December 16, 2024
Advanced manufacturing is revolutionizing refuse and recycling collection vehicle production, focusing on efficiency, durability and customization.
With the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies, which connect data across the production line in real-time, companies like McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, Inc. are now building trucks faster, with improved precision and less downtime. This means fleets can handle the demands of modern waste and recycling collection, delivering reliable performance while controlling costs. These innovations can also boost vehicle reliability and enhance operational flexibility throughout the truck’s lifespan.
Let’s examine how advanced technologies transform refuse vehicle manufacturing in more detail.
What is Advanced Manufacturing?
Advanced manufacturing seeks to continuously enhance the value of products by leveraging cutting-edge tools and technologies.
At McNeilus, our employees use advanced technological and digital tools to ensure consistent production and quality. But it all starts with the customer—their needs and expectations help drive decisions. Whether improving the user experience or developing new refuse collection features, we aim to ensure our products and services meet and exceed customer expectations.
Advanced manufacturing allows McNeilus to deliver the performance and reliability our customers expect while continually improving their overall experience.
A Quick Definition of Industry 4.0
You may have heard the term “Industry 4.0,” which is a shorthand way of referring to the fourth industrial revolution. It’s characterized by integrating smart technology, automation and data exchange across manufacturing processes.
At McNeilus, this means using connected systems, automation, sensors and real-time data to streamline production, ensure precision, manage lead times while also fostering a strong team member experience.
By incorporating Industry 4.0, we’ve connected critical aspects of our production line, enabling predictive maintenance, autonomous tools and outstanding operational efficiency. This allows us to build refuse and recycling collection vehicles efficiently and reliably which enhances quality throughout the lifecycle.
Key Technologies Driving Advanced Manufacturing at McNeilus
McNeilus leverages innovative technologies to enhance production efficiency and product quality. Our manufacturing process and quality remain cutting edge through the integration of several Industry 4.0 technologies, including autonomous robotics, a cloud-based manufacturing execution system, connected tooling and more.
- Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are mobile platforms which carry refuse truck bodies through various workstations. AGVs guide the production process, moving from station to station to complete the build.
- Advanced planning software ensures precise communication between equipment, tools and process steps. Each production stage must be completed in sequence, with tools and equipment talking to each other to ensure every task is performed accurately. In fact, the planning software will prevent an AGV from moving forward in the production line until all criteria are met, resulting in high manufacturing standards and minimal defects.
- Real-time data capture and integration help the team maintain outstanding quality control. If a component, like a bolt, doesn’t meet required thresholds—such as torque limits set by a digital tool—the system will not record the reading or allow the product to progress to the next manufacturing stage. This ensures quality is built into the product during manufacturing rather than relying solely on inspections after product completion.
By creating a seamless flow of information between people, tools, equipment and processes, we can ensure each vehicle is built to our highest standards, delivering reliability and durability to our customers.
Specific Challenges in the McNeilus Manufacturing Process that Advanced Manufacturing Helped Solve
In the past, the manufacturing process relied upon drawings, disconnected systems and team knowledge of the product and production process. With the integration of world-class production planning software, every production stage is documented and sequenced in a precise order.
“We’ve found that the knowledge that was once just in the hands of our employees is now built into the process,” says Adi Singh, vice president of operations at McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, Inc. “Our team has contributed their knowledge base to shape this process for the company. This ensures an extremely high level of production quality regardless of what shift or team members are on the line.”
The use of production planning software has elevated the collective team’s knowledge base to an advanced level. This advanced knowledge, combined with real-time data, allows McNeilus to maintain product quality and enhance efficiencies. By collecting data from across the manufacturing operation, a ‘digital twin’ is created to provide a continuously developing picture of the flow, operation and efficiency of manufacturing to allow for adjustments and optimizations.
Combining human capital with advanced manufacturing technology has created a manufacturing environment that operates at a previously unattainable level.
How Does Advanced Manufacturing Help McNeilus’ Customers?
