+20% output in 6 weeks: Optimization of an automated assembly line for Vesz-Mont 2000 Kft.

In detail

Fraunhofer IPA has supported the Hungarian equipment supplier Vesz-Mont 2000 Kft. in increasing the output of its automated pre-assembly line at Continental BA UX in Serbia by 20% in a project duration of 6 weeks. The optimizations eliminated a critical bottleneck in the production of automotive displays. The output quantities required by the end customer were exceeded and the reliability of the assembly processes was significantly improved. Various activities were combined to achieve these results:

• Structuring and documenting the known causes of errors and planned optimization measures
• Review and suggestions for optimizing of line operation
• PLC data acquisition and analysis
• Video analyses
• Review of assembly automation (motion sequences and assembly concepts)
• Evaluation of the product design with regard to automated assembly
• Review of material provision and supply

A detailed root cause analysis for line stops, combining video recordings with PLC data recordings, made it possible, among other things, to identify and eliminate causes that were responsible for a large number of minor stops. Reviewing the operation mode allowed to detect and reduce operational output loss. Overall, this enabled the efficiency and overall performance of the assembly line to be sustainably improved. Thanks to the comprehensive and targeted analysis approach and the close cooperation of the project participants on site, numerous pragmatic optimization measures could be implemented without loss of time, which led to significant performance improvements in a short period of time.