ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of any task would be incomplete without mentioning the
people who have made it possible. So it`s with the gratitude that I acknowledge the help,
which crowned my efforts with success.

Life is a process of accumulating and discharging debts, not all of those can be measured. We
cannot hope to discharge them with simple words of thanks but we can certainly
acknowledge them.

I owe my gratitude to MRS.MANEET KAUR, LIM for his constant guidance and
support.

I would also like to thank the various department officials and staff who not only provided
me with required opportunity but also extended their valuable time and I have no words to
express my gratefulness to them.
 ABSTRACT
One of the most revolutionary concepts of Machining Processes to emerge in the last two
decades has been the concept of Flexible Manufacturing System (F.M.S.). It is a concept of
machining where a set of machine tools can be used to perform a wide range of machining
operations to produce a variety of products. This dynamic nature of the machine tools can be
achieved by developing a beautiful amalgamation of Hardware and Software components.
The paper attempts to put forth the concept of Flexible Manufacturing System. It tries to
explain as to why such a system of machining is the need of the hour. It enlightens us about
the various Hardware and Software components of this system and how each of them works
in co-ordination with each other. The paper also explains how a F.M.S. can be designed to
suit the requirements of a particular company’s job profile. Once the F.M.S. has been
designed the paper also tells us how to go about implementing this system right from
procuring the required components to starting production on the system. With the help of
Case Studies the paper explains how companies have set-up F.M.S. and have gained from it.
The paper also tells about the various improvements in results that companies have achieved
by implementing this system. The paper also tells how implementing F.M.S. in Indian
companies can help them face global challenges.
 Introduction
In the middle of the 1960s, market competition became more intense.

During 1960 to 1970 cost was the primary concern. Later quality became a priority. As the
market became more and more complex, speed of delivery became something customer also
needed.

A new strategy was formulated: Customizability. The companies have to adapt to the
environment in which they operate, to be more flexible in their operations and to satisfy
different market segments (customizability).

Thus the innovation of FMS became related to the effort of gaining competitive advantage.

First of all, FMS is a manufacturing technology.

Secondly, FMS is a philosophy. "System" is the key word. Philosophically, FMS incorporates
a system view of manufacturing. The buzz word for today’s manufacturer is "agility". An
agile manufacturer is one who is the fastest to the market, operates with the lowest total cost
and has the greatest ability to "delight" its customers. FMS is simply one way that
manufacturers are able to achieve this agility.

An MIT study on competitiveness pointed out that American company spent twice as much
on product innovation as they did on process innovation. Germans and Japanese did just the
opposite.

In studying FMS, we need to keep in mind what Peter Drucker said: "We must become
managers of technology not merely users of technology".
 FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a group of numerically-controlled machine tools,

interconnected by a central control system. The various machining cells are interconnected,
via loading and Sunloading stations, by an automated transport system. Operational
flexibility is enhanced by the ability to execute all manufacturing tasks on numerous product
designs in small quantities and with faster delivery. It has been described as an automated job
shop and as a miniature automated factory. Simply stated, it is an automated production
system that produces one or more families of parts in a flexible manner. Today, this prospect
of automation and flexibility presents the possibility of producing nonstandard parts to create
a competitive advantage.

The concept of flexible manufacturing systems evolved during the 1960s when robots,
programmable controllers, and computerized numerical controls brought a controlled
environment to the factory floor in the form of numerically-controlled and direct-
numerically-controlled machines.

For the most part, FMS is limited to firms involved in batch production or job shop
environments. Normally, batch producers have two kinds of equipment from which to
choose: dedicated machinery or un-automated, general-purpose tools. Dedicated machinery
results in cost savings but lacks flexibility. General purpose machines such as lathes, milling
machines, or drill presses are all costly, and may not reach full capacity. Flexible
manufacturing systems provide the batch manufacturer with another option—one that can
make batch manufacturing just as efficient and productive as mass production.