At McNeilus, we use advanced manufacturing tools and technologies to ensure our products consistently meet—and often surpass—our customers' expectations. By building quality directly into our manufacturing process, we produce reliable and cost-effective refuse and recycling collection vehicles from the outset. With tight controls and a focus on quality with minimal defects, manufacturing issues are drastically reduced.
For our customers, this translates into low maintenance and low vehicle downtime. Since many of our customers measure product success based on a vehicle’s time in service and routes served, our advanced manufacturing processes helps ensure they experience few breakdowns and fast, efficient repairs. This means low interruptions in their daily operations, outstanding fleet performance and ultimately, a low total cost of ownership.
Production Efficiency Reduces Total Cost of Ownership
Advanced manufacturing at McNeilus enhances product quality and boosts production efficiency, leading to a long lifespan for our vehicles.
- Our process ensures units don’t leave the production line with defects, helping minimize the potential for work-related issues down the road.
- With few defects, low downtime and low maintenance costs, customers can better manage the overall cost of their fleet.
- A streamlined approach means McNeilus is delivering value over the vehicle’s entire lifecycle.
By employing these advanced flow line techniques, each McNeilus refuse truck is manufactured with longevity and quality in mind. Several models benefit from using high-flow lines in the manufacturing process, ensuring efficient production and top-quality builds. Here’s a closer look at the process:
How does Advanced Manufacturing Contribute to Improved Safety?
Advanced manufacturing technologies focuses on the safety and well-being of the workforce by integrating ergonomic design into every aspect of the manufacturing process.
For example, each workstation on the McNeilus high flow line is carefully designed to minimize strain on the body, considering factors like bending, flipping and awkward postures that could lead to injuries. A well-thought-out assembly line leverages the natural strengths of different muscle groups, allowing for efficient movements. This helps manage strain from performing the same tasks repeatedly. The assembly line has several key features:
- The assembly line is built at optimal heights to accommodate workers, ensuring the tasks are performed comfortably and safely.
- The tools integrated into the line are ergonomic and designed to help address repetitive motion injuries.
- Team members rotate through different stations on the line, using different muscles and helping minimize repetitive stress. This also helps reduces the chance of injury.
In some cases, employees follow the assembly of a truck body from start to finish, while in others, they rotate between stations depending on the type of truck body being built. This flexibility ensures that safety and comfort are maintained throughout the production process, resulting in outstanding product quality and a safe, healthy work environment for our team.
At McNeilus, quality is at the heart of everything we do. Our advanced manufacturing flow lines are designed to ensure that each product moves smoothly through the process, with built-in checks at every stage. This level of precision ensures that every truck built delivers the reliability and performance our customers expect, reinforcing our ongoing commitment to excellence.
Where do you see Advanced Manufacturing Going in the Future?
The future of advanced manufacturing is full of exciting possibilities, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning continue to evolve. Imagine tools and equipment capable of self-learning and self-diagnosis. If a tool starts to fail after a certain number of uses, AI logic could allow it to declare itself unable to complete the job, preventing defects before they happen. The same goes for processes—self-evaluation tools could signal when a process needs adjustment, improvement or even replacement to ensure the highest quality in production.
“We see a future where field issues can be integrated directly into the production line in real time, which is a very exciting concept to consider,” says Singh.
The future of advanced manufacturing could allow for close integration between defects and the supply chain, in essence, a continuous improvement loop that benefits both the customer and the manufacturer. Advanced communication methods will help us to contain issues before they impact the system and customer, ensuring problems are resolved on the production floor.
“By driving this level of responsiveness and integration, we’re not just addressing issues, we’re proactively preventing them, making the manufacturing process smarter and more reliable for the future,” added Singh.
At McNeilus, quality is at the core of everything we do. As we continue to integrate advanced manufacturing practices, AI and smarter technologies, we're not only maintaining a high level of precision but also evolving to address issues faster and more efficiently than ever to ensure we consistently meet and exceed our customers' expectations.
Do you have questions about advanced manufacturing practices? Let us know in the comments!