Improving the packaging of Crosslaminated timber : A master thesis that examines the environment and methods at Martinsons Såg, Bygdsiljum

Abstract: This thesis is the final assignment for the program master of science in Industrial Design Engineering at luleå university of technology. The timespan is September of 2017 and early January 2018 and is equivalent to 30 high school credits. The work was performed at Martinsons Såg in Bygdsiljum, Sweden.Martinsons is Sweden’s largest producer of cross-laminated timber, crosslam. The staff is divided into two shifts with nine workers each. The production consists of three sections, gluing, CNC and shipping. The factory was expanded in early 2017 but did not achieve planned output. The last section, the shipping, is a bottleneck. The object of this thesis is to find a layout that solves the bottleneck and improve the working conditions in the shipping, and the pace of the system should be determined by the first process, the pressing. The production starts with the planks. Planks are cut to the right dimensions by a saw and placed in layers. Glue is then applied, and more layers are placed and moved to a press while the glue dries. It results in panels. The maximum size of the panels is 16x3 m. A CNC saw cuts the panels to litteras, custom order parts used to build everything from houses to public areas. The workers pack the littera manually. When the litteras are packed, the packages are loaded on trucks for delivery to the customers. The theoretical background of this thesis consists of three major subjects: industrial design engineering, ergonomic and lean production, with a focus on waste reduction. To understand the system the flows and working procedures were documented with observations, interviews, a survey and some filming. An OWAS were used to observed the ergonomic risks and analyse how they can be avoided. Later in the project were a brainstorming session and workshop used to generate concepts to solve the problems. The concepts were evaluated with a value matrix. The results from the examination of the system showed that the real bottleneck in the system was the crane. It was slow and is also used in the waste flows. Two packaging stations for the litteras cannot be used because of the flow of the sawdust, lowering the capacity and flexibility in the packaging. Summarised, the crane could not deal with the demands from the rest of the system. The ergonomic problems consisted of bent and twisted backs while the workers pack the littera. This thesis proposes an investment plan to solve these problems. It consists of two investments that expand the building and expand conveyors, thus removing much of the lifting much lifting with the crane. The waste and littera flows are separated to allow the crane to focus on the main flow of littera.Two new kinds of packaging stations are implemented to help with the packaging: standard stations that pack the littera on lifts and wall packaging stations that packs littera meant for walls that have many weaknesses. The standard stations consist of scissor lift tables that help reduce the time spent with a bent back while packaging. The temperature is maintained at comfortable levels with an airlock to the outside.