The Use of a Self-driven Vehicle in Industry 4.0: A Case Study Applied to an Agribusiness Company

Abstract Industry 4.0, also called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, brings technologies into the manufacturing environment. One of them is the usage of auto guided vehicles - AGV - to ensure greater agility, dynamism and organization in the operation in an industrial environment. This work presents a case study in a large agricultural machinery assembler in the region of Curitiba. Also, it is proposed a methodology to guarantee a smooth analysis, implementation and validation of the technology. From the studies presented in this document, it is possible to verify a considerable loss in manpower, due to the idleness of the operator and its resources, such as the conveyor cart, as well as layout restrictions and supply models. Using practices from the Lean Manufacturing philosophy, strategies were defined on how to reduce these losses by replacing idle labor with the aforementioned autonomous vehicles. The results demonstrate significant financial gains in a relatively low payback time: a 22% reduction in operating costs with a payback