Master's Thesis: Technical Cleanliness in High-Voltage Battery Supply Chains for Commercial Vehicles
Master’s Thesis: Defining the Boundary for Technical Cleanliness in the Supply ChainBackground
Introduction
Thesis work is an excellent way to get closer to Scania and build relationships for the future. Many of today's employees began their Scania career with their degree project.
Background
Technical cleanliness can affect component quality and the reliability and safety of battery production. Maintaining cleanliness throughout the supply chain — from component manufacturing and packaging through transport, goods receiving, storage, unpacking and final assembly — is therefore important for ensuring reliable and safe battery products.
This thesis will investigate what measures are needed at different stages of the material flow to apply cleanliness requirements cost-effectively while safeguarding component quality. Possible measures may include supplier process controls, packaging and handling solutions, inspection and verification, and cleaning in production. The work will consider the complete material flow, including the technical, operational and cost implications of different approaches.
The project aims to bring together R&D, Logistics and Production from a technical cleanliness perspective, focusing on material flow and cleanliness requirements throughout the value chain.
Thesis objective
Identify and evaluate cost-effective measures for applying cleanliness requirements across the supply chain and production flow, while safeguarding component quality and supporting reliable and safe battery production and products.
The study should identify a cost-effective combination of measures that meets the cleanliness requirement, safeguards component quality and supports a robust production process.
Scope and activities
The students will:
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Map the end-to-end flow for selected components, from supplier processes to the point of use in production.
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Identify where contamination can be introduced, transferred or removed, including manufacturing, packaging, transport, goods receiving, storage, re-packing, unpacking and assembly.
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Review cleanliness requirements, current controls, inspection methods and cleaning processes.
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Assess how packaging, handling, storage conditions and process variation affect cleanliness over time.
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Compare supplier-side cleanliness control with cleaning in production, considering technical effectiveness, process robustness, feasibility, lead time, quality risk and cost.
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Identify the information and controls needed at each handover in the flow.
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Develop recommendations for where cleanliness should be established, verified and maintained, and where production cleaning is justified.
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Propose a decision framework that can be applied to other components or supply chains.
The detailed component selection and access to supplier and production data will be agreed with the supervisors.
Expected results
The thesis is expected to deliver:
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An end-to-end flow and contamination risk overview for the selected case.
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A comparison of relevant supplier-side and production-side cleanliness strategies.
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A recommended cleanliness strategy for the selected case, identifying the measures needed at relevant stages of the flow, with the rationale and key assumptions
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Practical recommendations for packaging, handling, verification and cleaning.
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A decision framework for evaluating similar cases.
Collaboration and thesis format
The project will involve two students, with the majority of the work carried out collaboratively. Each student will also have an individual area of responsibility, with one focusing primarily on R&D and suppliers, and the other on Production and Logistics. The students will coordinate their understanding of the material flow, align shared assumptions and exchange relevant findings throughout the project.
The preferred outcome is one joint thesis report. However, depending on the students' preferences and the development of their respective research areas, the work may instead be presented as two separate but coordinated reports.
Suggested research question
What measures are needed at different stages of the supply chain and production flow to apply cleanliness requirements cost effectively while safeguarding component quality?
Student profile
We are looking for two students in mechanical engineering, production engineering, logistics, materials engineering or a related field. An interest in manufacturing processes, quality, supply chains and data-based problem solving is beneficial. The students should be comfortable working across organizational boundaries and communicating with all relevant stakeholders.
Supervisor and Contact persons
Gabriella Rendén
gabriella.renden@scania.com
+46700863903
Patrik Gallone
patrik.gallone@scania.com
+46700860653
Södertälje, SE, 151 38
