Cohen, Y.; Rozenes, S. New Framework for Complex Assembly Digitalization and Traceability Using Bill of Assembly and Smart Contracts. Appl. Sci.2023, 13, 1884.
Cohen, Y.; Rozenes, S. New Framework for Complex Assembly Digitalization and Traceability Using Bill of Assembly and Smart Contracts. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 1884.
Cohen, Y.; Rozenes, S. New Framework for Complex Assembly Digitalization and Traceability Using Bill of Assembly and Smart Contracts. Appl. Sci.2023, 13, 1884.
Cohen, Y.; Rozenes, S. New Framework for Complex Assembly Digitalization and Traceability Using Bill of Assembly and Smart Contracts. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 1884.
Abstract
The final assembly of appliances and automotive industries is a rigorous process, that has limited capabilities of full traceability associated with: (1) the parts installed, (2) their fabrication processes, and (3) the assembly work. This is also the case for each of its sub-assemblies The many parts and sub-assemblies that compose the final assembly, make full traceability a challenging fit, that is almost unsurmountable. Such full traceability along the entire supply-chain is not existent today and must be based on documentation of most assembled parts, assembly tasks, and inspection tasks that compose the full assembled product. In addition, security measures are needed to prevent hostile hacking and unauthorized approach to the assembly documentation throughout the entire supply chain. The related documentation and repeated verifications require considerable effort and have many chances for human errors. So, automating these processes has a great value. This article expounds a framework that harnesses block-chain and smart-contract technology to offer traceable and protected documentation of the assembly process. We expand the concept of a Bill-Of-Assembly (BOA) to incorporate data from the bill of materials (BOM), the associated assembly activities, the associated activities’ specification parameters and materials, and the associated assembly resources (machines and/or operators). The paper defines the operation of the BOA with blockchain and smart-contract technology, for attaining full traceability, safety, and security, for the entire assembled product. Future research could extend the proposed approach to facilitate the usage of the BOA data structure in constructing a digital twin of the entire simulated system.
Keywords
Smart Assembly; Smart contract; Assembly line; Assembly 4.0; Assembly system; Block-chain; Digital twin; Industry 4.0; Smart manufacturing
Subject
Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.