The purpose of this paper is to identify critical factors forcing manufacturing companies to improve the development of production technology in a machining environment. The focus in the paper is on industrial challenges within product design and production system development when introducing new products in a machining environment. Particular attention is given to the product development process and the production equipment acquisition process. A single case study is presented, consisting of interviews, observations, document studies and an analysis of a large Swedish manufacturing company. The case study company is characterized by advanced production technology, high mechanization and high automation level. In parallel with the case study a literature review was conducted in order to identify state-of-the-art methods/models for efficient design and product introduction within a production system. The paper identifies a gap in the current way of working within the case company as well as challenges regarding the development of production technology. Based on the study, the need for future research has been identified including the need of developing an improved working support for efficient production technology development when industrializing new products.
In order to compete within the manufacturing industry, there is a need to acquire and develop new manufacturing technologies to differentiate the company from others. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse factors affecting development of a manufacturing technology in a joint development project with an equipment supplier. A longitudinal case study has been conducted at a Swedish manufacturing company and the collaboration between a manufacturing company and an equipment supplier has been studied. The findings reveal that tacit knowledge and good equipment supplier relationship are highly important factors that facilitate development of a manufacturing technology.
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze knowledge integration in manufacturing technology development projects required to build competitive advantages. Design/methodology/approach - A longitudinal case study has been conducted at a Swedish manufacturing company by following a manufacturing technology development project in real time during a two-year period. Findings - The results show that three different knowledge integration processes exist when developing unique manufacturing technology: processes for capturing, for joint learning, and for absorb learning. The findings of the current research suggest that the three knowledge integration processes are highly interrelated with each knowledge integration process affecting the other two. Research limitations/implications - The major limitation of the research is primarily associated with the single case, which limits generalizability outside the context that was studied. Practical implications - The findings are particularly relevant to manufacturing engineers working with the development of new manufacturing technologies. By using relevant knowledge integration processes and capabilities required to integrate the knowledge in manufacturing technology development projects, companies can improve design and organize the development of manufacturing technology. Originality/value - Previous research has merely noted that knowledge integration is required in the development of unique manufacturing technology, but without explaining how and in what way. This paper's contribution is the identification and analysis of three knowledge integration processes that contribute to the building of competitive advantages by developing unique manufacturing technology and new knowledge.
In order to compete within the manufacturing industry, there is a need to acquire and develop new manufacturing technologies to differentiate the company from others. This paper builds on extant operations management and innovation management literature with the focus on how to managing early manufacturing technology development. A multiple case study has been conducted at a Swedish manufacturing company in the automotive industry and our paper proposes a conceptual process for early manufacturing technology development and the key activities therein. The findings are relevant for managers working with long-term development and the paper concludes by discussing implications and research limitations.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss how the MRL scale can support the assessment of a manufacturing technology’s maturity level. A single case study within the manufacturing industry has been conducted investigating the use of a MRL scale. An assessment of MRL 4 has been studied.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the development of a strategically integrated product and production system portfolio could be enabled by the concept of reconfigurable manufacturing. In previous research, several critical challenges related to developing production system portfolios have been identified, but it has not been investigated how developing a reconfigurable manufacturing concept could aid some of these. Therefore, through a multiple case study, these critical challenges have been investigated in two companies that have recently developed reconfigurable manufacturing concepts for multiple variants and generations of products. The findings reveal that the companies need to deal with several challenges in order to enable a functioning RMS. By running the project separately from the NPD project and to include several product types and production sites the company overcome several challenges. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
It is important for the manufacturing industry to become more innovative. Doing what we always have done is not enough. External pressure and the required speed of change, requires industry to improve the management of incremental and radical improvement work. There is thus a need for new methods, tools, and processes to improve the innovative capabilities. In this paper we discuss the use of spatial design to support the management of radical improvement within the manufacturing industry. The designs of the physical spaces are in the paper presented as frames that are cultivating, facilitating and enabling radical improvement without imposing a regime of control and forced change. The spatial design enables the process and contributes to an ecosystem supporting radical improvement. To better manage radical improvement processes, one option suggested in this paper is to create five dedicated places - five enabling frames - for five phases in a radical improvement process, firstly to bring attention to the different phases of the process and secondly to support the actions in each part.