There are three levels of manufacturing flexibility:

(a) Basic flexibilities

• Machine flexibility - the ease with which a machine can process various operations

• Material handling flexibility - a measure of the ease with which different part types
can be transported and properly positioned at the various machine tools in a system

• Operation flexibility - a measure of the ease with which alternative operation

sequences can be used for processing a part type

(b) System flexibilities

• Volume flexibility - a measure of a system’s capability to be operated profitably at
different volumes of the existing part types

• Expansion flexibility - the ability to build a system and expand it incrementally

• Routing flexibility - a measure of the alternative paths that a part can effectively
follow through a system for a given process plan

• Process flexibility - a measure of the volume of the set of part types that a system can
produce without incurring any setup

• Product flexibility - the volume of the set of part types that can be manufactured in a
system with minor setup

(c) Aggregate flexibilities

• Program flexibility - the ability of a system to run for reasonably long periods
without external intervention

• Production flexibility - the volume of the set of part types that a system can produce
without major investment in capital equipment

• Market flexibility - the ability of a system to efficiently adapt to changing market

conditions

OBJECTIVES OF FMS
Stated formally, the general objectives of an FMS are to approach the efficiencies and
economies of scale normally associated with mass production, and to maintain the flexibility
required for small- and medium-lot-size production of a variety of parts.

Two kinds of manufacturing systems fall within the FMS spectrum. These are assembly
systems, which assemble components into final products and forming systems, which
actually form components or final products. A generic FMS is said to consist of the following
components:

1. A set of work stations containing machine tools that do not require significant set-up
time or change-over between successive jobs. Typically, these machines perform milling,
boring, drilling, tapping, reaming, turning, and grooving operations.
2. A material-handling system that is automated and flexible in that it permits jobs to
move between any pair of machines so that any job routing can be followed.

3. A network of supervisory computers and microprocessors that perform some or all of

the following tasks: (a) directs the routing of jobs through the system; (b) tracks the status of
all jobs in progress so it is known where each job is to go next; (c) passes the instructions for
the processing of each operation to each station and ensures that the right tools are available
for the job; and (d) provides essential monitoring of the correct performance of operations
and signals problems requiring attention.

4. Storage, locally at the work stations, and/or centrally at the system level.

5. The jobs to be processed by the system. In operating an FMS, the worker enters the
job to be run at the supervisory computer, which then downloads the part programs to the cell
control or NC controller.

Components of F.M.S.
Components of a F.M.S. can be broadly classified into two categories.

• Hardware

• Software

Hardware: - The Hardware component basically consists of Machine Tools and Handling
systems. It incorporates the following equipments

• Machine Tools e.g., Universal Machining Centres, Turning Centres, Drilling Machines etc

• Host Computer.

• Load/ Unload station

• Guided Vehicles e.g., wire-guided trolley, shuttle, over-head conveyor etc

• Robots

• Washing station

• Tool Room

• Swarf Disposal System

• Inspection Hardware (C.M.M. facilities)

• Programmable Logic Controllers (P.L.C.)

Software: -Software for F.M.S. can be divided into 2 broad categories – extrinsic functions
and intrinsic functions.
Software for the extrinsic functions is used to plan and control the functions that take place
outside the physical boundaries of the F.M.S.
Software for the intrinsic functions is used to load and control the components within the
physical boundaries of the F.M.S
Extrinsic Functions incorporate the following operations: -
• Production Scheduling
• Process Planning
• Tool Management
• Maintenance Planning
Intrinsic Functions incorporate the following operations:-
• Production Control
• Production Monitoring/ Reporting
• Machine/ Process Control
• Machine Diagnostic

Working of an F.M.S.
F.M.S. is system where a high degree of flexibility in the machining process is achieved by
an integration of the hardware and software components. The flexibility in F.M.S. is achieved
with the help of software controlling the hardware. The first step in the production of any
component is scheduling the production. The flexibility in F.M.S. is achieved by proper
scheduling of the production process. This is achieved with the help of the production
scheduling software. A variety of computer-based scheduling methods can be used in
production. In order to prepare an ideal scheduling process, certain inputs are required by the
software. These data include Part Data, Pallet Data, Program Data and Machine Data.

It selects the optimal method based on the production objectives, available resources and the
economic considerations to select the batch size. It determines the allocation of part to
machines depending upon the operation to be performed, the availability of the machines and
priority.

