Purpose - A research gap was identified in relation to the production related factors during ramp-up. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to “simplify production ramp-up by defining how measures could be prioritised in high technology company.” Method – The study used a single-case study method with a qualitative and explorative approach. This method was used to gain in-depth knowledge of the case. The study was conducted at Saab, a high technology company within the aerospace industry. Findings – The findings included a list of critical factors for ramp-up control and two additional critical factors that are relevant to high technology companies, along with five additional measures. From the case the main critical factors were related to personnel, education and experience. Implications – The study has contributed with a simplified ramp-up control method with implications for high technology industries. The new method will contribute to a more effective time to volume phase relevant for both practitioners and researchers. Limitations - As the study uses a new ramp-up control method it has only been applied to one case. The complete data from the case cannot be showcased due to secrecy.

Discrete-event simulations are increasingly being used to solve problems and to aid in decision making which are proving useful in the manufacturing industry. The main aim for this thesis was to compare the current production line and how implementing changes for a future state as a supporting basis for making the decision. The theoretical framework focused on the Lean philosophy merged with simulation-based methods. The simulation model was build using the collected data. A time study was conducted in order to verify the process and setup times since these were only estimated at the time. Two simulation models were built for the current production line and the future state. The future state was based on the current one since no changes in the process and setup times would be made during the two simulation-model. Experiments were then done to compare the different states, one with batch and the other single-piece flow. The parameters were set on equal terms and the compared values were throughput (TH), lead-time (LT) and work in process (WIP). The conclusion drawn from the results is that the future state would be more efficient.

Companies have put much focus on production systems to generate and maintain competitiveness which has contributed in less focus to logistics. The material flow is the process after the main processes and has therefore been regarded as “unimportant”. If the material flow fails, there can be consequences such as inventory-build ups or undersupply of material. Lean thinking is one strategy that may be applied to analyze and identify wastes, but the identification of problems has been harder to detect, while the ability to solve them has not improved at the same rate. Following two research questions has been asked to identify how companies should proceed to improve their inventory management but also what factors contribute to the inventory build-ups.  ·        What may cause excess inventory in manufacturing companies? <ul type="disc">How can a manufacturing company reduce WIP´s? The research method is based on a qualitative approach with an interpretivist research methodology to help answer the questions. A case study was done at a manufacturing company to help answer the research questions. The data has been collected by observations trough section B1 and unstructured interviews with both management and operators. The collected data was later compared to the literature according to the inductive reasoning to be able to make suggestions for improvements. The DMAIC tool has been a central point of this research regarding the mapping of the current state and suggestion of a future state. The case study was conducted at Company X AB in the middle of Sweden which is a company that manufactures components and complete solutions. The focus on production has resulted in less focus on the internal logistics. With the low focus on the internal logistics, inventory build-ups have occurred. The results point to the OEE being a contributing factor to the inventory build-up. The availability of both machines was low and therefore caused the OEE to be low. The low availability was caused by long changeovers, staff shortages, and emergency reparations. The conclusions are that Company X must make improvements so that the factors of the low availability decrease in frequency and severity to reduce the work-in-process (WIP). The improvements should be approached with different lean-tools such as SMED, KANBAN, FIFO and 5S.

The reason for this report consists of two parts. The first reason for this report is that it is an examinational part of the bachelor’s degree for the mechanical engineering program at BTH. The second reason aims to help Movomech with problems that the company has in its production. The company has taken over the production of several standardized cranes, where the production has not been optimized. This report refers to a proposal for optimization in the production. The theory behind the work is to reduce waste, with lean-production. Reduction of the company’s negative impact on the environment is measured in ELU (Environmental Load Unit). And a smaller ELU equals to less negative environmental impact. The work has been carried out in close collaboration with the various departments. Through discussions the needs have been clarified and the work is based on solving these needs. Certain parts of the needs were solved by storing some parts through the production. This will reduce production disturbances since details not always are enabled at, for example, the assembly.

Companies situated in the manufacturing industry are facing many challenges.  In order to stay competitive and to be able to meet customer needs the product and process quality must be ensured through efficient Quality Management (QM) activities. In this context, occurrences of deviations in production processes are often a significant problem causing an increased rate of scraps and rework actions, which have a direct impact on the production system performance. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the concept of IQM in connection with ways to control and reduce deviations within production processes. The single case study approach has been chosen to fulfill the purpose and to answer the research questions of this study. The selected case company is a large wooden furniture manufacturer located in the south of Sweden. The company is a subsidiary of one of the biggest global groups, which is designing, producing and selling furniture and home accessories. Within this case study design, a technique triangulation of observation, document study and interview has been executed in order to gather valid research data.   The results of this thesis are, that deviations in production processes (re-)occur due to human, technological and organizational (HTO) shortcomings, where the interfaces between the three segments play major roles. Moreover, the HTO approach can be the basis for identifying the reasons for deviations, which facilitates the adoption of QM principles, practices and techniques to handle deviations in production processes. The concept of IQM could support the control and reduction of deviations in production processes, but also entails a risk of causing more deviations if it is poorly implemented. Moreover, a framework has been created, which provides an understanding on what role IQM could play in the context of deviations in production processes. It can be concluded, that a good basis for future research regarding IQM has been built. Future research needs to verify the gathered results of this thesis in different settings as well as practically implement IQM to a company´s system.