As a prominent part of manufacturing system, assembly system provides a platform for increasing efficiency while delivering various market demands. However, due to the lack of a unified and clear definition of flexibility in assembly systems, the recognition of optimal flexibility in assembly system without clashing with efficiency still remains elusive. In order to establish a sound basis to discuss the characteristics of flexible assembly and to address the question of reaching optimal flexibility, this paper makes use of a case study performed in five manufacturing plants. The study proposes a clear definition for flexible assembly and identifies six enablers for flexibility in assembly systems. Further in this research the applicability of few different types of manufacturing flexibility in assembly system is investigated. The paper concludes with discussions and suggestions for future research.
The major challenge of today’s manufacturing industry in tackling demands for a wider range of products with short life-cycle times and meeting customisation requirements has drawn considerable attention towards flexibility in manufacturing systems. As a prominent part of a manufacturing system, an assembly system provides a platform for increasing efficiency while delivering various market demands. However, owing to the dearth of a unified and clear definition of the constituents of flexible assembly systems, in both theory and practice, the recognition of flexibility in assembly systems still remains elusive. In order to establish a sound base for discussing the constituents of flexible assembly systems, this research paper explores the literature concerning flexibility in manufacturing and assembly as well as in flexible systems management domains. To reflect an industrial perspective, a multiple case study of five manufacturing plants in the heavy vehicle industry is performed. By identifying six essential constituents of flexibility in assembly systems, the study proposes a clear definition of flexibility in assembly systems which mainly revolves around mix and volume flexibility. To further enhance the findings, the compatibility of a few previously identified types of manufacturing flexibility in the assembly systems of the case plants is investigated and additional dimensions of flexibility in assembly systems are revealed. Finally, the implications for theory and practice as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.
With the growing demands for product variety, Mixed-Product Assembly Lines (MPALs) as an effective means of creating product variety are recently increasing in manufacturing companies. However, handling different products from distinct product families creates high complexity in performing assembly operations in an MPAL. The elevated complexity, calls for increased similarity between assembly operations in an MPAL which requires product design changes accordingly. Hence, the objective of this paper is to suggest an assembly-oriented product design methodology to increase similar assembly operations for various products cross-product families. The proposed methodology uses Interface Diagram, a product architecture modelling tool, for comparing assembly operations crossproduct families, suggesting an assembly-oriented design, and communicating it to designers. The methodology has been developed by conducting a case study in heavy vehicle manufacturing industry. The results highlight a visual approach towards establishing a common language between assembly and design teams to consider the requirements of an MAPL in product design.
Various ever-changing market demands have propelled manufacturing companies to offer product variety in an efficient and timely manner. Assembly as a key stage of manufacturing process is used to realise product variety through establishing mixed-product assembly systems. Although establishing a flexible mixed-product assembly system which both offers product variety and absorbs market demands fluctuation is pivotal for maintaining competitive edge in certain industries such as vehicle manufacturing, it is also considered an elaborate task which calls for further investigation. In this paper, complexity in a flexible mixed-product assembly line is investigated and the key drivers of complexity are identified. To fulfil the research objective, a case study during the pilot implementation of a flexible mixed-product assembly concept in a heavy vehicle manufacturing company has been conducted. The results indicate the key factors concerning assembly process, product design, and information and communication technology (ICT) which contribute to complexity in the flexible assembly system. The paper concludes with an outlook for possible future research.
In today’s fast-changing global market, using mixed-product assembly lines (MPALs) and mixed-model assembly lines (MMALs) allows manufacturing companies to be flexible and to maintain their competitive edge through product variety. Balancing and sequencing issues have been recognized as the main challenges of MPALs and MMALs, but other practical needs of MPALs remain unclear. Recognizing the practical needs of MPALs helps in identifying related requirements for product design, leading to products that closely align with the MPAL concept. The objective of this paper is to offer an industrial perspective on the needs of MPALs and to identify its requirements vis-à-vis product design. To achieve this objective, a single real-time case study in a heavy-vehicle-manufacturing company has been performed. The results from this industrial case study suggest that in order to handle product variety in MPALs and to reduce the related complexity, certain dimensions of flexibility need to be created in the assembly system, and requirements related to product design should be considered simultaneously in order to support assembly processes.