Once the scheduling operation is complete, the process planning software takes over. It
determines the type of manufacturing processes that the workpiece has to undergo to be
converted into a finished product. It does so by retrieving specific information from the
central database, and considering machine tool capabilities and tooling. After the type of
machining operation to be performed on a work-piece is decided, the tool management
software selects the appropriate tool to be supplied to the machining centres. It does so by
taking into consideration the tooling status and inventory records and a tool replacement
strategy. Proper interfacing should be provided between these three software.

Once the scheduling and process planning stages are completed, the manufacturing of the
work-piece actually starts. The raw work-piece is first fixed on the pallet and placed in the
pallet store. The Robotic arm then picks up the required pallet and loads it on the guided
vehicles (G.V.). The G.V. transports the pallet to the appropriate machining centre according
to the scheduling program. If the machining centre is busy, the pallet is kept in centre’s buffer
station. The buffer stations are provided so that work is always available for the machining
centre. After the machining is completed on one machine a G.V. takes it to the next
machining centre, if required, for the further processing of the work-piece. In this way the
G.V.s transport the work-piece from machine to machine till it is transformed in to the
finished product. At regular interval intervals of time, the machining operation stops,
allowing probes to come out and measure the dimensions of the work-piece being operated
on. This product is taken to the washing centre for cleaning and then to the inspection station
for checking the product. At the end of the work process, the work-piece is unloaded with the
help of a Robotic arm.

One of the characteristics of an F.M.S. is that a machine tool can work in various modes
depending upon the requirements of the user. These are:

• Automatic mode: - this is the normal mode of operation of the machine tool when part
of the system.

• D.N.C. mode: - In this mode any operation can be initiated at N.C.’s panel without being
watched by the host.

• Maintenance mode: - This mode is used when maintenance is planned for a machine.
The machine is also put in this mode when it is expected to be out of operation for a long
period.

• Stand-alone mode: - This mode can be used to test the part program of a new piece part
before introducing it in the system. The machine is unsynchronised by the host in this mode.
All the processes carried out by the hardware are being monitored in real-time by the various
intrinsic software(s) loaded on to the Host Computer. Thus the Host Computer controls the
whole system.

Developing an F.M.S.
As F.M.S. is such an elaborate technology, its standardisation has been difficult. Thus each
F.M.S. has to be customised to suit the requirements of a particular company. Thus each time
a company wants to install an F.M.S., it has to go through the entire process of designing the
system according to its own needs. A company that wants to build a successful F.M.S. has to
go through 5 major stages of development.

They phases can be classified as follows: -

• Awareness phase
• Planning phase
• Procurement phase
• Installation phase
• Operation phase

Awareness Phase: - The Company first has to gather all the information it needs to
understand the concept of F.M.S. and the potential it holds for the company. It should see
whether the F.M.S. fits the company’s job profile and weather it can derive any significant
benefits from it.

Planning Phase: - Once the company decides to go forward with the implementation of
F.M.S. it must start planning an F.M.S.which suits its requirements. The first step in this
direction would be the setting up of a project team with a project leader to oversee the entire
project. The team should then carry out a financial evaluation of the company before taking
any further steps towards the development of the F.M.S. Based on the evaluation report the
team should formulate a long-term strategy for the effective utilisation of the F.M.S.

Procurement Phase: - The procurement team is entrusted with the job of buying all the
hardware and software components required for setting up the F.M.S. in the company. For
this it selects suitable suppliers based on certain criteria like long-term financial stability of
the supplier, support and level of training provided, reputation of the supplier etc.

Installation Phase: - Once all the components are procured they need to be properly
installed and integrated to form the F.M.S. For this it is imperative that the various suppliers
and the F.M.S. user be present to sort out any problems that may arise during the integration
process. The co-ordinated efforts from all the parties involved will ensure a relatively smooth
installation of the F.M.S. The installation phase involves the following tasks:

1. Construction of the F.M.S. site.

2. Setting up of the hardware and software components of the system.

3. Integration of components to form the F.M.S.

4. Integration of the other departments to the F.M.S.

5. Planning the test and acceptance methods suitable to all parties.

6. Planning for the training and take-over activities.

Operation Phase: - Once the F.M.S. is installed operation process commences. During
the initial process errors are likely to crop up in the hardware and/or software. These errors
have to be debugged for the smooth operation of the system. Over time the F.M.S. user learns
to fine-tune the system to suit his requirements. This constant fine-tuning may bring him to a
stage where he could run the system in a way previously unplanned.

