The product development process for the automotive industry is normally complicated, lengthy, expensive, and risky. Hence, a study on a new concept for Low Volume Automotive Manufacturing (LVAM), used for niche car models manufacturing, is proposed to overcome this issue. The development of a hybrid Knowledge Based (KB) System, which is a blend of KB System, Gauging Absences of Pre-requisites (GAP), and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed for LVAM research. The hybrid KB/GAP/AHP System identifies all potential elements of LVAM issues throughout the development of this system. The KB System used in the LVAM analyses the gap between the existing and the benchmark organisations for an effective implementation. The novelty and differences in the current research approach emphasises the use of Knowledge Based (KB) System in the planning and designing stages by suggesting recommendations of LVAM implementation, through: a) developing the conceptual LVAM model; b) designing the KBLVAM System structure based on the conceptual LVAM model; and c) embedding Gauging Absences of Pre-requisites (GAP) analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach in the hybrid KBLVAM System. The KBLVAM Model explores five major perspectives in two stages. Planning Stage (Stage 1) consists of Manufacturer Environment Perspective (Level 0), LVAM Manufacturer Business Perspective (Level 1), and LVAM Manufacturer Resource Perspective (Level 2). Design Stage (Stage 2) consists of LVAM Manufacturer Capability ¿ Car Body Part Manufacturing Perspective (Level 3), LVAM Manufacturer Capability ¿ Competitive Priorities Perspective (Level 4), and LVAM Manufacturer Capability ¿ Lean Process Optimisation Perspective (Level 5). Each of these perspectives consists of modules and sub-modules that represent specific subjects in the LVAM development. Based on the conceptual LVAM model, all perspectives were transformed into the KBLVAM System structure, which is embedded with the GAP and AHP techniques, hence, key areas of potential improvement are recommended for each activity for LVAM implementation. In order to be able to address the real situation of LVAM environment, the research verification was conducted for two automotive manufacturers in Malaysia. Some published case studies were also used to check several modules for their validity and reliability. This research concludes that the developed KBLVAM System provides valuable decision making information and knowledge to assist LVAM practitioners to plan, design and implement LVAM in terms of business organisation, manufacturing aspects and practices. / Universiti Malaysia Pahang and Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia

