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Abstract
In this article, an analytical method is introduced to evaluate the flow time of an assembly process with collaborative robots. In such a process, an operator and a collaborative robot can independently carry out preparation tasks first, then they work jointly to finish the assembly operations. To study the productivity performance of such systems, a stochastic process model is developed, where the joint work is modeled as an assembly merge process, and the task times of all operation steps are described by phase-type distributions. Closed-form solutions of system performance, such as flow time expectation and variability, as well as service rate, are derived analytically. The system properties of monotonicity, work allocation, and bottleneck identification are investigated. In addition, a case study is introduced to evaluate the performance of a front panel assembly process in automotive manufacturing.
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Ya-jun Zhang
Ya-jun Zhang is currently pursuing his PhD degree in control science and engineering, Southeast University, China. He received a BS in electrical engineering and MS in control science and engineering from Shanghai Institute of Technology, and Donghua University, China in 2014 and 2017, respectively. His research interests include optimization and control of production and inventory systems.
Ningjian Huang
Ningjian Huang is a Lab Group Manager at General Motors Global R&D Center. He received his PhD in systems engineering from Oakland University in 1991. He has 25 years experiences in automotive manufacturing. He has been managing the company's advanced manufacturing technology portfolios for many years, overseeing the technology transfer in every manufacturing areas. He led a project on Plant of Future where new potential game changing technologies were assessed and explored. In his current capacity, he is responsible for strategy, architecture, research and development in robotics and automation, with a focus on smart manufacturing. He has 30+ records of inventions, and 100+ publications.
Rober G. Radwin
Robert G. Radwin is the Duane H. and Dorothy M. Blumke Professor in industrial and systems engineering and biomedical engineering at UW-Madison. He received a BS in electrical engineering from New York University in 1975, and MS degrees in electrical and computer engineering and in bioengineering from the University of Michigan in 1979. He earned a PhD in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan in 1986. He received a Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation and a Special Emphasis Research Career Award from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in 1991. He has seven filed or granted US Patents. He has received several awards as an innovator and researcher, is a fellow of five professional societies, and has served on numerous national committees. He is the reviews track editor for the journal Human Factors and associate editor for the journal IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors. He is founding chair of the UW-Madison Department of Biomedical Engineering and is a Discovery Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. His primary research interests are in instruments and analytical methods to assess physical stress in the workplace; causes and prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders; and ergonomics of manually operated machinery, equipment, medical instruments, and hand tools. His research is supported by NSF, NIH, NIOSH, NASA, companies and foundations.
Zheng Wang
Zheng Wang received a BS degree in mechanical engineering from the Changchun Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Changchun, China, in 1993, and MS and PhD degrees in control theory and control engineering from Southeast University, Nanjing, China, in 1998 and 2001, respectively. He is currently a professor with the School of Automation, Southeast University. He has authored or coauthored articles on international refereed journals, such as IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, IIE Transactions, European Journal of Operational Research, and International Journal of Production Research. His research areas include manufacturing systems control, production and inventory control, and supply chain management. He is a senior member of IEEE and a member of INFORMS.
Jingshan Li
Jingshan Li received BS and MS degrees in automation and a PhD in electrical engineering from Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and University of Michigan, in 1989, 1992 and 2000, respectively. He was with General Motors Research & Development Center from 2000 to 2006, and with the University of Kentucky from 2006 to 2010. He is now a professor in Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and the Associate Director of Wisconsin Institute for Healthcare Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. He received the 2010 NSF Career Award, 2006 IEEE Early Career Award, and multiple best paper awards in IIE Transactions, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, and multiple prestigious international conferences. He is the senior editor, department editor, area editor, and associate editor of multiple IEEE and IISE Transactions and leading journals in manufacturing and service systems. He is an IEEE Fellow and an IISE Fellow, and an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer in robotics and automation, and organizational chairs of multiple flagship international conferences. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering. His primary research interests are in modeling, analysis and control of manufacturing and healthcare systems. His research has been supported by NSF, DOE, NIST, PCORI, AHRQ, manufacturing companies and healthcare organizations.