Abstract
In a demand context of mass customization, shifting towards the mass personalization of products, assembly operations face the trade-off between highly productive automated systems and flexible manual operators. Novel digital technologies—conceptualized as Industry 4.0—suggest the possibility of simultaneously achieving superior productivity and flexibility. This article aims to address how Industry 4.0 technologies could improve the productivity, flexibility and quality of assembly operations. A systematic literature review was carried out, including 234 peer-reviewed articles from 2010–2020. As a result, the analysis was structured addressing four sets of research questions regarding (1) assembly for mass customization; (2) Industry 4.0 and performance evaluation; (3) Lean production as a starting point for smart factories, and (4) the implications of Industry 4.0 for people in assembly operations. It was found that mass customization brings great complexity that needs to be addressed at different levels from a holistic point of view; that Industry 4.0 offers powerful tools to achieve superior productivity and flexibility in assembly; that Lean is a great starting point for implementing such changes; and that people need to be considered central to Assembly 4.0. Developing methodologies for implementing Industry 4.0 to achieve specific business goals remains an open research topic.
Highlights
The current situation of assembly operations is characterized by an increasingly varied demand while the production faces a trade-off between the superior productivity of automated assembly systems and the absolute flexibility and adaptability of manual assembly
In a context of market demand characterized by mass customization, which heads towards mass personalized production, reconfigurable assembly systems that incorporate both machines and people can lead to cost-effective systems that are flexible and scalable [2]
In a context of market demand characterized by mass customization which heads towards mass personalized production, the increased complexity reaches the boundaries of assembly operations and needs to be considered jointly with other areas
Summary
The current situation of assembly operations is characterized by an increasingly varied demand (mass customization) while the production faces a trade-off between the superior productivity of automated assembly systems and the absolute flexibility and adaptability of manual assembly. High-volume production of discrete goods received heavy investments for automation, while low volume, made-to-order or engineer-to-order products were typically assembled manually [1,2]. In this context, Lean production (a generalization of the Toyota Production System) expanded from its origin—automotive—to many other sectors and was adapted as necessary to the particularities of each industry or company [3]. For Lean, rigid automation can be seen as a hindrance rather than an advantage, and seeks to incorporate the human factor to automation: jidoka, or “automation with a human touch” [4]
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