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As a result of significant shifts from seller’s markets to buyer’s markets, driven by an increase in product customisation and greater product diversity, manual assembly work is evolving from conventional mass production to high-variety series production and, beyond that, to what is known as industrial customised assembly [1]. Furthermore, an increasingly heterogeneous labour market poses an ever-greater challenge to the planning and efficient operation of assembly systems. This particularly affects SMEs in the electronics and mechanical engineering industries, as well as related sectors.
In the transition towards industrial customised assembly, the situation-based adaptability of assembly systems plays a key role. This enables a rapid response to internal and external influences through situation-based adjustments, substitutions and transformations of the system, thereby optimising time and cost efficiency [2].
The adaptability of factory structures is highlighted as a prerequisite for a sustainable competitive structure, which is made possible by modularity, resource efficiency, cost-effectiveness and speed [3].
Due to increasing product diversity and decreasing batch sizes, changeover activities play a significant role in manual, high-variety assembly systems.
In the traditional sense, set-up is understood as the ‘planned reconfiguration’ of the assembly system following a change of order [3].
The research project that has been launched focuses on developing a methodology to make strictly planned set-up activities more flexible, as well as set-up time optimisation methods (e.g. SMED), with a view to a holistic adaptation of the assembly system. In particular, the aim is to take into account the influences of previous and subsequent orders and to make the assembly system as a whole more efficient.
In the first contribution to this research project, a literature review was conducted to investigate and identify the requirements of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) regarding adaptive methods and solutions in assembly systems.
As workforce heterogeneity increases, assembly systems and processes must be designed in such a way that employees can master the induction process and the work itself, regardless of their different starting points. This requires ‘on-the-job learning’ to be increasingly established as an alternative to the established induction programmes and methods of large enterprises, and to be designed in a way that is feasible for SMEs. A human-centred design of assembly work, with the aim of creating an environment conducive to learning and facilitating personal development, as described by Hacker [4].
Interfaces with existing systems are crucial for the implementation of adaptive assembly systems in a way that suits SMEs. The efficient provision of materials, information and resources is essential, as this influences adaptability when orders change. Assembly assistance systems support these processes and serve as learning aids. Key requirements include the ability to integrate into existing structures, the active involvement of staff, the customisability of work systems, applicability to different assembly principles, and scalability across varying batch sizes. The ability to integrate into existing structures is particularly important to enable implementation whilst operations are ongoing. The integration of staff promotes efficiency and ergonomics. Adaptive solutions must be applicable to different assembly principles and scalable in order to respond quickly to changing demands.
The adaptive assembly approach requires further research into the development and testing of systematic methods for SMEs. This includes planning methodologies incorporating assembly assistance or virtual/augmented reality, as well as the practical validation of these solutions. The applicability to systems with different types of staff must be considered on a case-by-case basis.
About the person
Falk Gruber studied industrial production, specialising in production engineering and management (Bachelor’s specialisation), at the Glauchau University of Cooperative Education (now DHSN) and Mechanical Engineering, specialising in Resource-efficient Manufacturing Technology, at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences. Since December 2024, he has been working as a research assistant in the Chair of Production Informatics at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences and is a PhD candidate under the supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Leif Goldhahn.
Bibliography
[1] Bornewasser, Manfred; Hinrichsen, Sven (eds.) (2020): Informational Assistance Systems in High-Variety Assembly, Berlin: Springer Viehweg.
[2] Niemann, Jörg; Westkämper, Engelbert (eds.) (2024): Digital Production – Challenges and Benefits, in: Handbook of Business Organisation, 3rd ed., 515–530
[3] Neumann, Michael (2014): A Method for Situation-Based Adaptation and Validation of Production Capability in Series Assembly, in: Stuttgart Contributions to Production Research, Stuttgart: Fraunhofer Verlag.
[4] DIN e.V. (2021) German Standardisation Roadmap for an Innovative World of Work. Available at www.dke.de/de/arbeitsfelder/industry/normungs-roadmap-innovative-arbeitswelt [14 May 2025]