Lean manufacturing systems in the area of Industry 4.0: a lean automation plan of AGVs/IoT integration

TLDR

Industry 4.0 is a new industrial paradigm that can transform manufacturing into a cyber‑physical system integrating products, people, and processes, yet little guidance exists on how to implement and integrate its technologies into existing lean manufacturing systems. The study develops an action plan using AGVs and IoT to help managers integrate Industry 4.0 technologies into their manufacturing systems and achieve lean automation. The authors conducted a case study of a large manufacturing company that introduced AGVs and IoT to automate its lean operations, applying socio‑technical systems design logic to integrate lean and automation into an action plan that meets six lean automation objectives. The findings show that AGV implementation should follow design, integration, and continuous‑improvement phases, that the lean automation plan meets objectives of cost, reusability, reliability, simplicity, compactness, fit, engagement, and culture, and that it effectively manages social, technical, and operational interactions, offering significant managerial implications for integrating people‑centric lean philosophy with Industry 4.0 automation.

Abstract

Industry 4.0 represents a new industrial paradigm ignited by disruptive technologies that can transform manufacturing into a cyber-physical system that integrates products, people and processes. However, there is little guidance concerning how to implement and integrate Industry 4.0 technologies by existing lean manufacturing (LM) systems. We select autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and internet of things (IoT) to develop an action plan that helps managers integrate Industry 4.0 technologies into their manufacturing systems and achieve lean automation. We conducted a case study of a large manufacturing company that introduced AGVs and IoT to automate its lean operations. We used socio-technical systems (STSs) design logic to integrate the two distinct domains (lean and automation) into an action plan that successfully meets six lean automation objectives. The findings demonstrate that AGVs implementation should include three phases: design, integration and continuous improvement. The lean automation objectives are: cost, reusability, reliability, simplicity, compactness, fit, engage and culture. The lean automation plan successfully manages the interactions and interplay between social factors (people and culture), technical factors (infrastructure and technology) and operational factors (routines and processes). The lean automation plan has significant managerial implications helping companies integrate lean philosophy, which is people-centric, with Industry 4.0 technologies, which promote efficiency via automation.