Vici schreef op 15 juni 2015 22:52:
ft.com > companies >Industrials
June 15, 2015 11:22 am
Study outlines theme park-style factories of the future
Peggy Hollinger
BMW To Produce Electric Cars In Leipzig...LEIPZIG, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 05: Car bosies on a conveyor belt pass over office workers at the BMW auto assembly plant on November 5, 2010 in Leipzig, Germany. Earlier in the day German Chancellor Angela Merkel and BMW Chairman Norbert Reithofer officially inaugurated BMW's committment to invest EUR 400 million to expand production at Leipzig in order to mass produce a BMW electric car. BMW has made a strong recovery since the financial crisis of 2009 that temporarily crippled demand for cars worldwide. Germany's export-driven economy is back on track and unemployment has fallen drastically. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)©Getty
BMW has taken the open plan office to a different level. At the carmaker’s Leipzig factory in eastern Germany, a parade of cars fresh off the assembly line passes over the heads of office workers as a constant reminder of the business they are in.
This will be the factory of the future, according to Arup, the London-based engineering consultancy, where boundaries between blue and white-collar employees are being broken down.
More
ON THIS TOPIC
BMW warns of slower earnings growth
The group has examined the most advanced factories around the world to set out its vision for the future of manufacturing, which contributes £6.7tn to the global economy.According to Arup, the future factory will have to do much more than produce goods. It will have to be as flexible as the workers. New ways of manufacturing — such as 3D printing — will enable factories to return to difficult environments, such as the heart of a city. People will work side by side with robots, acting as high-tech supervisors and leaving the manual labour to machines.
“The lines between blue and white-collar workers will continue to blur, with a growing focus on factory environments that facilitate collaboration and innovation along the supply chain and across production lines,” the report states. “As workers’ roles continue to adapt and merge, the configuration of factories will have to change to reflect these new working patterns.”
The development of the “industrial internet” will create a factory floor where machines communicate with each other and configure themselves without human intervention. Factories will be built using modules, so they can be expanded or shrunk according to demand. They will also be designed to be recycled at the end of their useful lives.
One factory identified by Arup used slightly thicker wooden beams in its structure so they could be shaved down and reused, said Josef Hargrave, one of the authors of the report.
Arup suggests that some factories may even become visitor attractions in their own right, as a way for manufacturers to reinforce their brands.
Carmakers are at the forefront of these theme park-style factories, according to Arup. Customers for Volkswagen’s Phaeton luxury saloon can watch their car’s final assembly process at the “Glass Factory”. Chrysler offers a virtual reality tour of its factory floor, where visitors put on headsets to interact with the production of the 2015 Chrysler 200.
As workers’ roles continue to adapt and merge, the configuration of factories will have to change to reflect these new working patterns
- Rethinking the Factory report
Even less obvious industries are recognising the value of the customer experience. At the Nantes factory of Saunier Duval, a French manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology, visitors are offered a 360-degree, 3D film, interactive displays and a meal, Arup notes. Mr Hargrave says the transparent factory helps to reinforce loyalty, given consumer’s desire for new experiences and a variety of product.
The expanding “internet of things” is also beginning to affect the design and operation of factories, the report states. With more mobile devices than there are humans, the influence of connected products and systems will be felt over in the coming years, according to Mr Hargrave, although the vast amount of data to be collected means that this will take time.
“It is estimated that manufacturers can cut product development and assembly costs by as much as 50 per cent and save up to 7 per cent of working capital by integrating big data into their operations,” the report states.
Finally, some industrial groups are also exploring the potential of circular manufacturing, where products are returned at the end of life to be recycled. Maersk, the shipping company, has been driven by volatile steel and oil prices to launch the industry’s first cradle-to-cradle “passport” for a fleet of 20 new ships. “Their longer-term goal is to create new ships from those that reach the end of their useful life,” Arup says.