We are experiencing a crucial and strategic moment which is perhaps the most disruptive one of the automotive industry. The world finds itself in a process of accelerated change in which tackling climate change has become one of our biggest challenges. In this context, the automotive sector is experiencing a transformation towards electrification in order to diversify and strengthen its business model.
Future: fast forward
SEAT S.A. wants to lead the electrification sector of the automotive industry in Spain. Currently our country is the second European powerhouse when it comes to producing automobiles. To maintain this position, an ambitious plan called Future: Fast Forward has been developed whose aim is to lead the electrification of the Spanish automotive industry and transform the country into a European hub for Electric Vehicles.
We are aware of this new paradigm shift and the opportunities that this transformation presents. We are working to position ourselves as a more robust and sustainable company capable of facing the future challenges in a more agile and dynamic way.
To guide us on this journey, our company’s strategy is based on four strategic pillars: the electrification of SEAT S.A., the growth of the CUPRA brand, the strengthening of our business model and the transformation of our organization.
Vision: automation of manufacturing systems
SEAT S.A. is currently taking part in over one hundred research projects with different organizations and entities. A clear sign of our commitment to electrification. By investing in infrastructures such as a new research and development center for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle batteries, our company is developing new capacities and technologies which will help tackle climate change.
Sharework project at SEAT S.A.
The SEAT S.A. plant in Martorell is becoming a more sustainable, digitalized, and intelligent factory. Thanks to the internet of things in industrial environments in which automating and digitalizing processes is fundamental. In the last few years, SEAT S.A has applied technological innovations to all its production cycles. This includes Automated Guided Vehicles inside the workshops for spare parts transportation which are integrated in the production line and, the use of drones to supply urgent parts. It also includes collaborative robots which, combined with a more efficient data management thanks to artificial intelligence, the Big Data or the Blockchain, allow for more efficient, flexible, and agile processes.
With the Sharework project, in which the SEAT S.A. painting workshop participated, solutions are on the development process through the application of artificial intelligence. These solutions will allow for activities in productive environments with a high degree of complexity. The aim is to improve the ergonomic and productivity conditions of the employees in safe Human-Robot Collaboration environments and without fences. This project will enable us to collaborate directly in the development of an automated solution adapted to our needs.
Layout demonstrator
During the process of spare parts supply, the employee carries out the assembly and disassembly processes of doors operations, together with the loading and unloading processes in the storage cabinet, dealing with the daily replacement requests which are centralized in the system. While performing this activity, they must assume an important part of these loading and unloading operations which significantly increases the fatigue.
With Sharework, a collaborative robot will be introduced, which will be responsible for all the routines which will imply a greater effort given that the robot will be guided through those operations of greater complexity which arise during the assembly process. The employee will have at their disposal hardware and software solutions specifically developed for this task and thus synchronizing work between the human being and the robot.
Mockup of the system and test of the collaborative robot carried out in a laboratory robot environment of the Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems & Automation (LMS) at the University of Patras (Greece)
The automation in the spare parts supply process will enable us to improve our ergonomics and productivity indicators and, therefore, reaching the goals set for the project.
SEAT S.A
www.seat.com & www.cupraofficial.com
SEAT S.A. is the only company which designs, develops, manufactures, and markets automobiles in Spain. Having joined Volkswagen Group, the multinational company has its headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona) and it sells its vehicles under the brands CUPRA and SEAT. At the same time, SEAT MÓ is the only business unit which covers the products and solutions of urban mobility.
SEAT S.A. exports more than 80% of its vehicles and is present in 75 countries. Today, the company employs around 15,000 professionals and it has three production plants: Barcelona, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where the SEAT Ibiza, the SEAT Arona, the León model family and the CUPRA Formentor are manufactured. Furthermore, SEAT S.A. manufactures the Ateca model in Czech Republic, the SEAT Tarraco in Germany and the SEAT Alhambra in Portugal. The company also counts with SEAT CODE, the software development center located in Barcelona.
