1

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The current automotive industry has been enjoying a period of strong growth
and profitability, and annual sales reached prerecession levels in some regions.
Entirely, the automotive industry rapidly continues to increase their profitability
and streamline the operation by continuously improve the production system.
Lean has been successfully implemented in many companies of manufacturing
and services. It has been accepted as a set of multi-dimensional approach with
a set of various principles, techniques and tools. The mixed-model assembly line
(MMAL) is a type of assembly line in which a variety of product models are
assembled on the same line. The use of highly variant parts on the assembly
line need to be considered carefully to enable satisfactory material flow control
and allow for smooth production.

2
The study is concentrated on a new system in lean called Set Parts Supply
(SPS). SPS first introduced by Toyota as a system to overcome the huge parts
variants. It also made to increase the quality of parts supply and parts assembly
in MMAL. SPS contribute to the reduction of wastes.

Line following robot with obstacle avoidance is a self-operating robot that

detects and follows a line that is drawn on the floor. The path consists of a black
line on a white surface. The control system used must sense a line and
manoeuvre the robot to stay on course, while constantly correcting the wrong
moves using feedback mechanism, thus forming a simple yet effective closed
loop system. Obstacle avoidance is to detect a fixed distance and sent a
feedback to the motor to run as usual or stop if any obstacle detected in front of
it.

This study is important as a breakeven of a change in supplying parts by lot

into SPS that improved with line following robot with obstacle avoidance.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

This well-known car manufacturer is located in Serendah, Selangor. The

plant was opened in 2007 and consists of five main parts the paint shop, the
body shop, assembly shop, logistics and a 1.5km test track. The assembly shop
consisted of two line, Line A and Line B. The study focuses on implementation in
new line which is Line B that assembled two different models that have three
variants and one variant respectively.

The supply system of parts from the warehouse to the assembly line is in lot
supply. This kind of system often took a lot of space for racking nearby the line.
Inside the warehouse will be miserable with unorganized parts. Transferring
parts by lot also would cost you undetected defective parts. As it not build in
quality ever since from the warehouse. Using lot supply makes it harder to
integrate with schedule and demands. Cascading down from the planner until
operator, its hard to predict how much does it available in a lot of parts. At the
end of the day, it will harden the material handler.

The material handling currently handled manually by operator using

generated motorize cart. The cart uses battery to move and transfer parts. With
the current layout in Assembly Shop, they need at least four operators to handle
the materials needed. This manual handling process will cause fatigue to the
operator. As human being, we tend to make mistakes as we are tired. It also left
a deep affection to the operator morale when they have to rush front and back to
satisfy material needed. When they are in a rush, it may cause different kind of
speeding which can lead to defects of the product.

Current supply process doesnt have a proper guideline and schedule. As

parts will be supplies when its needed. We need to have a fixed monitor of the
amount of raw material.

4
1.3 Research Objectives

The objectives in this project are:

1. Study the existing material handling system and analyse Set Parts Supply.
2. Design and create a new prototype of line follower robot with obstacle
avoidance to transport bento box.
3. Fabricate the small model of production line for better understanding of SPS
flow.

1.4 Scope of Study

This study will be develop and analyse at one of the well-known automotive
manufacturers

and

International

College

of

Automotive

(ICAM)

about

implementation of Set Parts Supply (SPS) and innovation of automated SPS.

Allocation of time is 12 weeks to complete this project as expected and achieve
the objectives stated. Root cause, data and resources of information was
collected since Internship Programme months before.

1.5 Expected Result

Change the part transfer system from lot supply to Set Parts Supply System

Increase the space area inside the warehouse

Ease the integration of schedule and demands with transfer route

Prevent fatigue and demoralization of operator by using automated cart

Produce proper guidelines and monitoring system

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Pyramid of Study Scope

The scope was specified in order to smaller the review of the study as viewed in
Figure 2.1:

Lean Manufaturing
Material Feeding System
Set Part Supply
(SPS)
Autonomous
Robot
Figure 2.1: Pyramid of Study Scope

6
2.2 Lean Manufacturing

Lean production is an assembly-line methodology was first developed

originally for Toyota and the manufacturing of automobiles. Lean production
principles are also referred to as lean management or lean thinking.

After World War II, Engineer, Taiichi Ohno was first developed the principles
of lean production. He was focused on how to eliminate waste and empowering
workers, reduced inventory and improved productivity.

Many industries, including software development, have adopted the

principles of lean production. The ten rules of lean production can be
summarized such as eliminate waste, minimize inventory, maximize flow, pull
production from customer demand, meet customer requirements, do it right the
first time, empower workers, design for rapid changeover, partner with suppliers,
create a culture of continuous improvement (Kaizen).

Figure 2.2 shown about House of Lean consisted of several aspects from the
fundamental until the top of the house:

Figure 2.2: House of Lean (Dennis, 2002)

The ultimate goal is placed at the roof and it is customer focus. Customer
focus implies the highest quality, at the lowest cost with the shortest lead time by
continually eliminating waste. However, today customers have broader
expectations than before. Thus, lean companies have added safety,
environment and morale to their core goals. (Dennis, 2002)

Elimination of waste is the core of lean philosophy. In the model, the way to
achieve the ultimate goal is by continually eliminating muda. From a lean point
of view, muda means any activity which the customer is not willing to pay for.
Its not the end of everything as removing muda would be the most ideal
condition of lean. (Bicheno, 2004)

Workers in a lean system should always be ready to see waste and discover
its sources. Therefore, efforts to eliminate waste are never-ending. (Nicholas,
2006) All organizations need to continually improve the ratio of value adding to
non-value adding activities.

According to Nicholas (2006), there are two ways to do this: by preventing

and reducing waste and by going after value enhancement specifically. Bicheno
(2004) mentions that Taiichi Ohno, the creator of Toyota Production System,
originally defined seven wastes, however, later on, waste of untapped human
potential was also added to the list as the eighth waste since lean production
aims to create thinking people. Ohnos list with the additional eight waste is as
follows:

1. Waste of Overproduction: Producing items when there are no orders.

Producing too much or too early or just in case creates waste in means of
overstaffing, storage, transportation costs and excess inventory.

2. Waste of Waiting: It takes time when time is not used efficiently. Waiting time
can be by workers, parts or customer and it is not value adding to the
product.
3. Waste of Unnecessary Movement: Employees performing unnecessary
motions such as bending, stretching, looking for parts or walking between
processes create non value adding waste.

4. Waste of Transporting: Inefficient transportation of materials, parts, finished

goods between processes and in and out from storage adds no value.

5. Waste of over processing: Having unneeded or inefficient processes creates

unnecessary motions and defects on parts.

6. Waste of Unnecessary Inventory: Excess raw materials and finished

materials inventory cause product damage, late deliveries and imbalances.
Inventory also hides problems in the system. Lowering inventories reveal the
problems and lead to solve them.

9
7. Waste of Defects: Producing defective parts or correction cost time and
money. The more time a defect remains undetected the more cost is added.
For that reason, defects should be determined by prevention methods
instead of inspection.

8. Waste of Untapped Human Potential: Waste is created by not engaging or

listening to employees because it is a loss in the usage of human potential. It
causes to lose time, ideas, skills, improvements and learning opportunities.

Being as a system of thoughts and actions tailor-made for Toyota company

and has been refined over the years, lean is not a method which other
companies can implement directly to their system by simply practicing lean
activity. Lean philosophy requires a total change of the mindset of the
organisation. (Womack & Jones, 1996; Liker, 2004)

2.2.1

Stability and Standardization

Stability is one of the foundation blocks of the House of Lean. According to

Dennis (2002), the improvements are impossible to achieve without stability in
4Ms, which are:

i.

Man / Woman

ii.

Machine

iii.

Material

iv.

Method

Stability starts with visual management and 5S system. 5S are the keys to
achieve production stability which support standardize work and TPM.

10
5S system is designed to create a visual workplace, which is self-explaining,
self-ordering, and self-improving. 5S also supports JIT production by providing
point-of-use information that eases decision making.

Dennis (2002) mentions 5S system is made of:

i. Sort: is the first principle of visual management and means to

sort out what you dont need in the workplace.

ii. Set in order: is about placing machines, tools, storage shelves

to reduce the waste of motion.

iii. Shine (and inspect): is about cleaning up the storage areas,

equipment and surroundings to raise the team spirit.

iv. Standardize: is about putting simple, clear and visual

standards for easier visual management.

v. Sustain: is ensuring 5S develops deep roots in the company

and becomes the normal way of doing business.

5S leads the organization to TPM, which is the key to machine stability and
effectiveness. TPM is revolutionary in the sense that it changes the mindset of I
operate, you fix into We are all responsible for our equipment, our plant and
our future. (Dennis, 2002)

Standardization is also one of the foundation blocks of the House of Lean.

