A cost-benefit analysis for a wire harness assembly workstation: Manual vs. collaborative workstation

Abstract

A fundamental competitiveness factor in the wire harness manufacturing industry is the economic aspect. A collaborative robot automation project could be very innovative, but the manufacturer will not invest in the project if it does not produce clear financial returns. The cost-benefit analysis of changing from a manual to a collaborative (human-robot) assembly process of wire harnesses is something that has not been deeply studied in the literature. Therefore, a cost-benefit analysis is proposed to determine if a collaborative assembly process is financially viable in the wire harness manufacturing industry. A case study is presented to verify and validate the analysis proposed. This case study focuses on the cable tie collocation task within a wire harness assembly process. The proposed cost-benefit analysis shows that the country where the analysis is made has great relevance in the financial viability of changing from a manual to a collaborative assembly process due to the workers’ salaries.