ... more This paper focuses on parts presentation in manual assembly. Its aim is to determine how kitting affects the time spent by the assembler fetching parts and, more specifically, what is the impact of the proportion of parts included in the kit. The paper is based on four case studies of automobile assembly, in which parts presentation by kitting is compared to parts presentation in component racks. In the case studies, kitting enabled shorter distances between parts presentation and assembly object and thereby a potential reduction in the time spent fetching parts. However, when only a proportion of parts were kitted, the time spent fetching parts was not always reduced, in spite of this potential. The paper finds that when deciding which parts should be kitted, attention should be paid to how and in what order assembly operations are performed.
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 1995
This paper reports on the innovative, now defunct, Volvo Uddevalla final assembly plant. Theoreti... more This paper reports on the innovative, now defunct, Volvo Uddevalla final assembly plant. Theoretical frames of reference, the design process and empirical data on work group characteristics and working conditions are focused upon.Information regarding the Uddevalla plant has been gathered during a long-term co-operation project with the Volvo Corporation. During the closing-down period we obtained full access to all the production engineering data and personnel files available. We also had the opportunity of studying the responses to a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of blue-collar workers.Working conditions in Uddevalla in the form of psychosocial job factors are compared with industrial blue-collar workers in general as well as with assembly workers in the closed down Volvo Kalmar final assembly plant, which had a different, more traditional, production system. The paper also compares the psychosocial job factors, performance measures and work-group characteristics in the five assembly workshops in the Uddevalla plant.In comparing assembly workshops, the paper contrasts two approaches to competence development and work structuring used in Uddevalla, namely (1) giving priority to individual in-depth training of a specific task or (2) giving priority to a large competence overlap between individuals in a work group.Relevance to industryThis paper reports and explains some results from a multidisciplinary evaluation of shop-floor work in the Volvo Uddevalla plant, a full-scale assembly plant with parallellized flow and long cycle time, using autonomous work groups. These experiences should be of general interest to industries searching for the factory of the future.
International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 2006
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate a strategic change from parallel cell-based ... more Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate a strategic change from parallel cell-based assembly (old) to serial-line assembly (new) in a Swedish company with special reference to how production system design elements affect both productivity and ergonomics. Design/methodology/approach -Multiple methods, including records and video analysis, questionnaires, interviews, biomechanical modelling, and flow simulation were applied. Findings -The new system, unlike the old, showed the emergence of system and balance losses as well as vulnerability to disturbances and difficulty handling all product variants. Nevertheless, the new system as realised partially overcame productivity barriers in the operation and management of the old system. The new system had impaired ergonomics due to decreased physical variation and increased repetitiveness with cycle times that were 6 per cent of previous thus increasing repetitiveness, and significantly reducing perceived influence over work. Workstations' uneven exposure to physical tasks such as nut running created a potential problem for workload management.
International Journal of Human Factors in Manufacturing, 1994
This paper reports on a crucial learning experience relating to design principles applied in the ... more This paper reports on a crucial learning experience relating to design principles applied in the Volvo Car Corporation final assembly plant in Uddevalla, Sweden. These principles include the concept of holistic learning, specifically through the creation and transformation of complementary, interrelated physical, semantical, and cognitive structures. We report on the learning environment and learning aids, as well as the learning method applied to the assembly of onequarter of an automobile performed by one single person. Through the application of this learning concept, it proved possible to dramatically reduce the learning time required for long cycle time assembly work, making cycle times of 2 hours or more a practical proposition for fullscale automotive manufacturing today.