The tools of standardized work help to improve efficiency by identifying value
and the waste in the process. According to Dennis (2002), a standard:

i.

Is a clear image of a desired condition.

ii.

Makes abnormalities immediately obvious so that corrective action

can be taken.

iii.

Is good when it is simple, clear and visual.

11
Bicheno (2004) explains three key aspects of standard work which need to be
understood:

i.

Standard work is not static, it should be updated when a better way

is found.

ii.

Standard work supports stability and reduces variations since the

work is performed exact same way each time.

iii.

Standard work is essential for continuous improvement.

According to Dennis (2002) the benefits of standardization can be listed as:

i.

Process stability

ii.

Clear stop and start points for each process

iii.

Organizational learning

iv.

Audit and problem solving

v.

Employee involvement and poka-yoke

vi.

Kaizen

vii.

Training

The most important elements of standardized work are: Takt time, Cycle
time, Work sequence and In-process stock. Takt time shows the frequent of a
product should be produced. Cycle time is the actual time it takes to do the
process. The goal is to synchronize the takt time with cycle time. Work
sequence defines the order in which the work is done, and should be clearly
defined. In-process stock is the minimum number of unfinished work pieces
required for the operator to complete the process without standing in front of a
machine. Defining in-process stock clearly esteablishes WIP (work-in-process)
standards per process, and again makes abnormalities obvious. (Dennis, 2002)

12
2.2.1.1 Total Productive Maintenance

TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is a holistic approach to equipment

maintenance that strives to achieve perfect production. The big idea of TPM
is getting operators involved in maintaining their own equipment, and
emphasizing proactive and preventive maintenance will lay a foundation for
improved production (fewer breakdowns, stops, and defects). The targets of
TPM are :

i.

No Breakdowns

ii.

No Small Stops or Slow Running

iii.

No Defects

TPM emphasizes proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize

the operational efficiency of equipment. It blurs the distinction between the
roles of production and maintenance by placing a strong emphasis on
empowering operators to help maintain their equipment. The implementation
of a TPM program creates a shared responsibility for equipment that
encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right
environment this can be very effective in improving productivity (increasing
up time, reducing cycle times, and eliminating defects).

The traditional approach to TPM was developed in the 1960s and consists
of 5S as a foundation and eight supporting activities (sometimes referred to
as pillars) as shown in Figure 2.3:

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Figure 2.3: Traditional TPM Model

2.2.1.2 Kaizen

Kaizen is the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen was originally

introduced to the West by Masaaki Imai in his book Kaizen: The Key to
Japans Competitive Success in 1986. Today Kaizen is recognized
worldwide as an important pillar of an organizations long-term competitive
strategy. Kaizen is continuous improvement that is based on certain guiding
principles:
i.

Good processes bring good results

ii.

Go see for yourself to grasp the current situation

iii.

Speak with data, manage by facts

iv.

Take action to contain and correct root causes of

problems

v.

Work as a team

vi.

Kaizen is everybodys business

One of the most notable features of kaizen is that big results come from
many small changes accumulated over time. However this has been
misunderstood to mean that kaizen equals small changes. In fact, kaizen

14
means everyone involved in making improvements. While the majority of
changes may be small, the greatest impact may be kaizens that are led by
senior management as transformational projects, or by cross-functional
teams as kaizen events.

2.2.2

Just In Time

Just-In-Time Just in Time production is one of the walls that built House of
Lean and is based on a pull system. Pull means to produce only when there is a
customer order. The opposite is push, and means producing even if there is no
demand for it. (Dennis, 2002)

Dennis (2002) states that JIT production follows four simple rules:

1. Dont produce something unless the customer has ordered it.

2. Level demand so that work may proceed smoothly throughout the plant.
3. Link all processes to customer demand through visual tools (kanbans)
4. Maximize flexibility of people and machinery.

The components of a JIT system are:

i.

Kanban: is a system of visual tools that synchronize and provide

instruction to suppliers and customers both internally and externally.

ii.

Production levelling (Heijunka): The goal is to produce at the same

pace every day so as to minimize the variation in the workload.
Heijunka also supports quick adaptation to fluctuating demand.

15
2.2.2.1 Pull System

The pull inventory control system begins with a customer's order. With
this strategy, companies only make enough product to fulfil customer's
orders. One advantage to the system is that there will be no excess of
inventory that needs to be stored, thus reducing inventory levels and the cost
of carrying and storing goods. However, one major disadvantage to the pull
system is that it is highly possible to run into ordering dilemmas, such as a
supplier not being able to get a shipment out on time. This leaves the
company

unable

to fulfil

the

order

and

contributes

to

customer

dissatisfaction.

An example of a pull inventory control system is the just-in-time, or JIT

system. The goal is to keep inventory levels to a minimum by only having
enough inventory, not more or less, to meet customer demand. The JIT
system eliminates waste by reducing the amount of storage space needed
for inventory and the costs of storing goods.

2.2.2.2 Takt Time

Takt is the German word for the baton that an orchestra conductor uses
to regulate the tempo of the music. Takt time may be thought of as a
measurable beat time, rate time or heartbeat. In Lean, takt time is the
rate at which a finished product needs to be completed in order to meet
customer demand. If a company has a takt time of five minutes, which
means every five minutes a complete product, assembly or machine is
produced off the line because on average a customer is buying a finished
product every five minutes. The sell rate are every two hours, two days or
two weeks is the takt time. Described mathematically, takt time is:
Available time for production / required units of production

16
It is important to note that the time available for production should reflect
the total number of hours (or whatever units of time is used) employees work
minus time spent on any breaks or meetings. Required units of production is
a measure of customer demand on how many products a company expects
its customer to buy in a given period of time. That period of time should be
consistent between the two variables in the takt time equation (e.g., per day).

2.2.2.3 Heijunka

Heijunka or Production smoothing or levelling is a technique to

facilitate Just-In-Time (JIT) production, it means production leveling (finding
and keeping average production volumes) and is used to smooth out
production in all departments as well as that of the supplier over a period of
time.

Heijunka is also important when it comes to sequencing production.

For example, were the factorys ordering system to send batches of high
specification models down its assembly line at the same time, workers would
be required to manage lots of complex build tasks not present in less well
equipped cars.

The Toyota Production System uses Heijunka to solve the former by

assembling a mix of models within each batch, and ensuring that there is an
inventory of product proportional to the variability in demand.

17
Furthermore, the disruption of production flow is minimised by making
sure that components are sequenced to be available in the right quantity and
at the right time, while changeover periods for vital processes such as die
changes within the steel presses are as short as possible; often in as little as
three minutes.

2.2.2.4 Single Minute Exchange Dies

SMED (Single-Minute Exchange of Dies) is a system for dramatically

reducing the time it takes to complete equipment changeovers. The essence
of the SMED system is to convert as many changeover steps as possible to
external (performed while the equipment is running), and to simplify and
streamline the remaining steps. The name Single-Minute Exchange of Dies
comes from the goal of reducing changeover times to the single digits (i.e.
less than 10 minutes). A successful SMED program will have the following
benefits:
i. Lower manufacturing cost (faster changeovers mean less equipment
down time)
ii. Smaller lot sizes (faster changeovers enable more frequent product
changes)
iii. Improved responsiveness to customer demand (smaller lot sizes
enable more flexible scheduling)
iv. Lower inventory levels (smaller lot sizes result in lower inventory
levels)
v. Smoother startups (standardized changeover processes improve
consistency and quality)

SMED was developed by Shigeo Shingo, a Japanese industrial engineer

who was extraordinarily successful in helping companies dramatically reduce

18
their changeover times. His pioneering work led to documented reductions in
changeover times averaging 94% (e.g. from 90 minutes to less than 5
minutes) across a wide range of companies. Changeover times that improve
by a factor of 20 may be hard to imagine, but consider the simple example of
changing a tire:

i.

For many people, changing a single tire can easily take 15

minutes.

ii.

For a NASCAR pit crew, changing four tires takes less than 15
seconds.

Many techniques used by NASCAR pit crews (performing as many steps

as possible before the pit stop begins; using a coordinated team to perform
multiple steps in parallel; creating a standardized and highly optimized
process) are also used in SMED. In fact the journey from a 15 minute tire
changeover to a 15 second tire changeover can be considered a SMED
journey. In SMED, changeovers are made up of steps that are termed
elements. There are two types of elements:
i.

Internal Elements (elements that must be completed while the

equipment is stopped)

ii.

External Elements (elements that can be completed while the

equipment is running)

2.2.3

Jidoka

The other wall which builds House of Lean is Jidoka. This term has been
defined by Toyota as automation with a human mind and implies intelligent
workers and machines identifying errors and taking quick counter measures.
(Dennis, 2002)

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2.2.3.1 Error-Proofing or Poka Yoke

Error proofing Dennis (2002) states that high defect rates caused by the
errors in production lead to frequent line stoppages, which make flow and
pull, and therefore lean production impossible.

