Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) are adopting new techniques with the advent of Industry 4.0. The companies’ including SMEs manufacturing quality-oriented products as per customer requirements arevastlybenefited owing to the amalgamation of Industry 4.0 with quality management. Methodic material handling has great relevance and effective utilization of material handling devices can be ensured with the implementation of automation technologies. The product quality of handling device employed can be enhanced by adopting Total Quality Management (TQM) approach thereby affirming the concept of Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) for SMEs. The paper highlights on data collected for currently employed material handling devices at SMEs and problems associated being analyzed using TQM tools and techniques.An attempt to eliminate causes led to proposing an AGV to handle multiple components in SMEs with associated features for reducing operator fatigue and handling times. The results of the survey, significance of TQM tools and techniques application for adoption of various features of AGV and material handling times are also presented in the paper.

Automated Guided Vehicle, Kano model, Material handling, Quality Control Tools, Total Quality Management