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Tillverkande företag med hög produktvariation och låg produktionsvolym har problem med frekventa ställ på grund av att maskiner behöver ställas om vid byte mellan de olika produkter som skall produceras. Single Minute Exchange of Die, även kallad SMED, är ett lean verktyg som kan implementeras i syfte att reducera ställtider. Genom att implementera SMED kan tillverkande företag öka sin effektivitet och sänka sina produktionskostnader. Dock har många företag problem vid implementering av SMED eftersom de inte anpassar metoden till det egna företagets förutsättningar. Komponentavdelningen hos Atlas Copco i Tierp, som tillverkar produkter i höga variationer och i låga volymer vill därmed att en implementering av SMED skall undersökas för att kunna få förslag på hur framtida implementationer kan förbättras. Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka implementationen av SMED på komponentavdelningen hos Atlas Copco för att kunna ge förslag på hur framtida implementationer kan förbättras. För att uppnå syftet observerades en implementering av SMED på komponentavdelningen. Vidare utfördes en litteraturstudie för att undersöka hur andra tillverkande företag med hög produktvariation och låg produktionsvolym har implementerat SMED. Litteraturstudien behandlade även liknande utmaningar som komponentavdelningen har haft vid implementering av SMED och hur de har överkommit dessa utmaningar. Detta är för att hjälpa komponentavdelningen förbättra framtida implementationer av SMED. Resultatet av detta arbete visade att implementationer av SMED på tillverkande företag med hög produktvariation och låg produktionsvolym kan skilja sig åt, vilket är positivt eftersom det är viktigt att anpassa SMED till företagets egna förutsättningar. Däremot bör de viktigaste stegen i den ursprungliga implementationen av SMED utföras för att uppnå ställtidsreduktioner. De utmaningar som tillverkande företag med hög produktvariation och låg produktionsvolym står inför vid implementering av SMED är främst brist på engagemang och kunskap hos de anställda. De förbättringsförslag som har tagits fram för komponentavdelningen är att införa utbildningar kring SMED samt resultatindikatorer som påvisar ställtidsreduktioner i syfte till att öka de anställdas engagemang. Vidare rekommenderas att komponentavdelningen filmar ställprocesserna samt implementerar 5S för att effektivisera framtida implementationer av SMED. / Manufacturing companies with a high mix and a low production volume have problems with frequent changeovers due to the fact that machines need to be turned off when switching between the different products produced. Single Minute Exchange of Die, also known as SMED, is a lean tool that can be implemented in order to reduce setup times. By implementing SMED, manufacturing companies can increase their efficiency and reduce their production costs. However, many manufacturing companies have problems in their implementations of SMED because they do not adapt the method to the company's own conditions. The component department at Atlas Copco in Tierp, which produces products with a high mix and a low production volume, wants an implementation of SMED to be observed in order to receive proposals for how future implementations can be improved. The purpose of this thesis is to observe the implementation of SMED in the component department at Atlas Copco in order to be able to provide suggestions on how future implementations can be improved. To achieve the purpose, an implementation of SMED was observed in the component department. Furthermore, a literature study was conducted to analyze how other manufacturing companies with a high mix and a low production volume have implemented SMED. The literature study also addressed similar challenges that the component department has had when implementing SMED and how they have overcome these challenges. This is to help the component department improve future implementations. The results of this thesis showed that implementations of SMED on manufacturing companies with a high mix and a low production volume can differ, which is positive because it is important to adapt implementations of SMED to the company’s own conditions. However, the most important steps in the original implementation of SMED should be performed to achieve setup time reductions. The challenges that manufacturing companies with a high mix and a low production volume face when implementing SMED are mainly lack of commitment and lack of knowledge among the employees. The improvement proposals that have been developed for the component department are introducing training around SMED, as well as performance indicators that show setup time reductions in order to increase employee involvement. Furthermore, the component department should film setup processes and implement 5S to streamline future implementations of SMED.

No / A conceptual design approach is an important stage for the development of a hybrid Knowledge-Based System (KBS) for Low Volume Automotive Manufacturing (LVAM). The development of a hybrid KBS, which is a blend of KBS and Gauging Absences of Pre-requisites (GAP), is proposed for LVAM research. The hybrid KB/GAP system identifies all potential elements of LVAM issues throughout the development of this system. The KBS used in the system design stage of the LVAM system analyses the gap between the existing and the benchmark organisations for an effective implementation through the GAP analysis technique. The proposed KBLVAM model at the design stage explores three major components, namely LVAM car body parts manufacturing perspective, LVAM competitive priorities perspective and LVAM lean environment perspective. Initial results reveal that the KBLVAM system has identified, for each perspective modules and sub-modules, the Problem Categories (PC) in a prioritised manner. / The financial support by the Malaysian Government, Universiti Malaysia Pahang and University of Bradford for this research is grateful acknowledged.

In a period marked by escalating demands for defense equipment, this master thesis aims to explore deviation management practices within HMLV (High-Mix Low-Volume) productions, a common practice among firms operating in the defense sector. To achieve this objective, a case study methodology has been employed, drawing insights from a representative company within the industry. The study adopts a qualitative approach, incorporating internal interviews and on-site observations, thereby grounding its findings in firsthand data. Concurrently, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to contextualize the findings, examining theories such as ISO standards, lean principles, and Smart Manufacturing in the specific context of HMLV productions, facilitating the derivation of informed conclusions. The analysis of gathered data revealed four primary areas posing challenges to effective deviation management within the case company: process development, organizational development, resource management, and data management and analysis. Building upon these identified challenges, an action plan was developed to ensure deviations are addressed in proportion to their impact on production, emphasizing a proactive stance. Drawing from the current state of affairs within the case company, the study underscores the imperative to prioritize deviation management, particularly given the heightened production demands within the defense industry. Furthermore, it suggests that many of the identified issues across the aforementioned areas could be mitigated by fostering a culture of continual improvement. By implementing strategies aligned with this and enhancing their deviation management practices, the company can transition from a reactive to a proactive approach, leading to increased efficiency and quality within the HMLV-production.