Hirano (1988) mentions ten different types of errors:

i.

Forgetfulness

ii.

Errors due to misunderstanding

iii.

Errors in identification

iv.

Errors made by amateurs

v.

Wilful errors

vi.

Inadvertent errors

vii.

Errors due to slowness

viii.

Errors due to lack of standards

ix.

Surprise errors

x.

Intentional errors

Hirano (1988) also states that almost all errors can be prevented if the
sufficient effort is put on identifying them and taking steps to prevent them by
using poka-yoke methods. Poka-yoke 12 means implementing simple low
cost devices that either detects abnormal situations before they occur, or
once they occur, stop the line to prevent defects. (Dennis, 2002)

Typical examples of poka-yoke devices are guide pins, error detection,

alarms, limit switches, counters and checklists. (Hirano, 1988)

According to Dennis (2002) a good poka-yoke satisfies the following

requirements:

20
i.

Simple, with long life and low maintenance.

ii.

High reliability.

iii.

Low cost.

iv.

Designed for workplace conditions.

v.

Sourced by shop floor team members

2.2.3.2 Andon

Andon is

a manufacturing term referring

to

system

to

notify

management, maintenance, and other workers of a quality or process

problem. The centrepiece is a signboard incorporating signal lights to
indicate which workstation has the problem. The alert can be activated
manually by a worker using a pullcord or button, or may be activated
automatically by the production equipment itself. The system may include a
means to stop production so the issue can be corrected. Some modern alert
systems incorporate audio alarms, text, or other displays.
An Andon System is one of the principal elements of the Jidoka qualitycontrol method pioneered by Toyota as part of the Toyota Production
System and therefore now part of the Lean approach. It gives the worker the
ability, and moreover the empowerment, to stop production when a defect is
found, and immediately call for assistance. Common reasons for manual
activation of the Andon are part shortage, defect created or found, tool
malfunction, or the existence of a safety problem. Work is stopped until a
solution has been found. The alerts may be logged to a database so that
they can be studied as part of a continuous-improvement program.

The system typically indicates where the alert was generated, and may
also provide a description of the trouble. Modern Andon systems can include
text, graphics, or audio elements. Audio alerts may be done with coded
tones, music with different tunes corresponding to the various alerts, or prerecorded verbal messages.

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2.2.3.3 Autonomation

Autonomation is automation with a human touch. Sakichi Toyoda

invented a loom in 1896 that not only operated automatically but also
stopped when any of the threads broke, this simple idea revolutionized the
industry as instead of there being a requirement for an operator having to sit
beside each and every machine waiting and searching for a problem, one
operator could now watch several machines and just take action when a
problem occurred thus increasing productivity and quality. It is said that the
later sale of this technology and the patent to a UK textile company provided
the cash that the Toyoda family required to start their new business Toyota
Cars. (Matt & Rauch,2012).

Autonomation therefore is not full scale automation, it automates the

tasks that operators would find boring, repetitive or unsafe but retains human
beings to look after the process, often loading the machines and monitoring
for abnormalities highlighted by the machines.(Black.J.T,1991)

Autonomation is the strategy that Toyota uses for its machines, rather
than investing in huge monolith machines that can do everything but take
forever to set up and require to run huge batches they invest in small
machines that do specific tasks that humans would find difficult or repetitive
and use autonomation principles to ensure that the operator only has to
interrupt the cycle if something goes wrong. This increase productivity and
reduces costs considerably as now an operator can monitor several
machines on an exception basis and only has to take action if something
goes wrong. (Matt & Rauch,2012).

22
In addition to autonomation they also developed the idea of mistake
proofing known as PokaYoke which seeks to either prevent the possibility of
creating a defect or in highlighting if one has been created. Autonomation is
part of Jidoka, jidoka being a simple set of rules that were inspired by
Toyodas first loom;

i.

Discover an abnormality

ii.

STOP

iii.

Fix the immediate problem

iv.

Investigate and correct root cause

Jidoka covers both the whole process as well as individual machines and
requires that operators who spot an abnormality stop the process in just the
same way that autonomation has the machine stop when something is
incorrect. The important thing however is not to just stop, autonomation
without the follow through of the remaining Jidoka principles just results in
machines that keep stopping.

2.2.4

Involvement

Involvement is at the heart of the House of Lean. The explicit goal of all
involvement activities is to improve productivity, cost, delivery time, safety,
environment and morale by:

i.

Solving specific problems by developing poka-yoke, reducing walk

time by altering layout, reducing changeover time etc.

ii.

Reducing hassles by applying 5S so that things are easy to see and

find.

iii.

Reducing risk by implementing poka-yoke to eliminate spills

23
According to Dennis (2002), the deeper goal is to improve team member
capability. By strengthening the employee a company can face the future
confidently.

Kaizen Circle Activity (KCA) is the best known involvement activity. It helps
to strengthen team members their ability to work as a part of a team, as a
leader as well as it improves their ability to thinking clearly and logically to solve
problems. It also supports the team members build confidence. (Dennis, 2002)

2.3 Lean Principles

Specifying value from the point of view of the customer: The critical
starting point for lean thinking is value. Value can only be defined by the
ultimate customer and it is only meaningful when expressed in terms of a
specific product (a good or a service, and often both at once), which meets
the customer's needs at a specific price at a specific time. (Womack &
Jones, 1996)

Identifying the value stream: Value Stream is all the specific actions
required to bring a specific product (whether a good, a service or a
combination of two) through three critical management tasks of any
business. These three tasks are problem solving or product definition task,
information management task and physical transformation. (Bicheno, 2004)
The value stream map is a tool that: allow you to diagram your current value
stream, identifies the bottleneck that causes the delays and develops a
vision of what your future lean system should look like. Furthermore, it is also
important to look at the whole supply chain, or more accurately the demand
network. Concentration should be on the viewpoint of the object (product or
customer), not on the viewpoint of the department or process step. (Bicheno,
2004)

24

Make the value flow: Making the value flow means working on each
design, order, and product continuously from beginning to end so that there
is no waiting, downtime, or waste, within or between the steps. The ideal
state is a one piece flow at and between processes. This usually requires
introducing new types of organizations or technologies and getting rid of the
obstacles. It is useful to work according to Stalk and Houts Golden Rule and
never delay a value adding activity because of a non-value adding activity.
Instead, such activities should be done in parallel. (Bicheno, 2004)

Customer pull: Pull means short-term response to the customers rate of

demand, and not over producing. Pull should be thought about on two levels.
On the macro level, most organizations will have to push up to a certain point
and respond to final customers thereafter. The aim is to push this point
further and further upstream. On the micro level, there is responding to pull
signals from an internal customer that may be the next process in the case of
kanban. Attention to both levels is necessary. Letting the customer pull the
product from the value stream eliminates the following types of waste:
designs that are obsolete before the product is completed, finished goods,
inventories and elaborate inventory/information tracking systems. (Bicheno,
2004)

Pursue perfection: After having worked through the previous principles,

perfection becomes more possible. In a lean context, perfection means
producing exactly what the customer wants, exactly at the right time, at a fair
price and with minimum waste. (Bicheno, 2004)

2.4 Material Feeding Systems

One of the key decisions for every assembly line is the decision about the
materials feeding system which means the method of supplying materials to

25
the operators. This decision affects all of the other activities performed as well
as the performance of the assembly line.

Johansson (1991) mentions three principles of materials feeding system for

an assembly line which is batch supply, continuous supply and kitting. These
principles are categorized with regard to two main variables as seen in Figure
2.4 :

i.

Whether a selection or all of the part numbers are displayed at the

assembly station.

ii.

Whether the components are sorted by part number or assembly

object.

Figure 2.4: Material Feeding Principles

2.4.1

Continuous Supply

Johansson (1991) defines continuous supply as the case where

material is distributed to the assembly stations in units suitable for handling
and where these units are replaced when they are empty. Bozer and
McGinnis (1992) mention the same concept as line stocking. Bulk delivery of
the materials is the usual way of materials feeding. Every different part
number is supplied to the assembly line in an individual container. The most
significant advantages of this way are that no pre-processing of the parts are
necessary and the continuous availability of stock at the assembly line. In the
case that one part is missing or defected, assembly operator can easily pick

26
another one from the container. However, there are some disadvantages
too. If there are an excess number of parts to be assembled it means a lot of
capital is tied up in stock, shop floor is becoming overcrowded by the parts,
and the assembly operator has to move a lot to get the parts and loses time
looking for the correct part numbers.