Advantages of F.M.S.

 Productivity increment due to automation.

 Preparation time for new products is shorter due to flexibility.
 Saved labour cost, due to automation.
 Improved production quality, due to automation.
 Reduced inventory, due to the planning and programming precision
 Faster, lower- cost changes from one part to another which will improve capital
utilization
 Lower cost/unit of output, due to the greater productivity using the same number of
workers
 Savings from the indirect labour, from reduced errors, rework, repairs and rejects.
 More efficient use of machinery

Disadvantage of F.M.S.
 The major disadvantage of present day flexible manufacturing systems is their
inability to sustain continued parts production in the event that the central computer is
rendered inoperative due either to planned preventive maintenance or to central
computer malfunction. Since the central computer supplies each CNC machine tool
with the part program in blocks, once the central computer becomes inoperative there
is no other source from which the machines can be supplied with part programs to
allow continued machine tool operation.
 Equipment utilization for the FMS sometimes is not as high as one would expect.
  Limited ability to adapt to changes in product or product mix (ex. machines are of
limited capacity and the tooling necessary for products, even of the same family, is
not always feasible in a given FMS)
 Substantial pre-planning activity.
 Expensive, costing millions of dollars.
 Technological problems of exact component positioning and precise timing necessary
to process a component.
 Sophisticated manufacturing systems.

LITERATURE REVIEW
J. A. Buzacott and David D.(2000) This paper reviews recent work on the
development of analytical models of Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMSs). The
contributions of each of the groups concerned with model development are summarized and
an assessment is made of the strengths and weaknesses of its modelling approach. A number
of directions in which models require extension are outlined, in particular the representation
of such aspects of FMS operation as the tool delivery systems, the blocking phenomenon,
the transient behavior and the differences between flexible machining systems and flexible
assembly systems. Further work is also required on the structure of FMS control and the
integration with plant production planning and control. D. M. McCutcheon (2002) this
field study investigated the management systems developed by two vendors of flexible
manufacturing systems (FMSs). The vendors had very different methods for managing the
development and implementation of their FMSs. They also had very different levels of
client satisfaction. The study's objectives were, first, to determine the management methods
and project outcomes and, second, to investigate reasons appropriate vs. dysfunctional
management methods evolved and were perpetuated. The study indicated that the vendors'
project management methods for controlling their systems developments contributed to their
contrasting rates of implementation problems. More importantly, the methods that each
vendor evolved did not reflect the inherent project risks. Instead, the methods reflected the
vendor's organizational structure and its expectations about its typical client's capabilities.
Erol Gelenbe and Hatim Guennouni (2003) presented a general portable
simulation tool called FLEXSIM which is designed to evaluate certain classes of flexible
manufacturing systems. The originality of our tool is that it achieves the independence
between the data model which represents the whole FMS and the simulation model itself by
using a relational database management system to define the system being simulated. Thus,
the tool has a user interface which is composed of a database management system geared
specifically to handle the FMS simulator. This approach has two major advantages: the
database interface can be coupled directely to the manufacturing database of a real FMS
system, and the user of the tool can address it directly using the terminology and the data
representation related to the real FMS being simulated. N. G. Bilalis and
A. G. Mamalis (2003) examined that Flexible manufacturing systems are, at present, the
most advanced manufacturing systems and constitute an important step towards the
automated factory. Their main area of application is in the small batch production and their
use aims at integrating all the production activities, such as forming, machining, welding,
painting, inspection, assembly, etc., into either an automated system or individual automated
subsystems, which can be connected through the information and the material flow. They
result in a high-level utilization of the work-stations a reduction of the throughput time of
the orders and the work-in-process and implement faster any kind of changes on the
products range. In this paper an overview of the development of the FMS is attempted. The
main characteristics of the FMS used in the metal removal manufacturing processing are
outlined.
Jacek Blazewicz et al (2004) This article attempts to highlight that due to the
increasing applicability in modern industry, flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs), their
design, and their control have been studied extensively in the recent literature. One of the
most important issues that has arisen in this context is the FMS scheduling problem. This
article is concerned with a new model of an FMS system, motivated by the practical
application that takes into account both machine and vehicle scheduling. For the case of a
given machine schedule, a simple polynomial-time algorithm is presented that checks the
feasibility of a vehicle schedule and constructs it whenever one exists. Then a dynamic
programming approach to construct optimal machine and vehicle schedules is proposed.
This technique results in a pseudopolynomialtime algorithm for a fixed number of machines.
Francesco Basile et al (2005)  This paper deals with the definition of a general
approach to the modeling and control specification of flexible manufacturing systems
(FMS). The development and the analysis of complex FMS models can greatly benefit from
the automatic synthesis of the complete models and the availability of a graphic tool to
describe them in a concise way. The automatic synthesis helps the designer to succeed in the
error-prone task of building complex Petri net models or sequential functional charts, while
the graphic representation makes it easier to understand them. The paper puts together a
trace-based formal specification method and a compositional Petri nets approach with
predefined building blocks, leading to a unified framework whose goal is to cope with the
complexity of the FMSs behaviors and constraints. The problem of logic controller
specification is also considered introducing in the behavior description the interaction with
the environment via input and output signals. M. Carmen Ruiz et al (2006) explained
that the success of the manufacturing industry is largely determined by its ability to respond
to the rapidly changing market and customer needs. This has resulted in an increasing
deployment of automated manufacturing equipment and systems that provide the agility to
cope with these new demands. Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) are the most widely
used technology to cover these needs. Of course, these FMS must be studied in a formal
frame, but the complexity and the dimension of real FMS has prevented from developing
efficient control techniques and several challenges are still left. We face up these challenges
and present a language that is able to specify nearly any type of real FMS. We use a timed
process algebra called BTC (for Bounded True Concurrency) that we have developed from
CSP and which takes into account that the available resources in a system have to be shared
by all the processes. It is able to consider heterogeneous resources of any type (preemptable
and non-preemptable) which makes it suitable for specifying FMS. Markku Mattila
(2007) examined that safety improvements of Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMSs) are
improving usability of the system usability and also the competitiveness of the
manufacturing. The aims of this study were 1) to analyze the deficiencies in and the risks of
flexible manufacturing system (FMS) implementations 2) to clarify whether the systems
meet the demands of safety standards and 3) to suggest safety system improvements. The
study was made by using the Safety Analysis for Production Automation and the Safety
Checklist for FMS. The study showed that although the companies considered the FM
systems as one of their safest functions in the workshops, many of the systems do not fulfill
the most common requirements of the safety standards. The requirements were met by 70%
of the targets studied.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

