Mobile Devices Within Manufacturing Environments: A BMW Applicability Study

With the growing need of mobile devices within manufacturing industries, new domains for their use in automotive OEMs have emerged. Advent technology has enabled the development of devices such as ultra-mobile personal computers that provide the function of a computer in a compact, mobile configuration and augmented reality (wearable mobile devices) in a production environment where hands free operation is essential. The use of mobile devices allows for more effective communication and data sharing/recording. This paper details BMW’s preliminary investigation and applicability study of implementing mobile devices within their manufacturing environment to view potential benefits that could be achieved. Manufacturing industries are characterized by many diverse and critical processes, and an effective communication mechanism must be available between such critical processes. It is recognized that the potential for mobile devices in manufacturing process, while realized through current use of mobile phones and PDAs, has not been fully exploited with newer technology. With use of mobile broadband communication, mobile devices can be used for audio and visual communication and provide the ability to transfer large data volumes without location constraints. BMW explores the use of mobile devices use within two manufacturing processes: assembly training and pruefcubing. Through an internal study performed, it is realized that the use of mobile devices demonstrates improvements within the manufacturing process in terms of time efficiency, quality, and communication capabilities. However, the risks and limitations of implementing such systems have prevented their entrance into assembly training and pruefcubing. The deterrent limitations are discussed and future work is proposed for reevaluation.