Exploring Barriers Toward the Development of Changeable and Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems for Mass-Customized Products: An Industrial Survey

Cyber-physical reconfigurable manufacturing systems that are able to efficiently produce customized products in lot sizes of one have the potential to significantly advance mass customization. Necessary enabling technologies are fast developing; however, the fundamental enabling principles of changeability and reconfigurability are still far from being reality in industry. Therefore, this paper explores organizational prerequisites and barriers for the development of changeability and reconfigurability, as well as significant differences regarding their presence in various industrial settings. The findings indicate that important prerequisites are only rudimentarily developed and that knowledge regarding reconfigurable system design is limited. Additionally, a long-term view on investments in production capacity and a strong coordination between production and product development were identified as prerequisites which existence are contingent on the industrial setting. The findings provide valuable insight into how to support an industrial transition toward changeability, in order to create the foundation for smart mass customization manufacturing.