The increasing demands for product variety have directed manufacturing companies towards accommodating flexibility by establishing mixed-product and mixed-model assembly lines. However, since greater variety leads to increased complexity, establishing these assembly lines becomes complicated. By conducting a case study, this paper investigates the causes of complexity and the applicability of assembly instructions in one mixed-product and four mixed-model assembly lines in a heavy vehicle manufacturing company. The results indicate a set of causes for complexity and highlight the significance of assembly instructions, as the practical implications for development of flexible assembly systems and design of products closely aligned with them.
Purpose - The recent shift towards accommodating flexibility in manufacturing companies and the complexity resulting from product variety highlight the significance of flexible assembly systems and designing products for them. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the requirements of a flexible assembly system for product design from the assembly system's standpoint. Design/methodology/approach - To fulfil the purpose of the paper, a literature review and a case study were performed. The case study was conducted with an interactive research approach in a global market leader company within the heavy vehicle manufacturing industry. Findings - The findings indicate that common assembly sequence, similar assembly interfaces, and common parts are the main requirements of a flexible assembly system for product design which reduce complexity and facilitate various flexibility dimensions. Accordingly, a model is proposed to broaden the understanding of these requirements from the assembly system's standpoint. Research limitations/implications - This study contributes to the overlapping research area of flexible assembly systems and product design. Practical implications - The proposed model is largely based on practical data and clarifies the role of product design in facilitating flexibility in an assembly system. It can be used by assembly managers, assembly engineers, and product designers. Originality/value - The key originality of this paper compared to the previous studies lies in presenting a novel assembly-oriented design model. The model enhances understanding of a flexible assembly system's requirements for product design with regard to reducing complexity and managing variation in a flexible assembly system. These requirements can be applied to product design across various product families within a company's product portfolio.
Developing a mixed-product assembly line (MPAL) is an elaborate task due to the complexity raised by product variety. This paper proposes that securing similar assembly interfaces across distinct product families is an essential requirement of MPALs which facilitates flexibility and reduces complexity. The concept of similar assembly interfaces has been developed and analysed in a case study at a heavy vehicle manufacturing company. The results suggest that assembly interfaces can be defined according to generic assembly operation steps: pick, place and attach. The paper highlights the need for development of a cross-functional methodology to analyse and establish similar assembly interfaces.
Due to the major advantages such as reduced time to market and improved quality at lowered cost, the principles of design for assembly capabilities and concurrent engineering are of great significance when developing new products. However, identifying assembly requirement specifications and considering them in New Product Development (NPD) in a timely manner, while securing efficiency and robustness of assembly processes, still remains a challenging task. In presenting a case study of an NPD project in a manufacturing company, this article focuses on the process of capturing and incorporating the requirements related to the assembly system during the early phases of NPD. Further, the results of the research study indicate the different assembly requirements in the case company and pinpoint the challenges in practices involved in handling them. The assembly requirements identified in this research reflect some of the challenges encountered in handling the requirements, through the investigated requirement practice. Based on the results, the issues of when and how to consider the assembly requirements are highlighted in the conclusions and suggestions for future research are made.
The Factory-in-a-Box concept is currently being developed in a Swedish research project and consists of standardized production modules that are installed in a container and transported by e.g. a truck or by train. The modules may rapidly be combined into production systems that can be reconfigured for a new product and/or scaled to handle new volumes. The key features of this futuristic production system concept are thus flexibility, mobility, and speed. The objective with this paper is to discuss how research within the area of maintenance and condition monitoring will help realizing flexibility, mobility, and speed within the Factory-in-a-Box concept. The paper presents how maintenance will be an important enabler in the Factory-in-a-Box project and will explain and describe how maintenance should be used in achieving high availability.
As more companies have started seeing the maintenance department as a profit generating function more focus has been directed on different maintenance strategies. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) are two of the most well known maintenance strategies that in the last 20 years have been used frequently in the manufacturing and aircraft industry. To perform maintenance actions in the corrective or the preventive approach is though still a present issue. The predictive maintenance technology Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) has in the past years been receiving good reviews although it is not to a great extent utilized within Swedish industry. One reason for this might be that there is a lack of organizational research within CBM in terms of implementation strategies and applied CBM, i.e. how to implement and run a successful CBM program. The objective with this paper is to, through a case study, illustrate and highlight important aspects companies have to consider when a decision to implement CBM has arisen. The results of the case are not very controversially and many similarities can be drawn to general literature on change and implementation processes.