2.4.2

Batch Supply

In batch supply systems the material is supplied for a number of

specific assembly objects. The batch of materials can be a batch of the
necessary part numbers or a batch of these part numbers in the requisite
quantities. (Johansson, 1991)

2.4.3

Sequential Supply

Johansson & Johansson (2006) defines sequential supply as the

supply method that part numbers needed for a specific number of assembly
objects are displayed at the assembly stations, sorted by object. The main
motivation for sequential supply is the fact that if the product is assembled on
a serial line where only a few components are assembled at each station,
kitting is less advantageous since it will require a lot of extra materials
handling to prepare different kits for each station. The sequencing process
can be located within or outside the assembly plant which means that the
materials feeding principle can differ between the assembly station and the
supply chain. This is also true for the other materials feeding principles.
Johansson (1991) states that these principles exist simultaneously in one
system and for different kinds of parts complement each other. In practice,
pure systems can hardly be described due to variety in systems and
solutions.

27
2.4.4

Kitting Supply

Bozer and McGinnis (1992) defines a kit as a specific collection of

components and/or subassemblies that together (i.e., in the same container)
support one or more assembly operations for a given product or shop order.
Similarly, Johansson (1991) state that one kit consists of a set of parts for
one assembly object. From these definitions it is understood that kitting
requires extra handling compared to continuous supply. It should be
mentioned that downsizing i.e. breaking down of 5 supplier pallets into
smaller containers occurs in continuous supply. In these cases the numbers
of handlings are the same for kitting as for continuous supply. The part
numbers have to be kitted somewhere in the material feeding process.
Several kits can be supplied to the assembly station at the same time but the
parts needed for each specific assembly object are held (kitted) together
(Bozer and McGinnis, 1992; Johansson, 1991). Also true from the definitions
are that no material included in the kit have to be presented separately
(presented in line-side storage racks) at the assembly station meaning that
kitting is more flexible to changes of the assembly line. Presenting only the
required parts for each assembly also reduces the manufacturing floor space
as well as increasing the control of work-in-progress through parts visibility
and parts accountability on the production floor. (Bozer and McGinnis, 1992)

Kitting is particularly advantageous at the assembly station when the

total numbers of components, including number of variants, are many. The
reverse is also true, i.e. that kitting is less advantageous in serial lines where
each assembly station has few components to be assembled. (Johansson
and Johansson, 2006) Kitting is many times not the only material feeding
principle to the assembly station. Bozer and McGinnis (1992) mention
product complexity and product size as motives for using other material
feeding principles than kitting. Components such as fasteners, washers are
most commonly also not included in a kit (Bozer and McGinnis, 1992;
Baudin, 2004).

28
In the studied literature a large variety of different solutions
considering kitting was examined making it very difficult to describe one pure
kitting system. Bozer and McGinnis (1992) observed two types of kits:
stationary kits and travelling kits. The stationary kit is delivered to one
assembly station where it remains until it is fully consumed. The travelling kit
on the other hand travels alongside the assembly object and can support
several assembly stations before it is consumed. Brynzr and Johansson
(1995) further examine the different design options of kitting systems in their
report. The kitting can either be performed by an assembler or by a picker
(i.e. special category of operators) and the kitting activity can be performed
in a central picking store or in decentralized areas close to the assembly
stations. Several articles discusses higher picking accuracy when the
assembler himself is responsible for the whole job since he has a better
understanding for the part numbers included in the assembly operations
(Brynzr and Johansson, 1995; Johansson, 1991). The articles also
recognize reduced administrative work when the picker and the assembler
was the same person.

Other differences discovered by Brynzr and Johansson (1995) in

their study of kitting in the manufacturing industry where:

1. Batching policy instead of picking each kit separately, several kits are
picked together in order to reduce walking distance and picking times

2. Zone picking - a picking order is divided into picking zones and hence can
be picked simultaneously in different zones
3. Picking information picking list is the most common picking information
for the picker but this system has a high risk for inaccuracy through the
picker picking the wrong parts. A display at the storage locations
indicating what should be picked is another alternative, which reduces the
risk for inaccuracies. Another is to assign each finished product a number,
letter or color and displaying this symbol at each storage location.

29
4. Design of picking package the design of the picking package has to
both be functional in the picking process as well as in the assembly
process. The parts can either be displayed lying 6 freely in the package or
fixed with a dedicated placing. A dedicated place for each part reduced
the flexibility of the package but increases at the same time the safety of
the part and the control/speed of the assembly.

2.4.5

Order Picking Activities

Another critical decision about the assembly line is the decision about
order picking activities. Order Picking is the process of removing items from
storage to meet a specific demand. It can be performed manually or partly
automated. It represents the basic service that the warehouse provides for
the customer. In a manufacturing area, assembly line is accepted as an
internal customer for the warehouse. (Tompkins, 1996)

Brynzer (1995) mentions one way of classifying order picking

systems is whether the picker is travelling to picking locations (picker-to-part)
or the materials are brought to the picker (part-to-picker). Picker to part is
more commonly used in the industry.

According to Piasecki (2003), among all warehouse processes order

picking tends to get the most attention since the ability to quickly and
accurately process customer orders has become an essential part of doing
business. It means high level of importance placed on order picking
operations is its direct connection to customer satisfaction. According to
annual member survey of Warehousing Education and Research Council,
order picking activities constitute 50% of the total operating cost in a typical
warehouse. The distribution of the cost is as seen in Figure 2.5:

30

Figure 2.5: Distribution of costs in a typical warehouse (Plasecki, 2003)

Frazelle (2001) lists a number of work elements related to order picking as

follows:

Travelling to, from and between pick locations

Extracting items from storage locations

Reaching and bending to access pick locations

Documenting picking transactions

Sorting items into orders

Packing items

Searching for pick locations

The typical distribution of the working time of an order picker is as shown in

Figure 2.6:

(2001) recommends
some
methods
reduce
(or eliminate)
Figure Frazelle
2.6: Distribution
of working time
for a
materialtopicker
(Plasecki,
2003)

These working times., such as bringing pick locations to the picker to

reduce travelling time, to automate information flow to reduce documenting
time, presenting items at waist level to reduce reaching time, illuminating

31
pick locations to reduce searching time and automated dispensing to reduce
extracting time.

Tompkins (1996) recommends a number of principles to plan order picking:

i.

Encourage and design for full-pallet as opposed to loose case

picking and full case as opposed to broken case picking

ii.

Bring the pick locations to the picker

iii.

Eliminate and combine order picking tasks when possible

iv.

Batch orders to reduce total travel time

v.

Establish separate forward and reserve picking areas

vi.

Assign the most popular items to the most easily accessed locations
in the warehouse

vii.

Balance picking activity across picking location to reduce congestion

viii.

Assign items that are likely to be requested together to the same or

nearby locations

ix.

Sequence pick location visits to reduce travel time

x.

Organize picking documents and displays to minimize search time

and errors.

xi.

Design picking vehicles to minimize sorting time and errors to eaQ

Znhance the pickers comfort

xii.

Eliminate paperwork from the order picking activity.

The Avery Way, which is a warehousing consultant company in US, has

its eight secrets to perfect order picking (elogistics101.com) which are:

1. To automatically verify everything: Design your order picking system to

double-verify every step of the picking process. People are open to make
mistakes due to human nature but double checking will catch the
mistakes. A system that requires scanning of barcodes, along with a blind
entry of the quantity picked, will guarantee the right pick is made.

32
2. Touch items once: Order pick process should allow enough verified
accuracy that further repacking, quality checking, or shipping checking, is
not required. A pick unit should go to the customer (assembly line)
touched only by the original pickers hands.

3. Minimize walking: Walking time can be minimized by picking from both

sides of the aisle, placing slow-moving items on side aisles which are
entered only when needed, picking many smaller orders in one trip (batch
picking.)
4. 100% product availability: Replenishment system must be designed in a
way to insure an order picker never has to face an empty pick slot waiting
for replenishment, and that orders never need to be segregated.

5. Use ABC item analysis: Prioritization should be done between items. For
example, if 10% of the items can completely satisfy 50% of the orders
(typically true), then these items can be called "A" items. A short pick line
comprised of only these "A" items can be set up, and immediately half of
the orders require walking through only 10% of the pick area.

6. Stop pick and pass line picking: Pass-along picking slows all orders to the
speed of the slowest picker, or, to the capacity of the busiest pick station.
Pick rates of the better pickers can often be increased by 30% to 200%,
just by switching from conveyor picking to individual cart picks.

7. Invest in training and quality circles: Even the best designed order picking
systems undermine its original excellence by changing customer
requirements. An investment in productivity and accuracy improvement
(Total Quality), and management supported quality circles that meet
regularly to identify problems and propose solutions, will pay big dividends
in continuous improvement of even an already excellent system.

33
8. Walk your talk: The least costly and most effective way to improve the
order picking is through direct, continuous and enthusiastic top and
middle management support, of the workers striving for the highest level
of picking accuracy and efficiency. Workers sense immediately, if
management is only giving "lip service" to their commitment to excellence.