Industrial interventions that focus on increased productivity may impair the ergonomics, on a wor... more Industrial interventions that focus on increased productivity may impair the ergonomics, on a workstation or individual level. This paper presents a method that characterises work time consumption and physical work load of manual work, using video recordings synchronised with physiological measurements of, e.g. muscular activity, and postures. The underlying idea was that it is possible to amalgamate technical and human aspects resulting in a synergetic evaluation. The method was developed through two case studies within the Swedish automotive industry, where manual materials handling was studied. A methodological result was that the synchronising procedure was sufficiently precise to allow work activities to be assigned significantly different levels of physical work load. These different levels may be used to predict physical work load in the design and change of production systems. It was concluded that the method is accurate enough to be a useful tool in industrial interventions. r
ABSTRACT This paper explores materials planning procedures to ensure the materials’ availability ... more ABSTRACT This paper explores materials planning procedures to ensure the materials’ availability during production transfers. The paper defines a production transfer as the preparation, physical transfer, and start-up of relocated production. A structured procedure of materials planning during production transfer is developed based on theory, and then validated and refined based on the analysis of four case studies. The paper shows that there is a need for a structured procedure of materials planning during production transfers. It also explains the importance of activities that create prerequisites for the materials’ availability during production transfer, such as updating and adapting documentation, planning and control systems, and describes the activities that ensure the materials’ availability, such as preventive and corrective actions. A valid estimation of the time needed to reach a steady state and a combination of several preventive actions improves the ability to ensure that materials are available. The cases showed differences across company size, because large companies took more and farther-reaching preventive actions.
International Journal of Production Research, 2012
This paper focuses on parts presentation in manual assembly. Its aim is to determine how kitting ... more This paper focuses on parts presentation in manual assembly. Its aim is to determine how kitting affects the time spent by the assembler fetching parts and, more specifically, what is the impact of the proportion of parts included in the kit. The paper is based on four case studies of automobile assembly, in which parts presentation by kitting is compared to parts presentation in component racks. In the case studies, kitting enabled shorter distances between parts presentation and assembly object and thereby a potential reduction in the time spent fetching parts. However, when only a proportion of parts were kitted, the time spent fetching parts was not always reduced, in spite of this potential. The paper finds that when deciding which parts should be kitted, attention should be paid to how and in what order assembly operations are performed.
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 1995
This paper reports on the innovative, now defunct, Volvo Uddevalla final assembly plant. Theoreti... more This paper reports on the innovative, now defunct, Volvo Uddevalla final assembly plant. Theoretical frames of reference, the design process and empirical data on work group characteristics and working conditions are focused upon.Information regarding the Uddevalla plant has been gathered during a long-term co-operation project with the Volvo Corporation. During the closing-down period we obtained full access to all the production engineering data and personnel files available. We also had the opportunity of studying the responses to a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of blue-collar workers.Working conditions in Uddevalla in the form of psychosocial job factors are compared with industrial blue-collar workers in general as well as with assembly workers in the closed down Volvo Kalmar final assembly plant, which had a different, more traditional, production system. The paper also compares the psychosocial job factors, performance measures and work-group characteristics in the five assembly workshops in the Uddevalla plant.In comparing assembly workshops, the paper contrasts two approaches to competence development and work structuring used in Uddevalla, namely (1) giving priority to individual in-depth training of a specific task or (2) giving priority to a large competence overlap between individuals in a work group.Relevance to industryThis paper reports and explains some results from a multidisciplinary evaluation of shop-floor work in the Volvo Uddevalla plant, a full-scale assembly plant with parallellized flow and long cycle time, using autonomous work groups. These experiences should be of general interest to industries searching for the factory of the future.
International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 2006
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate a strategic change from parallel cell-based ... more Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate a strategic change from parallel cell-based assembly (old) to serial-line assembly (new) in a Swedish company with special reference to how production system design elements affect both productivity and ergonomics. Design/methodology/approach -Multiple methods, including records and video analysis, questionnaires, interviews, biomechanical modelling, and flow simulation were applied. Findings -The new system, unlike the old, showed the emergence of system and balance losses as well as vulnerability to disturbances and difficulty handling all product variants. Nevertheless, the new system as realised partially overcame productivity barriers in the operation and management of the old system. The new system had impaired ergonomics due to decreased physical variation and increased repetitiveness with cycle times that were 6 per cent of previous thus increasing repetitiveness, and significantly reducing perceived influence over work. Workstations' uneven exposure to physical tasks such as nut running created a potential problem for workload management.
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Papers by L. Medbo