Automation breakthrough: the initiative for productivity improvement in a selected automotive assembly organisation in South Africa

Abstract

Automated flow line manufacturing systems are becoming more relevant in the automotive sector.  Improving productivity in the manufacturing system is the core objective of all companies, measured by overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).  OEE is a measure of how well a manufacturing operation is utilised compared to its full potential during the periods when it is scheduled to run. Organisations have thus made technological changes in their processes that have led to opportunities for greater flexibilities.  This sentiment underpins the concept of automation.  Hence, this study examines the impact of automation for productivity improvement in the selected automotive assembly organisation in South Africa.  Automation is the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and services.  The study was quantitative in design and examined production and the related experiences of the automotive assembly organisation that has adopted automation system in its automobile roof process in weld plant for productivity improvement.  The Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model, using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse data.  The company operates in the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.  The study was achieved by collecting pre- and post-quarterly data for labour productivity, process efficiency and downtime.  The results establish that labour productivity, process efficiency and downtime have a relationship and are statistically significant to company productivity after automation was implemented.  It has the potential to reduce errors, increase productivity and augment human capacity.  Hence, the original value of this study is its approach in uncovering strengths and weaknesses of automation for productivity improvement in South Africa. 

Keywords: {'name': 'Automation, Automotive Assembly Organisation, Downtime, Labour Productivity, Process Efficiency, South Africa'}

Authors & affiliations

Robert Walter Dumisani Zondo
Affiliation not supplied

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