Key objectives of designing an order picking operation include

increases in productivity, reduction of cycle time, and increases in accuracy.
Sometimes these objectives may conflict with one another in that a method
that focuses on productivity may not provide a short enough cycle time, or a
method that focuses on accuracy may sacrifice productivity. (Piasecki, 2003)

Decisions about order picking systems are very important for kitting
because as stated by Bozer & McGinnis (1992) and also supported by other
researches like Brynzer (1995) and Medbo (2008) conceptually kit assembly
is an order picking operation itself.

2.5 Set Part Supply (SPS) / Lean Kitting

There are two main jobs in SPS which Erabitori and Kumitsuke. Erabitori or
selection is a process of selected the each part of the different models.
Kumitsuke or assembly is a process in which the parts are assembled on the
car body. The selection process is done by an operator in an area called the
supermarket which is called picking process. The scoped of job focuses on the
selection of the needed parts, removing the unnecessary materials and placing
the selected part on the box. Then, the box is placed on the cart and supplied
to the assembly line. The second job is done by an assembly operator at each
workstation on the assembly line. The assembly operator will pick up the parts
one after another from the box for the related assembly process and
assembled them on the car body.

34
In SPS implementation, for the starting, the point of Kanban is moved from
the assembly line to the supermarket area. There is no Kanban between the
assembly line and the supermarket. The job in the supermarket is synchronized
with the assembly line which is planned by the production planning department.
This means that there is no order for supplying parts from the assembly line to
the supermarket. The instruction to supply parts for the selection process also
comes from the management (production planning control). Therefore the
shopping operator will concentrate on the selection process and the assembly
operator will focus on assembling the parts. This make it easy for the unskilled
worker to understand and the time to train a new assembly operator can also
be reduced. It seems that implementing SPS requires more jobs to be done
albeit with some additional labour cost.

SPS is also known as the kitting supply, however there are certain
elements that make SPS different from kitting. SPS and kitting seem to be
beneficial to solve space utilization and material handling problems but the
kitting process is less understood in terms of flexibility, quality and cognitive.
Kitting requires all the components or subassembly collections to be completed
before being delivered to the assembly line. Otherwise, kitting will lead to poor
quality and increase the lead times due to the rework process. SPS is better
than the traditional method because it can reduce the distance of the parts
supplied by 3% and the total time for part arrangement 4%. SPS also can be
very useful to reduce the time spent searching for parts and provides a quick
response to quality control.

According to a Toyota spokesman the advantages of this approach are:

i.

More value added time by the operators: By the cancellation of nonvalue-adding task of walking a few steps to retrieve parts from flow
racks, now operators stay in a very tight zone and focus nearly
100% of their time on the value-added work of installing parts. The
switch also eliminates reaching, stretching, and searching for parts
by assembly operators. (Value)

35
ii.

Cleaner work areas with visual control: The line become less
cluttered, easier to see, easier to walk around, and just feel like a
much more open work space. (5S)

iii.

Fewer part selection errors: The big advantage of the new material
handling system is simplicity and quality improvement through error
avoidance. (Poka-yoke)

iv.

Easier training of assembly operators: The new arrangement also

makes training operators and material handlers easier because the
job responsibilities are narrower.

On the other hand, there are two disadvantages which are the increased
manpower by adding kitting personnel and adding or subtracting pickers
incrementally as takt time changed somewhat harder to do. (leaninstituut.nl):

As mentioned earlier, a fit to the pull production system is also very

important for kitting activities to fit in lean production systems. Ding &
Balakrishnan (1990) consider part-size, lot-size and kit-size are the most
important factors for a good fit to pull production.

Industries dealing with heavy and bulky parts, such as metal industry, sizes
of the parts are needed to be considered very carefully for kitting. Some large
parts which dont fit into kits should be handled separately. In a pull production
system, these large parts can be pulled individually while the kittable parts are
pulled together as a kit. (Ding & Balakrishnan, 1990)

Another important decision to make for a pull system is whether to have

parts production pulled by kits or pulled by parts. A pulled by kit system refers
to a system that triggers the production for all the parts of a kit whenever the kit
is emptied. A pulled by part system refers to system that provides intermediate
storage between the manufacturing facilities and using stations for various

36
kitted parts. Whenever a kit is emptied, it is refilled by retrieving parts from this
intermediate storage point. Briefly, pulled by kit would give one rhythm of
replenishment while pulled by part would allow different rhythms for various
kitted parts. (Ding & Balakrishnan, 1990)

For a system that works under pull production, storage container sizes
should be compatible with kit sizes. Otherwise, if at any moment the number of
units in the container of a certain part is less than the kit size, that container is
useless for kitting. The determination of the kit size is affected by container
size, material handling and WIP. (Ding & Balakrishnan, 1990)

There are pros and cons of applying SPS. SPS is one of the reasons to
create a simple, slim and easy system for materials supply. With the
synchronized workstation and balancing line, SPS implementation builds high
quality into the product and is able to create a better working environment. The
other reason for introducing SPS to the assembly line in Japan was the
increase in the average age of assembly operators. Therefore, by replacing the
senior operators on the assembly line and letting them select the parts, it is
easier for them to focus on their job. Moreover, assembly operators have to
memorize many job processes each time a different model arrives at the
workstation. Therefore, the implementation of SPS balances the job of
selection and the assembly of parts.

2.6 Automation in SPS

Robots can manipulate objects in their environment in order to achieve

certain goals. They can perform task without the presence of human. The
resulting information also enhanced by information available from internal
states. It gained information from the surroundings, through sensors. The
information is processed in the robots brain, consisting of one or several
processors, resulting motor signals that are sent to the actuators of the robot.

37
The line following robot is the basic concept of autonomous robot. It
programmed to follow a dark line on a white background or vice versa. It
detects turn and deviations and modified the motors appropriately. The
optical sensor is an array of commercially available IR reflective type
sensors.

2.6.1

Theory of IR reflection

In order to move the robot, it must first be able to sense the black line.
The sensing of black line is based on IR reflective law. IR transmitter
produces the input, which consist of a transmitter and receiver. A transmitter
is a diode that operated by sending electromagnetic wave at wavelength in
infrared region and the wave will be reflected by the detection region.
Meanwhile, a receiver is photodiode that can change according to the IR ray
that is absorbed. They are included in a pair of socket in order to reduce
noise due to scattered light.

The operation of IR sensor is based on dark surface reflected less IR ray

than bright surface. It can be vice versa. The difference in amount of IR ray
will be detected by the receiver so a different logic status would be produced.
When the IR sensor is position under bright surface, more IR ray would be
reflected and detected by the photodiode, the resistance of photodiode
would be low causing lower output voltage. The logic status is 0 if the sensor
is connected to active high circuit. Else, if the sensor placed above dark
surface, lesser IR ray is reflected thus causing the resistance of photodiode
to increase, output voltage will be increasing too so the logic status is 1.

38
2.6.2

Combination of logic status

The logic status is 1 for detecting black line and 0 for detecting the white
line. The microcontroller will receive a feedback through the logic status so
that the robot could make decision when encounter a dead end or to move
by adjusting coordination of left motor and right motor.

Table 2.1: Logic status and line description

Logic Status

Description

Line bent to left

Line bent slightly to left

Straight

Line bent slightly to right

Line bent to right

Based on Table 2.1, the sensor would produce a combination of logic

status to the microcontroller. In the logic status of 10000, the black line will
bent extremely to the left, the input is feedback to microcontroller so that the
robot will moved to the left by altering the rotating speed of the motor. When
the logic status is 01000, it means the line will bent slightly towards left side.
The microcontroller produces a command to alter motor speed for the robot
to move left by using PWM signal of lower difference in duty cycle between
left and right motor so that the robot will move slightly to the left. It is vice
versa for the right direction. If 00100, the robot will move straight as the
motor speed is equal.

The combination above is based on theoretical case. If the width of black

line is excessive, than arrangement distance between two consecutive
sensors, the logic status as in Table 2.2;

39

Table 2.2: Logic status when line is wider

Logic Status

Description

Line bent to left

Line bent slightly to left

Line bent slightly to right

Line bent to right

In programming, both situations must be taken into account, so that the

mobile robot could follow the line smoothly.

2.6.3

Arduino

Arduino is a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of
the physical world than a desktop computer. It is an open-source physical
computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a
development environment for writing software for the board. Arduino can be
used to develop interactive objects, taking inputs from a variety of switches
or sensors, and controlling a variety of lights, motors, and other physical
outputs. Arduino projects can be stand-alone, or they can communicate with
software running on computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP.) The
boards can be assembled by hand or purchased preassembled and the
open-source IDE can be downloaded for free.

