AI in Manual and Repetitive Assembly in the Automotive Industry

Automakers and manufacturers in the automotive industry face a number of challenges on manual and repetitive assembly lines. To overcome these problems, companies are increasingly adopting automation and robotics on the assembly line. However, this is not always possible, and Artificial Intelligence can help address these challenges.

Below, we highlight the main problems faced by the automotive industry on manual and repetitive assembly lines.

Manual assembly is more susceptible to human error, which can result in inconsistencies in the quality of the vehicles produced. Even with proper training, it is difficult to maintain accuracy and constancy throughout the production line.

Workers involved in manual and repetitive assembly are subject to repetitive movements, poor postures and lifting heavy loads. These activities can result in muscle fatigue and occupational injuries such as repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Generally, manual and repetitive assembly is slower compared to automated assembly. This is because it relies on the speed and skills of individual workers.

Manual and repetitive assembly requires a significant amount of skilled labor, increasing costs for automakers. In addition, hiring and training temporary workers to meet production demands can be challenging.

As we said, Artificial Intelligence is a great alternative to solve problems and monitor the manual activities of your production process. For this reason, Macnica ATD Europe brought Retrocausal's Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution to Europe. With it, it is possible to monitor in real time the manual and repetitive assembly line.

Retrocausal's AI solution generates reports on activities, identifying bottlenecks and points of improvement in the process. It can also identify the steps that are being performed and generate visual and audible alerts whenever a step is not performed. In this way, the operator can go back and perform the step, ensuring maximum quality in production.

This step monitoring function is important when factories need to hire new or temporary employees. By using machine learning, i.e. the machine learning of this AI solution, training is reduced and production quality is guaranteed.

Moreover, all products are manufactured with zero errors. This makes it possible to eliminate the concept of sampling production to assess quality.

As well as the features we have mentioned, Retrocausal is bringing new functions to its AI solution.One of them is monitoring the ergonomics of operators when performing manual and repetitive tasks with the aim of minimizing injuries.

To summarize, the main benefits of Retrocausal's AI solution for manual and repetitive assembly processes are:

• increase in production efficiency;
• increased product quality;
• cost reduction;
• access to a large amount of important data to make process improvements.

Want to know how to secure all these advantages on your manual and repetitive assembly line? Click here to contact us.