PLANIA 2.0: The monitoring of production systems as a process improvement tool.

While the first phase of the PLANIA project focused on implementing a productivity control system in specific machinery within the furniture sector, the second phase has expanded the project’s scope through the monitoring of assembly processes. This increase or expansion of new variables has allowed for the expansion of process traceability, thus enabling the optimization of the organizational flow throughout assembly operations. This involves a significantly larger workforce and therefore provides greater potential for improvement through the ability to capture and interpret production records.

The inherent complexity of production flows and the random organization of work required in furniture manufacturing processes due to the need to work on a project basis represented the main challenge to overcome in project execution. To address this, throughout the various execution phases, the consortium has worked on improving piece and assembly identification in the challenge of creating a labelling infrastructure capable of unequivocally representing each of the components forming the furniture structure to be assembled. Additionally, this individual product identification has also improved assembly organization conditions on-site, ensuring product traceability throughout the entire production and assembly cycle.

This expansion of traceability records not only increases the accuracy of captured information but also facilitates the optimization of organizational flow between different processes. This comprehensive approach proposed will minimize waste and improve operational performance in the furniture production chain, contributing to operational excellence and competitiveness in the sector.

Thus, the PLANIA 2.0 project has enabled the implementation of a tailor-made infrastructure as an operator assistance tool, facilitating both the organization and sequencing of manual tasks inherent to manual furniture assembly while also allowing for the identification and organization of chaotic flows that require project execution variability in contract hospitality manufacturing. Additionally, the monitoring capability of assembly tasks has resulted in the deployment of an effective tool for controlling manual operation costs, providing real-time information on execution times and tasks with high human intervention.

The project has benefited from the collaboration of technological companies NEXO INGENIERÍA and APPARATTUM as key players in the development of the entire system architecture and integration, as well as furniture manufacturers like Mobenia, who have worked on the specification, definition, function, and deployment of the project. Meanwhile, the AEIs AMBIT (Living Spaces Cluster) and AMUEBLA (Innovative Business Group of Furniture and Related Manufacturers in the Region of Murcia) have coordinated the entire project throughout its almost one-year execution period. This project is framed within AEI-010500-2023-407 and receives funding from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism.