Title: Comparing quantifiable methods to measure complexity in assembly

Authors: Sandra Mattsson; Malin Karlsson; Per Gullander; Hendrik Van Landeghem; Luiza Zeltzer; Veronique Limère; El-Houssaine Aghezzaf; Åsa Fasth; Johan Stahre

Addresses: Department of Product and Production Development, Chalmers University of Technology, Hörsalsvägen 7A, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden ' Department of Product and Production Development, Chalmers University of Technology, Hörsalsvägen 7A, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden ' Swerea IVF, Argongatan 30, SE-431 53 Mölndal, Sweden ' Department of Industrial Management, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Industrial Management, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Industrial Management, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Industrial Management, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ' Department of Product and Production Development, Chalmers University of Technology, Hörsalsvägen 7A, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden ' Department of Product and Production Development, Chalmers University of Technology, Hörsalsvägen 7A, SE-41296 Gothenburg, Sweden

Abstract: In order to measure complexity and stay competitive, manufacturing companies need to be able to quantify production complexity. For this reason, two methods were developed within the context of two concurrent research projects are compared: the Belgian Complexity Calculator, CXC, measures objective complexity and the Swedish Complexity Index, CXI, focuses on subjective complexity, as experienced by operators in the stations. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the two methods by comparing them to seven relevant existing quantitative methods and by examining results from case studies. It is observed that the two methods can be used as a compliment to one another, where CXC can be used for scanning data automatically, CXI can be used for in-depth analysis. In addition, the comparison of existing methods provides insight on how to measure complexity depending on need and scope. [Received 20 May 2013; Revised 30 September 2013; Accepted 13 October 2013]

Keywords: manufacturing flexibility; assembly complexity; workstations; product variants; components; method comparison; operator perceptions; production complexity; quantifiable methods; objective complexity; subjective complexity; Sweden; Belgium; flexible manufacturing; complexity measurement.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2014.059602

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2014 Vol.9 No.1, pp.112 - 130

Published online: 29 Jul 2014 *

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