������Ƶ

In his presentation, Prof. Anas addressed the shifting landscape of the manufacturing industry, which has become increasingly competitive. According to him, production strategies are no longer defined only by high volume and low cost, but also by flexibility, quality, and the ability to tailor products to consumer needs. “Consumers today do not only look for low prices, but also quality and variation. Industries must be able to respond by involving consumers directly in the product design process,” he explained.

Transformation of Manufacturing Strategies

Prof. Anas elaborated that manufacturing strategies have evolved from make to stock toward customer-centric mass customization. He illustrated this shift through a culinary analogy: from “chicken porridge” as a symbol of mass production to the “home kitchen” representing engineer-to-order systems. The once uniform production model is now replaced with approaches that are more personal, adaptive, and guided by consumer needs.

“This strategic shift demands more adaptive automation. Automation is no longer just about robots and machines, but also about embedding human knowledge into the system,” he emphasized.

Soft Automation Innovation

In the first part of his oration, Prof. Anas highlighted his research on soft automation, a process that digitizes operator knowledge into Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAM) systems. He demonstrated how the expertise of senior operators can be transformed into a structured database that automatically generates machining instructions. This approach reduces setup time to less than ten minutes and significantly increases production efficiency.

“We want to ensure that the experience of senior operators is not lost, but instead transformed into knowledge that can be accessed across generations,” he said.

Prof. Anas also showcased the application of production path-planning algorithms for the automotive industry, which can significantly reduce the number of operators required. He emphasized that this technology is not intended to replace humans entirely.

“Automation is not meant to eliminate human labor, but to make processes more effective, consistent, and safer for humans,” he added.

Hard Automation and Flexible Manufacturing Systems

In the second section, Prof. Anas presented the development of a flexible manufacturing cell, which integrates machines, robots, scheduling systems, and IoT. Through this system, production can operate continuously for 24 hours, even though operators only work during daytime shifts.

“Machine productivity is often low because it depends on the presence of operators. With flexible automation, tasks can be planned during the day and executed automatically by the machines throughout the night,” he explained. The system is equipped with camera-based pokayoke technology and an IoT-based production monitoring application.

Profile of Prof. Dr. Ir. Anas Ma’ruf, M.T.

Throughout his research career, Prof. Anas and his team have produced various academic outputs, including national and international journal articles, conference proceedings, and scholarship programs for students. He emphasized that automation research contributes not only to academic advancements but also to the industrial sector, particularly in enhancing efficiency, quality, and the competitiveness of Indonesia’s manufacturing industry.

Prof. Anas Ma’ruf was born in Sampang on January 20, 1969. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Institut Teknologi Bandung (1987–1995) before pursuing his doctoral studies at the Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan (1996–2000). Since 1995, he has served as a lecturer in the Industrial Engineering Program at ITB and has supervised more than 100 undergraduate students, 20 master’s students, and 10 doctoral students. Over the past five years, he has also produced 12 scientific publications.

He previously served as the Head of the Engineering Management Program at FTI ITB (2015–2017), an assessor for BAN-PT and LAM Teknik, and currently holds the position of Finance Director of ITB. Prof. Anas has received numerous awards, including Satyalancana Karya Satya 10 Years (2008), 15 Years of Service Award from ITB (2013), Satyalancana Karya Satya 20 Years (2018), and the 25 Years Service Award from ITB (2023). In addition, he is actively involved in community service and academic supporting activities.

Outside his academic work, Prof. Anas is known for his enthusiasm for sports, particularly cycling and running, and often participates in long-distance events and professor community activities at ITB.

Reporter: Merryta Kusumawati (Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, 2021)