Information Tracking and Sharing in Organic Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturing
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Information Tracking and Sharing in Organic Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturing by Ming Gong B.S. in Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2010 Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Manufacturing ARCHIVES at the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NOV 0 1 2011 September 2011 LIBRARIES @ 2011 Ming Gong All rights reserved. The author hereby grants MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part A u th or .......................................................... Mig Gong Department of echanical Engineering August 6, 2011 Certified by............. David E. Hardt Ralph E. and Eloi F. Cross Professor of Mechanical Engineering Thesis Supervisor Accepted by .............. ...... ............... David E. Hardt Ralph E. and Eloise F. Cross Professor of Mechanical Engineering Chairman, Committee for Graduate Students Information Tracking and Sharing in Organic Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturing by Ming Gong B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2010 Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Abstract The MIT MEng team of four worked with Konarka Technologies, a world leading organic solar panel manufacturer, on production tracking and analysis as well as various operational improvement projects. MIT's collaborative improvement projects at Konarka's manufacturing facility were focused on information system and operations in the finishing processes after solar panels have been coated. This thesis report, however, focuses primarily on information tracking and sharing in Konarka's manufacturing facility, specifically including the barcode tracking system for production tracking, operator interfaces for the system, production tracking (Kanban card) board, and Kaizen continuous improvement board. A barcode tracking system for solar panel and associated user interfaces portion was developed to increase process and inventory accountability. However, because of the intricate SQL database, it may still be difficult for any operator to access this information in the recent future. Hence, physical representative information boards were developed to alleviate this communication complexity. One Kanban (card style) board was implemented to keep track of production information, and another Kaizen (continuous improvement) board was established to keep track of all the continuous activities on the shop floor. Based on various reviews and discussions, these improvement projects served as useful tools for the company's production ramp-up development. Keywords: barcode, tracking system, production tracking, lean, Kanban, Kanban board, Kaizen, Kaizen board, information board, card, card board Thesis Supervisor: David E.Hardt Title: Ralph E. and Eloise F. Cross Professor of Mechanical Engineering Acknowledgements Thanks to Larry Weldon and Eitan C. Zeira for making this project in Konarka Technologies Inc. possible. With your courtesy and support, I had experienced an interesting and successful internship. I will miss the time at Konarka and your support in the future. Special thanks go to our supervisor John Lawlor for all your support and humor through our project. I also would like to thank Dan Palan for your support in lamination process, Dan Boucher for your teaching and help in all the shop floor operations, and Bill Novick for all your guidance in the tracking system and database. All of you were supportive and helpful; you generously shared your experience and patiently answered our copious questions. All of these make me happy working at Konarka. I would like to thank my Advisor Prof. David Hardt for giving me all the support and guidance through the project and my study at MIT. Your kind guidance and advice will be treasured in my life. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my friends, classmates and colleagues Jason Chow, Gregorio Colaci, Susheel Teja Gogineni. It's been a fulfilling experience working with you, in addition to your humors, and I learn a lot from all of you. I'm also appreciative of other classmates and friends. Thanks for giving me your unconditional friendship. Thanks again to all these people. Table of Contents A bstract.................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknow ledgem ents ................................................................................................................................................. 3 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................................ 7 List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Thesis Focus ................................................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Com pany Background ................................................................................................................................ 9 1.3 Markets...........................................................................................................................................................10 1.4 Product - Pow er Plastic ..................................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Photovoltaic Industry Overview .................................................................................................... 14 1.6 Manufacturing Processes........................................................................................................................17 1.6.1 Manufacturing Facility ........................................................................................................................ 17 1.6.2 Process Overview .................................................................................................................................. 17 1.6.3 Coating Processes..................................................................................................................................19 1.6.4 Finishing Processes .............................................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 2: Problem Statem ent and Objectives..........................................................................................23 2.1 Problem Statem ent....................................................................................................................................23 2.1.1 Material Flow .......................................................................................................................................... 23 2.1.2 Production Inform ation Tracking and Sharing .................................................................. 23 2.1.3 Operations ................................................................................................................................................ 24 2.1.4 Other Issues ............................................................................................................................................. 24 2.2 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................................... 25 4 Chapter 3: Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 28 3.1 Inventory Tracking &Just in Tim e................................................................................................. 29 3.2 UV 2D Matrix Barcode Tracking ................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Kanban ............................................................................................................................................................ 30 3.4 Kaizen..............................................................................................................................................................31 3.4.1 SS Methodology......................................................................................................................................32 3.4.2 Kaizen Board ........................................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 4: Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 35 4.1 Team Projects and Contributions ....................................................................................................... 35 4.2 Inform ation System Overview .............................................................................................................. 36 4.3 Tracking System & Inventory A ccountability ................................................................................ 38 4.3.1 Tracking