1. To study the need of Flexible Manufacturing system.

2. To find the effectiveness of Flexible Manufacturing system.

3. To find out the contribution of Flexible Manufacturing System in Organisations.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Secondary data has been used and is collected from different websites, and also from
various books, journals and magazines which are mentioned in bibliography section.
FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM IN TOYOTA

Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) in Toyota mainly consists of robots, Computer-

controlled Machines, Numerical controlled machines (CNC), instrumentation devices,
computers, sensors, and other stand alone systems such as inspection machines. The use of
robots in the production segment of manufacturing industries promises a variety of benefits
ranging from high utilization to high volume of productivity. Each Robotic cell or node will
be located along a material handling system such as a conveyor or automatic guided vehicle.
The production of each part or work-piece will require a different combination of
manufacturing nodes. The movement of parts from one node to another is done through the
material handling system. At the end of part processing, the finished parts will be routed to an
automatic inspection node, and subsequently unloaded from the Flexible Manufacturing
System.

CNC machine

The FMS data traffic consists of large files and short messages, and mostly come from
nodes, devices and instruments. The message size ranges between a few bytes to several
hundreds of bytes. Executive software and other data, for example, are files with a large size,
while messages for machining data, instrument to instrument communications, status
monitoring, and data reporting are transmitted in small size.
There is also some variation on response time. Large program files from a main computer
usually take about 60 seconds to be down loaded into each instrument or node at the
beginning of FMS operation. Messages for instrument data need to be sent in a periodic time
with deterministic time delay. Other type of messages used for emergency reporting is quite
short in size and must be transmitted and received with almost instantaneous response.

