Improving competitiveness of an assembly line by simulation based productivity increase - A case study

As a result of constant competitive pressure, companies are forced to constantly look for ways to produce more efficiently. To increase production efficiency and competitiveness, the actual situation needs to be analyzed and measures proposed. However, proposals, when put into practice, do not always result in improvements, due to various errors and omissions in their design. A helpful tool to minimize failures is to apply computer simulations, in which the proposed solutions are being tested and a proven solution implemented into practice afterwards. This is especially important when a proposed solution requires increased investment costs and time. This paper deals with streamlining technological processes on an assembly line of a turbocharger with an electrically controlled actuator, by automating a section of the assembly line (reduced number of operators and defective products), based on analysis and identified deficiencies. The Tecnomatix Plant Simulation software was chosen to analyze the assembly line's condition, as well as to simulate proposed measures' impact on the line's improvement. The design brings increased efficiency of a turbocharger assembly process and a reduced number of workers. According to the simulation results, when proposed improvements are applied, the annual production of the assembly line increases from 89,575 pieces to 98,139 pieces, which is 8,564 pieces more, i.e., an increase of 9.56%, while reducing the number of workers from four to three.