Smart Manufacturing in Defense Shipbuilding Industry : A toolbox towards implementation

Smart Manufacturing, a key enabler towards Industry 4.0, has demonstrated significant potential in enhancing production capabilities across various industries. However, research concerning its application within High-Mix-Low-Volume defense shipbuilding industry is in need of strengthening. SAAB Kockums, the collaboration partner company in this thesis, operates in an even more complex environment, defined by the authors of this thesis as Extreme-High-Mix-Low-Volume manufacturing, characterized by a combination of High-mix Low-volume, Engineer-to-Order, and Project-Based Production. To explore the potential adoption of Smart Manufacturing in this context, this thesis develops a tailored SM framework through a Design Research methodology, aimed at supporting the transition towards more digitally integrated operations. The framework is delivered through an interactive, web-based tool that includes both the SM framework and a complementary pretotype, named Shipyard Overview, illustrating a possible integration of smart dashboards and digital twin technologies. Additionally, a Discrete Event Simulation is constructed as a complementary concept for exploring its potential as an experimental tool for evaluating SM implementations in production. Also to demonstrate how Discrete Event Simulation models can assist decision-making in complex manufacturing environments and enhance lead-time estimation.