The demands for reliable FMS protocol that support all the FMS data characteristics are now
urgent. The existing IEEE standard protocols do not fully satisfy the real time communication
requirements in this environment. The delay of CSMA/CD is unbounded as the number of
nodes increases due to the message collisions. Token Bus has a deterministic message delay,
but it does not support prioritized access scheme which is needed in FMS communications.
Token Ring provides prioritized access and has a low message delay, however, its data
transmission is unreliable. A single node failure which may occur quite often in FMS causes
transmission errors of passing message in that node. In addition, the topology of Token Ring
results in high wiring installation and cost.

A design of FMS communication protocol that supports a real time communication with
bounded message delay and reacts promptly to any emergency signal is needed. Because of
machine failure and malfunction due to heat, dust, and electromagnetic interference is
common, a prioritized mechanism and immediate transmission of emergency messages are
needed so that a suitable recovery procedure can be applied. A modification of standard
Token Bus to implement a prioritized access scheme was proposed to allow transmission of
short and periodic messages with a low delay compared to the one for long messages
A system has definite inputs and outputs and acts on its inputs to produce a desired output.
Furthermore, a
system is comprised of many deeply interrelated subsystems The interactions among sub-
systems affect the
output of the system as a whole. The sub-systems must act as an integrated whole to produce
the desired result.
A manufacturing system is a subset of the production or enterprise system. More specifically,
a manufacturing system is the arrangement and operation of elements (machines, tools,
material, people, and information) to produce a value-added physical, informational or
service product whose success and cost is characterized by measurable parameters of the
system design. There are four types of operations in any manufacturing system: transport,
storage, inspection and processing. To ‘optimize operations’ means to improve one element
or operation of the system at a time. Improvement of operations in most cases does not lead
to improvement of the system. Improving system performance requires understanding and
improving the interactions among the elements within a system.
A primary objective of any manufacturing system is to sustain its purpose. An aspect of a
firm’s purpose may be to grow sales and increase profit margins. But neither goal can be
achieved without realizing and constantly improving the entire enterprise and manufacturing
system design. A manufacturing system design may be thought of as an enabler to eliminate
waste. To reduce true cost in a manufacturing enterprise requires the elimination of true
waste. To eliminate waste, a system must be designed to expose waste. Many companies
have attempted to target areas within their companies for waste reduction only to find waste
re-emerging in another part of the business. seven wastes defined by Ohno: overproduction,
conveyance, inventory, waiting, processing, motion and correction . Reducing waste outside
of the context of a system design can be an arbitrary, wasteful activity. According to Deming,
management goals cannot be achieved by unstable systems. Waste can only be reduced when
a manufacturing system has been designed to be stable. The attributes of a stable
manufacturing system are:
1. Producing the right mix
2. Producing the right quantity
3. Shipping perfect-quality products on-time to the customer
The manufacturing system design must enable people to achieve the above objectives
4. In spite of variation (internal and external) to the system
5. While rapidly recognizing and correcting problem conditions in a standardized way
6. Within a safe, clean, bright, ergonomically sound working environment for workers who
are doing standardized work
These attributes for a successful manufacturing system are discussed in a variety of writings.
Cochran asserts that achieving these requirements defines a stable manufacturing system.
Only when the manufacturing system is stable can waste be permanently reduced. When true
waste is reduced, true cost is reduced.
In order to realise Just-in-time perfectly, 100 per cent good units must flow to the prior
process, and this flow must be rhythmic without interruption. Therefore, quality control is so
important that it must coexist with the Just-in-time operation throughout the Kanban system.
Autonamation means to build in a mechanism a means to prevent mass-production of
defective work in machines or product lines. Autonamation is not automation, but the
autonomous check of abnormality in the process. The autonomous machine is a machine to
which an automatic stopping device is attached.
In Toyota factories, almost all the machines are autonomous, so that mass-production of
defects can be prevented and machine breakdowns are automatically checked. The idea of
Autonamation is also expanded to the product lines of manual work. If something abnormal
happens in a product line, the worker pushes stop button, thereby stopping his whole line. For
the purpose of detecting troubles in each process, an electric light board, called Andon,
indicating a line stop, is hung so high in a factory that it can easily be seen by everyone. The
Andon in the Toyota system has an important role in helping this autonomous check, and is a
typical example of Toyota's "Visual Control System."
 FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEM IN HONDA MOTORS

HONDA MOTORS has a multipurpose Flexible Manufacturing system. The 5 axes laser-
cutting machine from world-class manufacturer Prima, Italy, witnesses HONDA’S quest for
international standards. The 5 axes laser-cutting machine obviates the need for blanking,
trimming and piercing operations. The salient feature of the system ensures rapid processing
of parts during the development stage, besides regular production of complicated parts with
substantial savings in tool costs.