40
2.6.4

Types of Arduino Board

Arduino comes with a lot of variety according to ones needs and the boards
capabilities. It also comes with different shapes, sizes and functions as
shown in Figure 2.7 until Figure 2.18:

Figure 2.7 : Arduino Bluetooth

Figure 2.8 : Arduino Diecimila

Figure 2.9 : Arduino Duemilanove

41

Figure 2.10 : Arduino Lilypad

Figure 2.11 : Arduino Mega

Figure 2.12 : Arduino Mini

42

Figure 2.13 : Arduino Nano

Figure 2.14 :Arduino Ng Rev

Figure 2.15 :Arduino Serial

43

Figure 2.16 : Arduino Severino

Figure 2.17 : Arduino Uno

Figure 2.18 : Arduino USB Adapter

44

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

The construction of line following robot with obstacle avoidance sensor to

transport set parts supply system divided into different phases. Phase 1 is
electric circuit design and development and phase 2 is mechanical design and
hardware assembling. Phase 3 is software development. In phase 1, electric
circuit design is done. It involved identifying suitable components that are
needed and designing circuits to interface Arduino Uno microcontrollers with
component such as motor driver, line sensor and analogue distance sensor.

3.2 Why-Why Analysis

The 5 Whys is a technique used in the analyse phase of the Six Sigma. It is a
great Six Sigma tool that does not involve data segmentation, hypothesis
testing, regression or other advanced statistical tools, and in many cases can be
completed without a data collection plan.

45
Very often the ostensible reason for a problem will lead you to another question.
Although this technique is called 5 Whys, you may find that you will need to
ask the question fewer or more times than five before you find the issue related
to a problem.

It helps to identify the root cause of a problem, determine the relationship

between different root causes of a problem and also one of the simplest tools;
easy to complete without statistical analysis.

46

47
3.3 Problems and Solutions

The problems identified and solutions suggested shown in Table 3.2:

Table 3.2: Problems and Solutions of the Project
Num.
1.

Problem

Solution

No fixed route and schedule provided.

2.

No automated transportation to supply

the parts.

3.

No proper arrangement of parts supply

from the warehouse to the production
line.

4.

No proper supply system to integrate

between the schedule and production
demand.

Line Follower Robot with

Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

Set Parts Supply

Extracted from the Why-Why Analysis, the table above shows the solution
for each problem occurred. Line Follower Robot with Obstacle Avoidance Sensor
was used to tackle the problem of no fixed route and schedule provided and no
automated transportation to supply the parts. This is because when the material
handler supplied manually, the route is unfixed as human tends to take order and
helplessly resisting when it is needed. As example, Operator A is given the task to
transport a fixed number of parts to production line A. As soon as he transferred the
fifth parts, a work station lacking of part which they need it as soon as possible due
to massive defects on multiple products. Thus it requires Operator A to help that
work station first before he can continue with his task.

Parallel with that problem, he will be rushing and working in a very tense
condition. This kind of event eventually affected the morale of the operator himself.
He wont be in the best condition of working. As he needs to drive a motorized cart,
the speed might be in higher speed. It opened up to possibilities of having an

48
accident. Driving in high speed also could cost a defective part. Thus, the invention
of Line Follower Robot with Obstacle Avoidance is a perfect solution to overcome
these kind of problem. The robot will follow a black tape with a fixed speed and
route. It can deliver bento box for the implementation of SPS. It also comes with
obstacle avoidance feature, where it will stop when a barrier or any object moves in
front of the path.

Next is the problem where no proper arrangements of part supply from the
warehouse to the production line. It took a lot of spaces and no proper supply
system to integrate between the schedule and production demand. The solution to
both problems is the implementation of Set Parts Supply.

3.4 Flow Chart

Flow chart is a type of diagram that represents an algorithm or process from

the beginning to the end of the project. It is commonly used in analysing, designing,
documenting and managing a process or program in various fields.

In Figure 3.1, shows the flow chart of Line Follower Robot with Obstacle
Avoidance to Transport Set Parts Supply System. The project objective is to define
and set before proceeding to another tasks. The proposal was prepared and
submitted hence the confirmation of final project was verified by the supervisor.

First and for most, we organise a session of brainstorming among team

members to find any problems that occur. The fundamental principles based on
Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety and Morale. To choose the best solution, we decided
to use Matrix Chart.

49
As the solution concluded, we analyse and develop the problem using a few
methods such as Ishikawa Diagram, Why-Why Analysis, SMART Table and data
history of the problem.

After that the development of Line Follower Robot with Obstacle Avoidance
starts by drafting design and proceed after the approval of supervisor. Discussion
was made several times to achieve optimum and efficient design. Henceforth, the
approved design was carried for further processes.

By using, Arduino Uno as the main data processor, it was programmed

precisely so that it fits our desired purpose and function properly. Through
mechanical parts, we took an unused body of hallow steel and installed two wheels
to ensure a smooth movement of the robot.

Finally, Line Follower Robot with Obstacle Avoidance was put into a test to
validate and verify the functionality of the robot. Once successful, the project is
finally completed and tested.

50

Start
Research and Background Study
Project Selection and Definition

Concentrated on QCDMS
Brainstorming

Problem Analysis and Improvement

Why-Why Analysis
Data History

Project Solution Identification

Brainstorming of Prototype Design
Cost Estimation
Evaluation of tangible and non-tangible benefits

Project Execution
NG

Designing the Prototype

Material Preparation

Fabricate prototype

Improvement Verification
-

Testing and Data Collection

OK
Result and Discussion
End

Figure 3.1: Project Flow Chart

51
3.5 List of Materials
Table 3.3 shows all the list of materials used in succeeding the project.
Table 3.3: List of Materials
Num.

Name of Material

Arduino Uno

Picture

Descriptions
Used microcontroller board
based on the ATmega328P
(datasheet).
It has 14 digital input/output
pins :
6 PMW Digital I/O Pins
6 Analog Input Pins
1 Power Pin
1 USB Connection
Can be simply connect it to a
computer with a USB cable
or power it with a AC-to-DC
adapter or battery to get
started.
Operating voltage : 5V
Flash memory of 32 KB
SRAM : 2 KB
EEPROM : 1 KB
Weight : 25g

2Amp Motor
Driver Shield

Logic

control,

5V

from

Arduino main board

Polarity

protection

for

External motor power input

2 fast test buttons for each
motor channel
2 indicator LEDs for each
channel
bi-directional control of two
DC brush motor

52

Motor Driven Voltage6.5 to

12VDC(VIN Power Supply), 5.0
to

26VDC

(External

Power

Source)
Up to 2A current each channel
Pin 4, 5,6,7 are used to drive
two DC motor
Support PWM speed control
Support advance speed control
Socket

for

LSS05

Auto-

Calibrating Line Sensor, doing

line following robot will be easy

LSS-05

5V power
5 digital output representing
logic of 5 IR sensor
1 press to start calibration
2 press to toggle logic into Dark
On mode, to sense dark line
3 press to toggle logic into
Bright On mode, to sense bright
line
Calibration button for easy of
calibration
Combine with MC40A for line
following robot development

HC-SR04

Power Supply :5V DC

Quiescent Current : <2mA
Working Current: 15mA
Effectual Angle: <15
Ranging Distance : 2cm 400
cm or 1" - 13ft
Resolution : up to 0.3 cm

53

Dimension: 45mm x 20mm x

15mm

SPG 50 DC
Motors

DC12V

Output Power: 3.4 Watt

Rated Speed: 170RPM

Rated Current: 0.9A

Rated Torque: 198mN.m

Sample Application:
lightweight mechanism
such as: bank note
machine, handling
machine, educational
robot, etc

Lithium Battery

Ordinary Voltage: 11.1V

Fully-charge Voltage:
12.6V

Capacity: 2200mAh

Discharge rate: 30C

Able to use for most of the

12V controllers, motors or
any other appliances

54
3.6 Fabricating Production Model Sample of SPS Implementation

In order to make people have a clear view on how SPS is implemented in

production line, a sample model of production line has been made. It consists of a
conveyor line, equipped with the path of Line Follower Robot that transporting Bento
Box which consisting several parts to be assembled. This will get people to see the
sample view and get what is the concept of SPS before it goes to the industry.

Robot Lane

Conveyor Line

Workstation

Line Follower
Robot with
Obstacle
Avoidance

Set Parts Supply

rack and boxes

Figure 3.2: Sample of SPS Implementation

55
3.7 Function main()

Start
NO
Is tape detected
YES
Move straight
NO
YES
Stop

Dead end
NO
YES
Obstacle in front
NO
YES
Left Junction

Turn
Left

NO
YES
Right Junction

Figure 3.3: Function main() Flow Chart

Turn
Right

56
Refer to the Figure 3.3, it can be seen that the program started by waiting command
through detecting black line. It is the input by user, when the line detected, logic
state 0 would be returned to the algorithm and robot is turned on. The logic state of
button 1 is monitored by looping.

The robot will then move straight slightly. A function straight() would be
called in the main program. The sub function is to read the 5 bits number from
LSS05 sensor so that the Arduino Uno microcontroller can process the information
and the robot can make different movement.