Ett sätt att konkurrera på den globala marknaden är att ständigt utvecklas. Lean Production används för att ständigt utvecklas och minimera slöserier. Om allt är i ordning och reda reduceras slöserier vilket i sin tur främjar en förbättrad arbetsmiljö. Syfte med studien är att öka förståelsen för vilken effekt en förbättrad arbetsmiljö har på produktivitet. Målet med arbetet är att förbättra arbetsmiljön för att öka produktiviteten. I studien gjordes en nulägesanalys, jämförande mellan nuläge och teori, genomförbarhetsanalys och därefter implementation av förbättringsåtgärder. Med en förbättring av arbetsmiljön i form av ergonomi, ordning och reda samt stress lyckades en förbättring av produktiviteten vid montering ökas med 13,3%

Det finns olika tekniska lösningar för hantering, transport och återvinning av plastindustrins spillmaterial, men vilken metod som är mest lämpad för en specifik industri är svårt att avgöra. Syftet med studien var att få ökad kunskap och förståelse för hur faktorer som arbetsmiljöpåverkan, miljöpåverkan, funktion, flödeseffektivitet och investeringskostnad påverkar val av transportlösning för spillmaterial. Baserat på dessa faktorer är studiens mål att genom en förstudie presentera ett beslutsunderlag för en eventuell investering. För att finna den mest lämpade transportlösningen och förstå det grundläggande problemet med det nuvarande systemet genomfördes en nulägesanalys på fallföretaget. Informationen låg senare till grund när en undersökning av olika lösningsalternativ på marknaden gjordes. För att urskilja de mer relevanta alternativen för fallföretaget användes en kravspecifikation samt Kanomodellen. När de relevanta lösningarna valts ut jämfördes dessa mot varandra genom en QFD-matris för identifiering av den mest lämpliga transportlösningen. Resultatet av studien indikerade genom en QFD-matris att det manuella systemet var att föredra för fallföretaget.

Projektets mål var att konstruera en produkt som Eleikos saknar i sitt sortiment, stapelbara jerk blocks för träning av olympiska lyft samt för gym och fitness. Målet uppnåddes genom användning av Fredy Olssons primär- och princip-konstruktionsmetod blandat med Eleikos egna arbetsmetoder. Arbetet började med några brainstorming tillfällen och mindre utvärderingar. Där de nya idéerna har viktats och sedan utvärderats praktiskt. Många av stegen i Fredy Olssons metod har upprepats för att komma fram till resultatet. Vi har kikat på olika typer av trämaterial och även utforskat möjligheten med en sandwichkonstruktion. Praktiska tester för studs och utmattning på dämpande material har även utförts. De krav som satts har uppfyllts, där de viktigaste fördelarna med vår produkt jämfört med konkurrenterna är den låga vikten och att höjdjusteringarna är anpassade efter antropometri. Detta har uppnåtts genom en unik konstruktion som skiljer sig från konkurrenterna. En färdig prototyp har framställts och vi har avgränsat oss för ytterligare utvärderingar. Eleiko kommer själva utföra slutliga utvärderingar och tester innan denna produkt kan presenteras på marknaden. / The goal of the project was to design a product that Eleiko lack in their assortment, stackable jerk blocks for training of olympic weightlifting and also for gym and fitness. The goal was achieved using Fredy Olssons primary- and principle-contruction method mixed with Eleikos own working methods. The practical work began with a couple of smaller brainstorming periods followed up with basic assessments. A lot of the steps in Fredy Olssons method had to be repeated to produce our results. Different types of wood specimens have been researched as well as the possibility to use a sandwich construction. Experiments have been done to understand the bounce and fatigue of different materials. All the requirements have been achieved with a unique design inspired by anthopometry. This has led to two main advantages compared to competitors, namely the reduced weight and the height adjustments. A physical prototype has been manufactured and will be carefully evaluated by Eleiko after our project has ended, before it can be released to the market.

För att ge olika maskiner olika utväxlingar används kugghjul. Dessa kugghjul tillverkas genom olika typer av processteg. Ett av dessa steg kan vara att dragbrotscha ett kilspår. När dessa kilspår dras, bildas det grader på under och ovansidan av kilspåret. Dessa gradas för hand i dagsläget av Swepart transmission, med processfördröjning och arbetsskador som följd. Hela kugghjulets tillverkningsprocess förutom gradningen av kilspåret, sker helt automatiskt i en större robotcell, där dess processrobot är den som sätter tillverkningstakten. Genom att studera olika gradmetoder och system för automatisk gradning kommer ett lösningsförslag att tas fram för att automatisera gradningen av dessa kilspår utan att påverka tillverkningsprocessens cykeltider negativt. Lösningsförslaget blir en maskin som bygger på modulärt linjärsystem och som gradar kilspåret med hjälp av skärande bearbetning från två håll samtidigt. Dessutom kommer maskinen själv att leverera kugghjulet till transportbandet ut från robotcellen.

WAAM is a relatively unexplored additive manufacturing method. Although research in this area has been performed for some years and the hardware is relatively cheap, the method is not widely used. As the name suggest, it uses wire and an arc welding equipment to deposit beads on top of each other to create a geometry. As WAAM is a near net-shape method, the parts must be machined to its net-shape after the beads has been deposited. BAE Systems Hägglunds AB are investigating the use of WAAM in an industrial robot cell and this Master’s thesis has been written with the purpose of enabling the use of WAAM for manufacturing parts at the company. This report investigates how a part is prepared for WAAM and near net-shape machining. A formula for approximating the cost of manufacturing a part is investigated. A software for slicing a .STL file for generating a toolpath is developed in Matlab. The software then exports the toolpath to a code that the robot can read. It can also generate a digital model of the work piece for net-shape machining through CATIA macro. A model for calculating the cost of using the WAAM-cell once the toolpath for a part is known is presented. The investigated areas and the developed software are then applied to a part, and the results of the report is discussed.