When you talk about North American manufacturing, you can't help but talk about Honda
They seem to be where everyone else wants to be. But just when the others come close to
grabbing that golden ring. Honda moves it higher. The 20-year-old Marysville. Ohio. plant is
the first of Honda's North American manufacturing facilities and the last to come on line with
Honda's Global Manufacturing System. The new system, which started in 2000 with the
global launch of the '01 Civic. standardizes all of Honda's plants worldwide. With the
increased flexibility both Marysville and neighboring East Liberty can build any small-size to
mid-size model, making it easy to adjust vehicle mix or introduce new models to the
facilities. The ultimate goal is to reduce the new product cycle from four years to about two-
and-a-half, cuffing investment costs by as much as 50 percent, When work began in early
2000 Honda Corporate gave them two mandates. There could be no interruption in
production and no expansion of the 3.5 million sq.ft. facility unless absolutely necessary.

The first major task was the installation of four new major welding zones. Project Leader
Randy Shiplett says that the team used what they called a "build-and-scrap" approach. The
new floor-component system for line one was installed in what had been a material service
area. Then the old line one floor-component system was torn out and the new line one car
body weld system was installed.

The new weld lines are essential to Honda's flexible manufacturing system, replacing
dedicated hydraulic machines with electric robots that can be programmed to do several
different tasks. Honda Engineering of Japan designs and manufactures the robots as well as a
new electro-servo welding gun that mounts to the robotic arms. The new guns are more
accurate and can be programmed for shorter cycle times, Engineers from Marysville helped
redesign the new gun with the coolant tubes on the inside, making them less prone to damage.
Honda has adopted this design for all of its facilities.

Another key strategy of the global manufacturing system was the installation of five quality
assurance areas where each vehicle is thoroughly inspected, Problems can be found early to
save on the time and extra work to tear down a car to get to something that was done in the
early phase of assembly, Adding the Quality Assurance areas required lengthening the
assembly line by 400 ft., or about 23 car-lengths per station.

While all of this major construction was going on. other improvements were being made as
well. The instrument panel sub-assembly was consolidated into one area, and bumper
painting for both Honda and Acura is now done in a new 80,000 sq.ft. addition. This allowed
Honda to go from three shifts to two, and through the use of a new primer and clear coat
process, final production time was cut by 18 minutes.

The old Acura bumper painting shop is now a materials handling area for welding.

Getting parts into the plant is another area of concern. Initially Marysville was designed to
have all parts flow in from the east-side of the plant. To ease up on floor traffic, door sub-
assembly parts are now delivered from the north and Shiplett says that more delivery areas
will be added to move the delivery of parts closer to their sub-assembly areas.

Tim Downing, Accord engineering project leader, says the next big project will be to tear out
welding line number two as soon as the current Acura TL reaches the end of the model run.
He doesn't know yet what they'll do with the open space, but he suggests that it might be used
to consolidate the door, hood and deck lid finishing areas. There are also plans to make
changes to the main paint line. Currently, paint color is changed every 30 cars and Downing
says that they would like to get that number down.

Honda will get the first real test of its flexible manufacturing system this December, when the
tall, boxy Element life-style vehicle runs down the same line as Civic. Since Honda plans on
building just 30,000 Elements a year, high-volume manufacturer East Liberty now becomes a
niche-vehicle manufacturer as well. With the new common global footprint, Accord
production will now be spread out over plants in China, Thailand, Mexico and Japan. It's the
first time Accord's have been built outside the U.S. in four years. That would free up capacity
at Marysville. Industry insiders tell us that Honda has a unibody mid-size lifestyle pickup
slated for 2005. Could the new beefed-up adjustable assembly carriers at Marysville be a hint
of things to come