After that, the main program would determine type of curve based on input
by line sensor, if the path is a dead end, the robot will stop. If a left curve is
detected, the robot would turn left. If a right curve is detected, the robot would turn
right. If an obstacle is detected, the robot will stop.

57

58
Through Figure 3.4, the straight() function is called to enable robot to
move straight. The function started setting the variable straight flag equals to
1. After that, the condition is checked whether straight flag is less than or
equals to 1. If straight flag is higher than 1, the function straight() would be
terminated immediately. The presence of obstacle would be detected by
parameter in the main algorithm as stated in figure. If obstacle is present, the
function straight() would be terminated immediately. This is to ensure the
robot would not bump onto the obstacle.

If obstacle is not there, the program will start taking reading from
LSS05 5 bit line sensor. If the reading detected is 11111, 01110, 11100 and
00111, the robot move forward to determine the type of path encountered.
When robot moves along the line and encounters a left curve, the
changes of logic status are from 00100 to 01100/11100 for that case. These
readings are sensed by readsensor() function and the data is recorded in
variable s1,s2,s3,s4 and s5. This is indicated as Figure.

The fragment of code readsensor() is programmed as:

void readsensor()
{
s1=digitalRead(9);
s2=digitalRead(10);
s3=digitalRead(11);
s4=digitalRead(12);
s5=digitalRead(13);
}

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If no curve path is encountered and there is no obstacle, left motor and right
motor would turn based on the position of the robot. If robot is at the centre of
straight line, left motor and right motor would be turned at the same speed. This is
done by generating combinations of PWM signal to left and right motor.

If the robot is slightly shifted to the left, it will allowed to turn slightly faster
than right motor compensate the shifting. So does vice versa. The compensation
would help robot to stay at the centre of line and move forward.

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61
In Figure 3.5, function turnleft() is nonetheless equal to the movement of the
robot when turning to the right. The function start by setting variable equals to 1 and
variable controlleft equals to 0. Them, the condition is checked whether the data
stored in variable controlleft is less than or equals to 1. If it is larger than 1, the
function will be terminated. If data stored in controlleft is less than or equal to 1, the
program would process to the next stage.

A variable a is used to monitor the looping function. It will determine the

repetitiveness of the loop thats taking place. If the sensor reading is 00011, 00010,
00110 or 00111, which means that the robot already make a successful left turn,
data stored in variable will be increased by 1, forcing the turnleft() function to end.

3.10

Summary

As a conclusion, a robot using Arduino Uno microcontroller as a processing

unit is built. The input is HC-SR04 a distance sensor to detect obstacle and LSS05
line sensor to detect black line. Based on these inputs, motion of robot is controlled
by differential combination of PWM signal supplied to the left and right motor via
2Amp Motor Shield.

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CHAPTER 4
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the outcome and result from hardware and software
implementation are discussed. These outcomes included the specifications of the
built hardware and the performance of the robot.

4.2 Robot Overview

The line follower robot with obstacle avoidance is built of hallow steel body and
two wheels front and a metal ball castor at the back. It is actuated by two SPG50XX DC Motors. The isometric view and underneath view are shown in Figure 4.1
and 4.2:

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Figure 4.1: Isometric View of the Robot

Metal Castor

Wheels
DC Motors

LSS05

Figure 4.2: Underneath View of the Robot

64

The specifications are stated in Table 4.1:

Table 4.1: Robot Specification

Description
Input

Specifications
LSS05 Auto-Calibrate Line Sensor
HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Ranging
Sensor

Output

SPG 50 DC Geared Motor

Length
Width

4.3

40 cm
51 cm

Robot Fabrication and Software Application

In this section, it is about step by step of completing Line Follower Robot with
Obstacle Avoidance. It consisted of a few parts of coding and assembling
processes.

4.3.1 Connecting Arduino

First to start need to have an Arduino board which could be bought at

online electronic store or any electronic shops which offers Arduino board
and Arduino software, this software is important to give command and
coding regarding of what the direction is. It can be downloaded freely at
Arduino website.

65

Step 1: Install the software from the link:

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

Step 2: Connect Arduino Board to the USB Port (Figure 4.3)

Figure 4.3: Arduino Board to USB port

66

Step 3: Open the installed Arduino software and start a new sketch.(Figure 4.4 and
4.5)

Figure 4.4: Starting the Arduino software

Figure 4.5: New Sketch

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Step 4: Go to Tools Choose the right board which is Arduino Uno (depends on
what board you are using make sure the Port also connected. (Figure 4.6,4.7 and
4.8)

Figure 4.6: Connecting Arduino Board

Figure 4.7: Choosing type of Arduino Board

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Figure 4.8: Choosing the specific Serial Port

Step 5: Write the Sketch. (Figure 4.9)

Figure 4.9: Sketching

69
Step 6: Upload the Sketch to Arduino Board (Figure 4.10 and 4.11)

Figure 4.10: Uploading Sketch to Arduino Board

Figure 4.11: Done Uploading

4.3.2

Arduino to DC Motors

Both SPG 50 have two external terminals; positive and negative. This
functioned to connect the motor speed by generating the motor to move the
wheels accordingly. The connection from DC motors will then connected to

70
2Amp Motor Driver Shield. It has 6 terminals and will be connected as shown
in Figure 4.12 and Figure 4.13:

MOTOR 1

MOTOR 2

PWRIN

Figure 4.12: Motor Driver Terminal

Figure 4.13: Motor Driver Surface

4.3.3

Arduino to Power Source

A lithium polymer battery as in Figure 4.14 has been chosen to be a power

source for the robot. It known as LiPo. It can provide energy density up to 730W
with nominal cell voltage 11.1V. The positive and negative terminal connected to
the power source port at the Arduino Uno.

71

Figure 4.14: Arduino to Power Supply

4.3.4

Arduino to Ultrasonic Sensor

As shown in the Figure 4.15, thats how the connection of HC-SR04

happened. To run ultrasonic sensor by Arduino, it has to be defined through two
pins; trigPin and EchoPin. These pin will be written as follows;

#define trigPin 13;

#define echoPin 12;

The power source also has to be included as, VCC connected to 5V while
GND from HC-SR04 to GND pin at Arduino.

In the setup() function, trigPin stated as output because it will trigger the
wave while echo as input.

72
pinMode (trigPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode (echoPin, INPUT);

In loop function(), it has to be in digital write. The duration of pulse also

defined as its important for effectiveness in detecting obstacles.

digitalWrite (trigPin, LOW);

digitalWrite (trigPin,HIGH);
digitalWrite (trigPin, LOW);
duration = pulseIn (echoPin, HIGH);
distance = (duration/2) / 29.1;

Finally the distance was in the prior command, if disruption detected less
than 10cm the robot will automatically stopped. If obstacle in front longer than
10cm, the robot would move according to the coding inserted to LSS05.

Figure 4.15: Arduino to HC-SR04

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4.3.5

Arduino to Auto-Calibrating Line Sensor

Figure 4.16 shown the connection of Arduino Uno with LSS05 which is an auto
calibrating line sensor. It used as a sensor to detect black line.

First to make sure the line sensor works, declare the sensors pin to Arduino
Board.

int LeftSen = A1;

int LeftMSen = A2;
int MidSen = A3;
int RightMSen = A4;
int RightSen = A5;

The most left IR named as LeftSen, middle left is LeftMSen, middle sensor is
MidSen, middle right is RightMSen and the most right is RightSen.

In setup() function, all the sensors accounted as an Input as it gives command for
further action.

pinMode(LeftSen,INPUT);
pinMode(LeftMSen,INPUT);
pinMode(MidSen,INPUT);
pinMode(RightMSen,INPUT);
pinMode(RightSen,INPUT);

74
While in loop() function, it would follow Ultrasonic distance direction, it also
accept commands such if 1 it means the IR is receiving input while 0 for the vice
versa. (Refer Appendix E)

Figure 4.16: Arduino to LSS05

4.4

Circuitry

The

circuitry

consisted

of

three

different

modules;

Arduino

Uno

microcontroller main module, motor control module and the sensor input module.
The module are labelled in Figure 4.17:

75

Power Supply

Motor Driver

HC-SR04
LSS05

Figure 4.17: Main Module

Arduino

Uno

microcontroller

module

consisted

of

Arduino

Uno

microcontroller, three push buttons, 2 light emitting diode and 2-pin male header.
It acted as a processing unit to store information and generate PWM signal to
drive SPG 50. 2 push bottons are connected and a pun used as on/off switch by
user. One button is connected to the Reset pin of Arduino as an external reset
button. 2-pin male header is used to connect Lipo battery to supply voltage.

The second module is the motor driver module. The function is to actuate the
motor based on signal generated by Arduino Uno. It enabled the motor to rotate
at different angular speed and in both clockwise and anticlockwise direction.

