Physical traceability in high-mix low-volume production: Applicability and impact of production asset tracking in the defense industry

Abstract

Recent global geopolitical events, such as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have led to a trend of increased international rearmament and force modernization. The case company, a leader in the global defense industry, has a potentially key role in contributing to sustainably safe societies, e.g., by supplying state-of-art solutions and systems for surveillance. As one of the strategies to strengthen its competitiveness, the company seeks to explore enhancing its’ internal production traceability capabilities. This thesis aims to explore the impact of production traceability and applicability of different asset tracking technolo gies on the challenges of high-mix low-volume (HMLV) production, a common production strategy in the defense industry. The purpose of exploring production traceability and asset tracking solutions is to support improved on-time delivery (OTD) and overall equip ment efficiency (OEE). The thesis has been conducted as a case study. Data collection was carried out using semi structured interviews and observations to gain insights into the processes and operations at the case company. A literature review was moreover conducted to contextualize the results in a theoretical framework. The study concludes that considering the HMLV production context, characterized by manual operations and a relatively low level of automation, the selection of asset identifi cation technologies has a low impact on traceability functionality, leading to no apparent need to replace the current optical identification solution. Instead, the study identified the need for improved system support for manufacturing operations management. The thesis recommends that the case company implement a manufacturing execution system that facilitates all studied aspects of production traceability. Keywords: Traceability, HMLV production, Asset tracking, radio-frequency identification, Optical identification, MES, Manufacturing, IT/OT, Defense industry