Productivity is a key weapon for manufacturing companies to stay competitive in a continuous growing global market. Increased productivity can be achieved through increased availability. This has directed focus on different maintenance types and maintenance strategies. Increased availability through efficient maintenance can be achieved through less corrective maintenance actions and more accurate preventive maintenance intervals. Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) is a technology that strives to identify incipient faults before they become critical which enables more accurate planning of the preventive maintenance. CBM can be achieved by utilizing complex technical systems or by humans manually monitoring the condition by using their experience, normally a mixture of both is used. Although CBM holds a lot of benefits compared to other maintenance types it is not yet commonly utilized in industry. One reason for this might be that the maturity level in complex technical CBM system is too low. This paper will acknowledge this possible reason, although not trying to resolve it, but focusing on system technology with component strategy and an open approach to condition parameters as the objective is fulfilled. This paper will theoretically discuss the technical components of a complete CBM system approach and by a case study illustrate how a CBM system for industrial robot fault detection/diagnosis can be designed using the Artificial Intelligence method Case-Based Reasoning and sound analysis.
Mälardalen Univerity is characterised by its close collaboration with companies and with the public sector in the region. A main strategic directions of the university is to develop co-production with partner companies, expressed in the university vision A Strong MDH the Coproducing University. The concept co-production is in this paper used interchangeably with concept co-creation, emphasising our view of equal participation and interaction with the goal of knowledge, that by the company can be made useful outside the university (see Terblanche, 2014). Based on Mälardalen Universitys vision, co-production is a main goal for the Innovation and Product Realization (IPR) environment. IPR is located at the School of Innovation, Design and Engineering and has a common graduate education with three mutually supportive cooperating research groups: Product realization, Innovation management, and Information design. Here ideas from different fields and cultures meet, creating new ideas, possibilities, and knowledge as a result. The approach to develop new insights and knowledge in order to address societal challenges, through working closer between academics and research users, has a potential to improve how research is conducted. Still, there are many questions and challenges in this approach, with need of development: How is research and research education framed and undertaken? What constitutes co-production? What distinguishes reseach in co-production from other forms of research? What are the benefits and barriers of co-production? As we shall see, the follow-up research aim to contribute to how our third level education in a co-production environment can be undertaken.
Many companies have adopted stage-gate models to manage different types of development projects, which can vary in degree of newness. Currently, there is limited research on how the development projects, stage-gate models and degree of newness are correlated in practice from a production perspective. Based on a case study at a manufacturing company, this paper examines correlations from a production perspective. The results show that the company runs nine types of development projects in production, and uses two forms of stage-gate models. The degree of newness is not addressed in a structured way in production compared to the product development process.
The competition of today is truly global with fragmented markets and customers expecting to get the best product at the best price with immediate availability. Success in manufacturing, and indeed survival, is increasingly more difficult to ensure and it requires continuous development and improvement of how the products are produced. Meeting customer demands requires a high degree of flexibility, low-cost/low-volume manufacturing skills, and short delivery times. Future competition is dependent of the producability of new products, how efficient products can be produced and delivered from supplier to customer. Measuring and evaluation producability is thus a critical issue within product development and demands concurrent engineering and cooperation between product and process development. This paper presents a case study, performed to investigate how concurrent engineering works in reality within industry. Which production requirements should be formulated to compete in a turbulent business environment and how is producability of new products measured and evaluated? How can cooperation between product- and process development be improved?
Many sub-suppliers are interested in closer integration with main suppliers for product development. However, main suppliers have much work that needs to be coordinated, and close integration with suppliers is used only when it is required, and when additional value is created through integration. The main objective of this paper, is therefore, to discuss different supplier roles and increase the understanding of how suppliers can be integrated with the main supplier. The result is based on a case study with one main supplier and nine of its sub-suppliers, where the main supplier develops, assembles, and delivers a complete, complex product to the customer, and the sub-suppliers develop and manufacture sub-systems for the main supplier. The results give new insights into what the sub-suppliers could do in order to improve integration with the main supplier.
