ASSURING MATERIAL SUPPLY CONSTRUCTING A SUPERMARKET FOR A MIXED-MODEL ASSEMBLY LINE

Abstract: Dynapac Compaction Equipment AB is an international company operating in the manufacturing industry, producing compaction and paving equipment for road construction. Throughout the years Dynapac has with organic growth and acquisitions developed and expanded the business and are currently operating factories in India, China, Brazil, Germany and Sweden. Dynapac Compaction Equipment AB in Sweden has around 450 employees and the production site is located in Karlskrona. In 2007, Atlas Copco decided to acquire the Dynapac Group as part of the growth strategy and merged into the business area, Construction Technique. At the current state, Dynapac is in a transition phase where an extensive project called 3F, Flow For Future, recently has been launched. The 3F project aims to restructure the inbound flow within the production site and to relocate an existing assembly line to the main production facility. The relocation considers the current production system for soil rollers, including the assembly line and the associated material supply system. The assembly line is to be relocated from the south production facility to the main production facility and adapting the line to the prevailing conditions, regarding layout and technical equipment. At the moment, the considered production area in the main facility holds fixed position assembly stations for low volume models about to be terminated or moved to another production area. This means the storage and material supply routines are planned and constructed for the present assembly conditions. Therefore, associated with the assembly line relocation, the internal logistics and storage configuration needs to be redesigned and constructed in order to fit the future circumstances. The author’s role in the 3F project will be to assist the logistics project team at Dynapac, taking responsibility for material supply and logistic for the soil roller production line. The authors aim to contribute with theoretical knowledge and gained experience. Moreover providing a different perspective and at the same time interact and learn from the employees at Dynapac and the organization as a whole. In order to construct and implement a new refined structure and layout for the material supply system and internal transportation, with the purpose to create best possible conditions for material handlers and assemblers, the study aims to: 1. Challenge the existing storage classification of material included in the assembly line 2. Determine the structure and layout of the storage in the new facility 3. Optimize picking and replenishment of material III 4. Construct ideal transportation routes, from inbound checkpoint to storage area The first aim was reached by the development of a material classification algorithm with output in convenient storage locations such as Supermarket, Line side storage, outdoor storage or SIM on line dependent on part characteristics. The development of the algorithm had its starting point in the analysis of the existing material supply system and current classification procedure. The further development of the algorithm followed an iterative process similar to the PDCA cycle including interviews, direct observation and reality checks. When the algorithm was completed the material to be included in the new production set up was classified to acquire knowledge on space requirements in the Supermarket. To reach the second aim the design of the Supermarket then started. Interfaces and preconditions upstream to inbound logistics and downstream to the production line was determined and served as prerequisites for the layout work which followed a top-down structure. Top-down in this context means the perspective of the design started as broad brush narrowing down to detailed slotting of parts. By the detailed slotting the third aim was reached, this is due to the involvement of activity profiling considering ABC-classification, First fit decreasing heuristic and ergonomic aspects. The last aim was solely reached by considering efficient transportation routes when analyzing all above stated parts of the whole material supply system. The authors suggest a supermarket concept with narrow truck aisle and 1,7 meter wide pick aisle separated by single pallet racks with pick face on ground level and shared buffer locations above. The kit wagon collection zones are suggested being centered in the supermarket, seen from an above perspective. A main truck aisle is further suggested in the middle of the supermarket parallel to the pallet racks. By this high space utilization, safety and good ergonomics are accomplished. As for the truck solution, a man-up narrow aisle truck with ability to pick from floor level and rotate the forks are suggested in order to have one handling cycle from inbound logistics to the storage location in the supermarket avoiding transfer areas. The kit wagons are suggested to be of universal type to reach high utilization and flexibility. Also a kit train is suggested for providing the kits to the line. This report aims to add value to the 3F project at Dynapac Karlskrona, where the production and logistics department are key stakeholders and in extent Dynapac Compaction Equipment AB in Karlskrona. The content of the report is targeting employees at Dynapac as well as students in the final stages attending a technical university with knowledge within the field of production and logistics.