Industrial look and feel – The combination of aesthetics and performance in production, a case study

Sammanfattning: The increasing globalization of the market has rendered the competitive situation for companies worldwide more fierce than ever with order winners becoming order qualifiers and the demand continues to rise. Especially, the situation has become more complex for SME´s that are suppliers to large global companies. To ensure themselves that the suppliers are conforming to the high standards set by the large companies. In mediating the quality of the production as well as having a well-performing production, practitioners are using the term industrial look and feel to encapsulate a production that both deliver and looks the part. However, this term is loosely used, and a clear definition of it is missing, hence creating problems when the term industrial look and feel is used in production line design. In this study, the authors aim to investigate the possibilities of providing a clear definition of the term industrial look and feel and what it involves. Further, the authors want to investigate what are the important aspects to consider when designing a production line considering industrial look and feel. The study was directed by these three research questions: ' How can Industrial Look and Feel be defined? ' How does Industrial Look and Feel contribute to increased performance of a production line? ' What is important to consider when designing a production line considering industrial look and feel in an HMLV environment? To answer the research questions a case study has been conducted at a company producing the robust data communication equipment and a literature review was conducted with the aim of understanding the concepts included in the term industrial look and feel. The study resulted in a definition of industrial look and feel, how industrial look and feel may contribute the production performance and important aspect to consider and include in the design of a production line considering industrial look and feel. Taking the newly defined concept of industrial look and feel into consideration, a concept assembly line was developed at the case study company.