This study analyzes the challenges of applying discrete event simulation in the early stages of production system design. Highlighting the implications of new production processes and technologies leading to improved competitiveness, this study provides novel contributions to the understanding of discrete event simulation based on three case studies of the transformation of legacy production systems in the heavy vehicle industry. The findings of this study show that equivocal or ambiguous understanding about new production processes or technologies, and uncertainty about necessary data input and the interrelation of subsystems in production, are critical in addressing discrete event simulation-related challenges. These findings highlight the need for an established process to manage assumptions and simplifications during the design, development, and deployment of discrete event simulation models as a countermeasure against uncertainties, improving manufacturing system design and practice.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the selection of decision-making approaches at manufacturing companies when implementing process innovations.Design/methodology/approach: This study reviews the current understanding of decision structuredness for determining a decision-making approach, and conducts a case study based on an interactive research approach at a global manufacturer. Findings: The findings show the correspondence of intuitive, normative, and combined intuitive and normative decision-making approaches in relation to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability. Accordingly, the conditions for determining a decision-making choice when implementing process innovations are revealed. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to increased understanding of the combined use of intuitive and normative decision-making in production system design. Practical implications: Empirical data are drawn from two projects in the heavy-vehicle industry. The study describes decisions, from start to finish, and the corresponding decision-making approaches when implementing process innovations. These findings are of value to staff responsible for the design of production systems. Originality/value: Unlike prior conceptual studies, this study considers normative, intuitive, and combined intuitive and normative decision-making. In addition, this study extends the current understanding of decision structuredness, and discloses the correspondence of decision-making approaches to varying degrees of equivocality and analyzability.
A tenet of production system design is to increase a manufacturing companys competitiveness by introducing novel processes, technologies, and products. However, uncertainties exist regarding the actual benefits that can be attained when novelty and change are introduced into a production system. Addressing this issue, this paper explores how manufacturing companies can reduce uncertainties that challenge production system design decisions when significant changes are introduced into the production system. A real-time case study at a Swedish manufacturing company that decided to change its existing product specific assembly system to a multi-product assembly one was performed. Empirical results identify uncertainties challenging production system design configuration, and the activities targeting reduction of uncertainty. To extend current theory, empirical case study data is synthesized with current findings in production system design decisions, and uncertainty reduction in product design decisions. The paper concludes that information acquisition, uncertainty prioritization, project member background, and complexity of change influence uncertainty reduction in production system design decisions. Managerial implications highlight the importance of information acquisition and a structured approach when reducing uncertainties necessary to achieve an efficient and effective production system design. Thus, academic approaches to uncertainty reduction could benefit manufacturing practice.
This study investigates the achievement of information consensus and the reduction of equivocality in process innovations. Drawing on the operations management literature, a new framework to guide information consensus in the reduction of equivocality in process innovations is proposed. The analysis is based on a real-time case study in the heavy vehicle industry. The results show that information consensus is not achieved by a single event, but active work towards this goal is necessary, and a clear set of pre-requisites is needed for achieving information consensus. The concepts of strategic objective, decision areas, and external and internal fit are identified as pre-requisites for achieving information consensus about the purpose, characteristics, and functionalities of process innovations.
Growing operational complexity and higher variety of products require flexibility in assembly. Despite its many benefits flexibility is a complex concept that requires evaluation to harness its full potential. This study uses virtual verification tools as enablers of the decision making process for production system design of a flexible multi-product assembly system. A case study approach analyses a flexible assembly concept for the earth moving equipment industry through a visual and a discrete event simulation model. The paper also discusses the challenges faced by virtual verification tools when applied to the evaluation of flexible assembly systems.
This paper presents challenges of using discrete event simulation when supporting decision in early stages of production system design, when significant changes are introduced. It was based on three real-time case studies performed at one manufacturing company during 2014-2016. Challenges in the cases were mapped to previous literature, pointing out discrepancies and highlighting three additional challenges, specifically related to issues in the early stages of the pro-duction system design process. The significant change introduced to the assembly system, and the early phases of evaluation put significant challenges to the use of discrete event simulation and the study points out further efforts needed to support manufacturing companies under change, with an established industrial structure and legacy systems to consider.
Effective production systems are necessary for companies to achieve competitiveness in manufacturing, and the production system design process is fundamental to meet this goal. Discrete event simulation is a tool that can support the production system design process. However, few empirical studies have shown the use of this tool prior to the verification of an already chosen alternative, or an implemented production system solution. There is a need to explore how discrete event simulation can be used in the production system design process. A case study at a global manufacturing company, that used this tool in the design of its assembly system, is presented. The results of this study show where and for what purpose were the DES models used for in the production system design process. This study concludes that DES can support this activity and suggestions for future research are made.
