AIR, GAS & ODOUR CONTROL
MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY
ATLAS COPCO
IMPROVING QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY WHILST
CUTTING COSTS WITH SMART CONNECTED ASSEMBLY
In the fast-paced world of manufacturing,
ensuring maximum efficiency and
profitability by striking the right balance
between quality and costs is certainly one
of the biggest challenges facing producers,
even more so with Brexit looming.
For Atlas Copco Tools & Industrial Assembly
Solutions, supporting manufacturers
through collaborative partnership is the
bedrock of its business, which saw its
centenary in the UK in 2019.
A leader in assembly tools and data driven
services designed to add value to any
production environment, from batch of
one to high volume manufacturing, Atlas
Copco continually takes the pulse of its
core markets, through ongoing customer
engagement.
The company has recently published a
whitepaper, which identified that error-
proofing in the production process remains
a key issue for manufacturers. Based on field
research from across Atlas Copco’s diverse
and global customer base, it was found that
manufacturers employing the company’s
Smart Connected Assembly technology
and process were tackling their challenges
successfully.
One customer reported a reduction in
rework of 15% by utilising Atlas Copco’s
‘Pick-to-Light’ system, which ensures
operators pick the right parts at the right
time in the assembly process, in order to
mitigate production errors and costly line
shutdowns.
Titled ‘Error-Proofing the Production
Process’, Atlas Copco’s whitepaper
introduces a range of measures to improve
quality, efficiency and profitability, based
around current and future production
needs. The publication provides insights
on how organisations can implement
strategies to boost performance in relation
to different levels of complexity in the
assembly process. These are based around
the principle of ‘Basic Needs’, ‘Complex
Needs’ and ‘Very Complex Needs.’
Detailing Atlas Copco’s Seven Steps to
Securing Product Quality as part of its
Smart Connected Assembly philosophy, its
report also illustrates a scalable and flexible
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PECM Issue 40
roadmap to delivering the best achievable
product quality. The sequential process
integrates tooling and systems, which
deliver both full traceability, as well as error-
proofing protection, so that manufacturers
have a complete understanding of the
effectiveness of every stage of production.
Atlas Copco’s Seven Steps to Securing
Product Quality:
Step 1: Classify Joints
Step 2: Introduce Torque Control
Step 3: Introduce Joint Control and Angle
Monitoring
Step 4: Introduce Process Error-Proofing
Step 5: Introduce Reject Management and
Part Control
Step 6: Secure Process Reliability
Step 7: Use of data for continuous
improvement