Minimising required driving in internal logistics A Case study on tow train logistics at Volvo Penta, Vara Operations

Abstract

This thesis conducts a case study at Volvo Penta, a production facility in Vara, Sweden. The purpose is to evaluate their internal logistics and increase the understanding of its efficiency. Specifically the tow trains, supporting the assembly line. In order to do this, the research questions for this project are: • Is the current logistics solution for the tow trains delivering standardised results? If not, how can deviations in the results be minimised? • How can the utilisation degree of tow trains and drivers be measured and how can it be improved? • What is required to consider within the internal logistics of the D4/D6 flow when restructuring the production layout? In order to answer these questions the data has been gathered in three different ways. From interviews, material requirements measurements and position tracking of the tow trains. The results shows a higher work load on one of the two tow trains, both when it comes to boxes delivered and distance travelled, which is supported by the interviews with the tow train drivers. When responding to the first research question, this project found a noticeable variation in the results, which indicates that the delivered results are not standardised. The interviews indicated that the workers have different ways of completing their tasks, and can be a reason for the variation in results. The utilisation degree has been defined in this project as the meters travelled per box delivered for each tow train. This is based on the data from both the position tracking and materials requirements measurement. In order to improve this, a more efficient way of driving needs to be performed. When restructuring the production layout, it would be beneficial to even out the work loads for the two tow trains. Since Tow Train 2 is currently driving longer distances each route, and longer distance per day. Hence the recommendations from this thesis is to rework the work instructions, introduce a digitalised kanban system and centralise the supermarket location in a possible, future production layout.