Meeting customer demands require manufacturing systems with a high degree of flexibility in the same time as the use of automation is becoming critical for competition. This is challenging, especially for SMEs with their inferior economical and competence conditions. This paper presents a new set up where the Factory-in-a-Box concept has been realized for a small manufacturing company with a profile of craftsmanship and small volumes. The objective of this paper is to discuss the possibility for SMEs to use automation and the Factory-in-a-box-concept to stay competitive and also the Factory-in-a-Box concept as means for realizing a Product-Service System.
Today´s business environment is dominated by uncertainty and fast changes which result in the need for companies, in all lines of businesses, to focus on logistics in a greater extent than before. Companies need to attain high resource usage, low level of tied up capital as well as high delivery accuracy. One way to achieve this is with the help of logistics automation. This paper presents the result of a study conducted at different SMEs. Issues the study includes are: to what extent SMEs applies logistics automation; the interest, knowledge and needs for improving the supply chain; problem areas and difficulties for SMEs concerning logistics automation and future industrial needs.
The use of automation can increase competitiveness but does not guarantee advantageous results. The right choice of technology and correct implementation and use is the key to a successful outcome. This in turn puts great demands on how automation development projects are managed. The aim of this paper is to make a comparison between industrial needs and existing theoretical support associated with managing automation development projects. Through a multiple case study, challenges and success factors related to managing automation projects have been identified. The empirical findings are compared with automation development support found in literature. The results from the empirical study indicate the need for improved process models and clear strategy connected to automation development. The importance of an overall view and planning during automation projects is highlighted as a success factor while difficulties in collaborating with third parties is identified as existing challenges. It is concluded that the support in literature deals with many of the identified challenges and success factors and offers some support for specific parts of the automation development project. There is however still need for an overall framework connecting existing theoretical support, and suggesting how strategy can be connected to the process of developing automation.
Exploration and exploitation capabilities are both important within Operations as means for improvement when managed separately, and for establishing dynamic improvement capabilities when combined in balance. However, it is unclear what exploration and exploitation capabilities imply in improvement and development work within an Operations context. So, in order to better understand how to develop exploration and exploitation capabilities within Operations, the main characteristics of these constructs needs to be identified and further understood. Thus, the objective of this research is to increase the understanding about exploitation and exploration characteristics, to concretize what they translates to within the context of improvement and development work in an Operations unit, and to identify practical challenges. A literature review and a case study are presented. In the literature review, different interpretations of exploration and exploitation are portrayed, key characteristics have been identified, and a deepened understanding of exploration and exploitation characteristics is described. The case in the study is an Operations unit, and the aim is to explore to what extent and in what ways exploration and exploitation activities are part of the improvement structures and processes. The contribution includes an identification of key characteristics of exploitation and exploration, as well as an interpretation of the constructs. Further, some practical challenges are identified. For instance, exploration activities tend to be given low priority, both in daily work as in the manufacturing strategy. Also, the overall understanding about the concepts of exploitation and exploration (or any similar aspect of dynamic improvement capabilities) is very low.
Today’s business environment is dominated by change and uncertainty, and success within manufacturing is becoming more and more difficult to sustain. Also, many European manufacturing companies experience low availability of human resources and recruitment problems. One way to handle this challenge and improve a company’s efficiency could be to invest in automation and industrial robotics. However, robot automation investments are in many cases still too difficult and too technically advanced especially for small and medium sized enterprises. There is need for automated systems with an acceptable investment, high efficiency, high adaptability, and with such flexibility that it may produce several different products and adapt to future product variants without large additional investments. Thus, the concepts of flexibility and reconfigurability are becoming increasingly important within manufacturing systems and robotic work stations. The objective of this paper is to investigate the need for flexible and reconfigurable industrial robot systems and to present some possible solutions for how the concept of mobile industrial robotics can be applied within industry, and specifically at small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A conceptual solution for a mobile industrial robot will be presented and evaluated in terms of applicability for a manufacturing SME. The result of this evaluation is that the concept of mobile industrial robotics may be an enabler for SMEs to overcome the barrier to invest in industrial robotics. However, several technical developments have to be accomplished to open up the market for this type of solutions, and the common attitude of the SME would have to be changed to become more receptive to this type of highly technological solution, i.e. the perceived complexity of the highly complex system has to be low.