Smart Factories for the Industry of the Future

At the research school Smart Industry Sweden, the focus lies on enhancing the competitiveness of future industries. Andreas Lind, an industrial doctoral student at the University of Skövde and employed at Scania, is one of the researchers driving this development forward. Through his work within the research school, he has utilised and developed digital tools and simulations that assist companies in creating factories that not only perform better but also provide a fair working environment for employees.

Andreas Lind’s research has aimed to improve factories for both production and the people working there. Factory layout planning is about optimising production efficiency and creating a safe and pleasant work environment for employees.

Andreas Lind’s research is based on utilising and further developing digital tools that enable simulations and visualisations of future factories.

– By using advanced simulations and multi-objective optimisation, we can design factories that balance productivity, safety, and working conditions before the factory is built, says Andreas Lind.

Virtual tools bridge the future by allowing companies to “see into the future” and test various solutions before making decisions. This reduces the risk of errors and increases the precision of planning.

Collaboration and Integration for More Effective Solutions

A major challenge in traditional factory planning has been that different experts often work separately, which can lead to a lack of collaboration and reduced efficiency. Andreas Lind has worked to integrate the expertise of various professionals using digital tools that support collaboration.

– The goal is to make it easy to make the right decisions from the start. By integrating rules and guidelines directly into the digital environment, aspects like ergonomics and safety are considered as early as the planning stage, explains Andreas Lind.

Multi-Objective Optimisation: The Key to Success

Multi-objective optimisation is a central tool in Andreas Lind’s research. It enables simultaneous optimisation of several parameters, such as efficiency, cost, and working conditions. This scientific method has proven essential for solving complex challenges in factory design.

Practical Application in the Industry

The research results now enable the manufacturing industry to create the factories of the future. With the help of these new tools, companies can develop production environments that both maximise productivity and ensure a good working environment for employees.

– We are not just introducing a technical solution but a whole new way of thinking about factory layouts, says Andreas Lind.

Andreas Lind will defend his PhD thesis, Planning and Designing Manufacturing Factory Layouts – Applying Multi-Objective Optimisation and Digital Support, on 17 January at the ASSAR Industrial Innovation Arena, University of Skövde.