Development of an Assembly Setup and Investigation of Material Feeding Concepts for the Production of Construction Equipment Cabs

Abstract: Volvo CE at Hallsberg, Sweden is specialized in the production of cabs for construction equipment. The organization employs the one-line (mixed-model assembly) method, where cabs for different products are all assembled on the same main line. Operations on the main line are not standardized for all products. The future vision of the company is to establish the fishbone factory concept, where the diversity is introduced in sub-flows and variation is reduced on the main line.This is primarily to reduce balancing losses and eventually reduce the total throughput time of the plant. The thesis work focuses on a new product known as the Next Gen Cab. These cabs are designed to support the fishbone factory concept. Next Gen cabs comprise of physical modules that provide different customer features, but are designed with standard interference and toolpoints. They follow the common architecture approach. The aim of this thesis work is to develop an assembly setup for the production of the front module within the next gen cabs, and investigate a suitable material feeding technique. The work also focuses on the transition phase, which comprise of the production of both existing and Next Gen cabs. The methodology used for the work includes the understanding of the current state to determine possibilities of utilizing the existing setup. The report explains part and process similarities between the existing cabs and Next Gen cabs which aids in the development of an assembly setup through line balancing. Two material feeding concepts have been developed and a framework has been established for part presentation at Point-of-Use. It is followed by a comparison of the concepts based on factors such as kitting time, headcount cost, stock value and required investment. The concepts are evaluated and finally, a conclusion is made along with a recommendation on how the company can proceed when the new products are introduced.