The third module is the sensor module. It provide input to the Arduino Uno
microcontroller. It consists of LSS05 line sensor and HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor.
LSS05 is connected to the pin A1, A2, A3 and A5. HC-SR04s trigger pin
connected to pin 13 while echo connected to pin 12 using jumper wires. It is
shown in Figure 4.18 and 4.19:

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Figure 4.18: HC-SR04

Figure 4.19: LSS05

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4.5

Testing

During testing, the following items have been highlighted:

I.

Prototype route

II.

Line following testing to make sure the effectiveness of the

robot

III.

Obstacle avoidance sensor

4.5.1 Prototype Route

The route constructed using black tape and a few papers. The route is
constructed in a smaller grid multiply smaller than the real size production line.
Its to test the line following capability, robot effectiveness in detecting obstacle
and robot endurance when working repetitively. The distance and length of the
route as shown in Figure 4.20 and the real view as shown in Figure 4.21:

110cm
90cm

Figure 4.20: Route Size

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Figure 4.21: Real-View of the Route

4.5.2

Line Following Testing

The line following capability is very important for robot especially when the
input is digital input of 5 bit. The capability must be perfectly tuned before it is
given the ability to reach a predefined destination.

The field for testing the line capability is a rounded rectangular structure. In
this experiment the robot allowed to move on the path and time is recorded. The
experiment is repeated for 10 times and data is recorded in Table 4.2

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Figure 4.22: Line following testing

Table 4.2: Data for Line Following Testing

Num.

Time (second)

1.59

1.38

1.41

1.38

1.40

1.43

1.39

1.37

1.39

10

1.36

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Data analysis by Microsoft Excel and recorded in Table 4.3

Table 4.3: Performance of Robot (Line Following)

Average
Variance
Standard Deviation

1.41
1.992
1.411

From Table 4.3, it can be seen that robot need average of 21.72 second to
travel the field. It achieved variance of 1.992 and standard deviation of 1.411.

4.5.3

Obstacle Avoidance Testing

The field for testing obstruction is a straight line. The experiment tested the
obstacle detection ability of the robot. In this experiment, the robot is placed at
the one end of the track and an obstruction is placed at the other end. As the
mobile robot followed the black line, it stopped as soon the obstacle is detected.
The distance between the front end of ultrasonic sensor and obstacle is
recorded. The experiment is repeated 10 times and data is recorded in Table 4.4

81

100cm

Figure 4.23: Obstacle avoidance testing

Table 4.4: Data for Obstacle Avoidance Testing

Num.

Distance (cm)

8.5

10

10

10

10

9.5

Data analysis is done by Microsoft Excel and is recorded in Table 4.5

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Table 4.5: Performance of Robot (Obstacle Detection

Average
Variance
Standard Deviation

9
82.25
9.070

From Table 4.5, it can be seen that robot need average 9cm to detect
obstacle in front. It achieved variance of 82.75 and standard deviation of 9.07.

4.6

Bill of Materials (B.O.M)

Table 4.6 shown the total bill of materials bought in order to complete this
project:
Table 4.6: Bill of Materials
Num.
1
2

Name of Material
Arduino Uno
2Amp Motor Driver
Shield
LSS-05
HC-SR04
DC Geared Motor
SPG 50
Usable lithium Battery
Jumper Wire Set
- Male to Male
- Female to Female
- Male to Female

Unit
1
1

Price(RM)
62.30
42.00

1
1
2

55.00
10.00
58.00

1
1

20.00

10.

Planetary Geared
Motor Bracket
Nylon wheel

5.90

11.

Iron Plate

2.00

12.

Hollow Steel

12.00

13.

Iron Tray

14.

Paint Spray

7.00

15.

Bolt and Nuts

20

0.20

3
4
6
7
8.

9.

TOTAL

RM348.00

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4.7

Further Discussion

This last phase discussion on further discuss regarding the risk

analysis, corrective action activities and advantages of using Line Follower
Robot with Obstacle Avoidance and the implementation of Set Parts Supply.

4.7.1

Risk Analysis

Table 4.7 shows the risk analysis of the product in future implementation:

Table 4.7: Risk Analysis of Line Follower Robot with Obstacle

Avoidance to transport Set Parts Supply System
No.

Type of Risk

Risk Ranking

Remarks

1.

Product failure due to new

Low

Not applicable

Medium

Upgrade motor

product
2.

Product failure due to high

process complexity

driver, battery
and motor

3.

Product failure due to

Low

Not applicable

Low

Achieve

manufacturing technique
new to industry
4.

Design goal is difficult to

achieve

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4.7.2

Corrective Action Analysis

Table 4.8 shows the corrective action analysis as we faced a few difficulties
and circumstances that need any correction:

Table 4.8: Corrective Action Analysis

Topic

Corrective Action

Date Start

Date End

Wheel speed is not

balance due to unequal
DC Motor

Change the unequal DC

motor with the equal DC
motor RPMs for both
side
Recheck the coding and
overcome the override
coding
Change the wire
connector

24/6/2015

24/6/2015

9/7/2015

10/7/2015

13/7/2015

15/7/2015

Increase the size of the

line

11/7/2015

12/7/2015

Change the arduino Uno

board

2/7/2015

3/7/2015

Tighten the nut at the

hole

25/6/2015

25/6/2015

LSS05 failed to function

due to override
Connection of LSS05 to
Arduino failed because
of broken port connector
The robot failed to follow
line due to the size of
the line too thin
Arduino software failed
to detect the arduino
board due to short circuit
at the board
The speed of the wheel
unequal even after
changing to the same
RPM DC Motor due to
the loosen hole that
used to connect the
wheel and the DC Motor

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4.7.3

Advantages of Using Line Follower Robot with Obstacle Avoidance to

Transport SPS System

The advantages are:

4.7.4

i.

Reduce manpower for process

ii.

Reduce part rejection

iii.

Reduce Job Lot Ratio

iv.

Integrate schedule and demand of production

v.

Control operator movement

vi.

Eliminate cause of defect due to material handling

Process Layout Before and After

Figure 4. 24 shows the current supply system SPS at where the case study
location.

bin to Line

Figure 4.24: Current Supply System of SPS

86

Figure 4.25 shows the route of material handling at production before and
after the implementation of the robot.

Figure 4.25: Material Handling Route at Production Line Before and

After

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CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Introduction

In this chapter, we conclude by answering the objectives of this project.

Recommendation will be suggested for future development to improve the
performance of the robot and enhance the improvement of Set Parts Supply system.

5.2 Conclusion

The objectives of this project are to study the existing material handling system
and analyse Set Parts Supply system, design and create a prototype of line follower
robot with obstacle avoidance to transport bento box and fabricate the small model
of production line for better understanding about the SPS flow.

88
As a conclusion, the objectives of this project are fulfilled. A production model
was successfully created with a new route of material handling. It also equipped with
the SPS system that have it own racking and kitting box.
We also get a better understanding in the fundamental and specific information
regarding Set Parts Supply throughout the study. Enhaced with the experience of
handling the implementation of SPS itself at the internship placement.
A low cost robot prototype which is able to reach predefined destination by
detecting black line and enhance it with instant obstacle detection ability is designed
and constructed successfully.The implementation of Arduino Uno microcontroller in
the embedded system is able to further increase the line following capability of robot
by generating PWM signal to drive motor. The difference in duty cycle of PWM
signal supply to left and right motor could be controlled in a more precise manner by
using analogWrite() function in Arduino library. This is very important in improving
the line following capability of robot especially to realize the control of DC motor
using software algorithm. The implementation of ultrasonic distance sensor enabled
detection of obstacle and this input is feedback to Arduino Uno microcontroller. This
enhanced the robot with intelligence to avoid obstacle by stop. In the software
implementation, algorithm are constructed based on line following, path and
obstacle detecting. The input is stored and processed by Arduino Uno
microcontroller. PWM signal is generated and supplied to DC motors. The robot is
able to make different movement based on PWM signal generated by
microcontroller

5.3 Recommendation

In this project, there are still improvements to be made in order to increase the
performance of the mobile robot. A few suggestions are provided for future
development.

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5.3.1 Actuator

The actuator used in this project is SPG 50 due to low cost design statement. For
future development, the SPG 50 could be replaced with actuator with better
transient and steady state response such as stepper motor or brushless DC motor
with higher power to increase the performance of robot.

5.3.2 Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

In this project, one HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor is used. This enable it to detect
obstacle in front of it. For future development, additional sensor at the blind side
would be helpful as it can detect obstacle in many ways thus lead to a better
detection.

5.3.3 Set Parts Supply Implementation

The implementation of Set Parts Supply generally focused from the warehouse to
the production line. The fundamental is supply which comes from the warehouse
itself. Current project targeted to improve the material handling method to
automation supply. For further development, it may improve the storage system and
operation management of Set Parts Supply.