The ongoing globalization of companies has resulted in a highly competitive business climate where companies have to be cost-effective but still flexible with fast response to customer feedback and present in the international scene. In order to meet the fast paced technological development from the competition and changing demand of the customers, companies focus on creating new products and reducing their time-to-market with an early product launch to gain profits from increased market shares. However, in order to maintain profitability of the new product, it becomes even more important for the company to quickly deploy a full-scale production of the product, also known as the production ramp-up phase. Despite being known as a major cost driver in new product development projects, production ramp-up is a research area which have yet received sparse attention compared to research on product launch and time-to-market in new product development projects. However, with shorter product life-cycles and higher market competition it has resulted in a need to shorten the length of a new product’s ramp-up time without making any trade-off to the cost-effectiveness of the ramp-up project and the end product’s final quality. The study identifies the common problems in volume production of a contract electronics manufacturer and their sources of disturbances from the new product introduction process. It also identifies the factors influencing the new product introduction process at the company and how these factors are connected different sources of disturbances. To identify these findings, a single case study was designed and performed at Orbit One AB, a contract electronics manufacturer with a low-volume production of products. The data collection course was executed in an iterative manner over a period of four months through interviews, observation and internal documentation and was backed up and analyzed with a literature study. The data collection through interviews was carried out in two separate rounds, where the first round of interviews was focused on identifying the common problems in volume production and the second round was focused on the factors influencing the output from the new product introduction process. The discoveries from the interviews were analyzed together with the other sources of collected data to reach a conclusive analysis. The results of the study showed that the most common problems in volume production of the company could be traced to six different sources of disturbances: Product, Production System, Design-Production Interface, Quality, Resource Management, and Personnel. The most common problems could also be summarized as: Problems with manufacturability of product; High variation of process performance, Poor correctness of information, Quality issues with products, and High workload on resources. The factors identified in the findings of the study shows that there are multiple and connected factors which affects the final output of the new product introduction process which corroborates with earlier studies and research in the area of production ramp-up. The study did identify two factors which has not been identified by other ramp-up studies, these were: Lack of organizational project culture and customer flexibility.

Generellt ser automationsgraden bra ut för tillverkande företag i Sverige, men vid en djupare granskning syns det att utvecklingen i små och medelstora företag (SMF), går långsamt framåt. För att Sverige ska behålla sina framträdande roll som industrination krävs ökad automation och robotisering i SMF. Därför syftar studien till att skapa ökad förståelse kring SMF:s utmaningar och påverkansfaktorer för automationsbeslut. I studien utförs kvalitativa intervjuer med fem små och medelstora företag. Forskningen grundar sig i ett ramverk som består av insamlat teoretiskt material och utgår från tre identifierade huvudområden; Produktiontekniska utmaningar, Interna utmaningar och Extern påverkan. Undersökningen visar på att SMF tenderar att stå inför en rad olika utmaningar som automation kan vara en lösning på, men också att viss problematik kan uppstå vid automatisering. Studien visar också på att samband existerar mellan företags utmaningar och att det även kan skilja sig beroende på om företag verkar som underleverantörer eller levererar produkter direkt till slutkund. / In general, the degree of automation for manufacturing companies in Sweden seems to be fine, but upon a deeper examination it appears that the development in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is slowly progressing. In order for Sweden to retain its prominent role as an industrial nation, increased automation and robotization in SMEs are required. Therefore, the study aims to create an increased understanding of SME challenges and influencing factors for automation decisions. In the study, qualitative interviews are conducted with five small and medium-sized companies. The study is based on a framework consisting of collected theoretical material and is based on three identified main areas; Production engineering challenges, internal challenges, and external impact. The study shows that SMEs tend to face a variety of challenges that automation can be a solution to, but also that some problems can exist within the implementation of automation. It also indicates that relationships exist between companies' challenges, but that they may also differ depending on whether companies act as subcontractors or deliver products directly to end customers.