Implementation of Approductivity 4.0, real-time process optimisation and control
TALLERES FELIPE VERDÉS and APPRODUCTIVITY 4.0
Competitiveness and efficiency improvement, transition to Industry 4.0
Implementation of APPRODUCTIVITY 4.0 to enhance flexibility and real time process production monitoring in the plant.
Case Study
Productivity improvement by pilot implementation of Approductivity 4.0 for the optimisation and control of processes in real time at Talleres Felipe Verdés.
Approductivity 4.0 is a suitable solution for any sector of activity, both industrial and non-industrial.
Talleres Felipe Verdés has been supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya, ACCIÓ, through the call for Acció Coupons consisting of grants and aid to improve competitiveness and the transition of Catalan companies towards Industry 4.0.
Itemsa is an accredited advisor by ACCIÓ and Approductivity 4.0 is one of the Industry 4.0 solutions that ACCIÓ offers in its marketplace.
Initial Situation
Talleres Felipe Verdes, S.A. had an advanced position in its geographical environment and also compared to other companies in the sector in terms of production process management and the optimisation of its production processes.
The company already carried out precise and detailed production monitoring and had reference standards (methods and times of the parts being manufactured). On contrast, it did not have the necessary flexibility to optimise the available production resources (people and facilities), nor the necessary swiftness to calculate the established management indicators (KPIs) or the incentives to be paid to each employee, depending on the results obtained.
Intervention general plan
An initial pilot implementation is determined in a delimited section of the factory in order to take advantage of and consolidate all the potential for improving the competitiveness of Talleres Felipe Verdés. This potential is significant as it involves a reduction in production workforce costs, the control of production deviations and an accurate calculation of resource requirements according to production planning by applying Industry 4.0 techniques, tools and strategies while maintaining control of the process in real time.
Action plan implementation
Initially, the pilot implementation is planned in a specific section so that, once started and learnt, it can be implemented in the rest of the company and thus extrapolate the improvement obtained in the pilot section to the rest of the plant.
The main indicators of the project are defined as follows:
- The reduction of standard times.
- The reduction of the deviation between reality and standards (efficiency improvement).
- Reduced reaction times in case of deviations.
The main guideline consists of having an accurate and adequate planning of resources and, immediately, of the real production hours for each product, semi-finished product, spare part or final product of the vertical lathe section.
The workforce represents 40% of the total cost of production and is therefore considered to be the one that needs to be controlled the most.
The process to improve the company's current competitiveness involves a strategic, organisational and cultural transition towards Industry 4.0.
To this end, efforts are focused on the standardisation of processes, the reduction of the GAP between reality and standards, the integration of systems, the definition and implementation of the necessary methods and facilities and guaranteeing a system of continuous improvement.
The medium-term action plan is to extend it to the rest of the plant's sections, as well as data processing, big data, to analyse them and try to find improvements with potential robotisations, automations, etc.
Goals
- To quantify the improvement in productivity achieved by improving processes and working methods and increasing the utilisation of installations and machines, thanks to the pilot implementation.
- To quantify the effect of waste reduction on efficiency improvement (reduction of the GAP between reality and standards).
- To confirm the suitability of the Approductivity 4.0 software as an Industry 4.0 tool for improving the company's competitiveness.
- To define the necessary resources (software, sensors, staff training, coaching...) to consolidate and expand to other areas or sections the efficiency and flexibility improvement results achieved thanks to the pilot implementation and to guarantee a continuous improvement system.
Achieved Results
Efficiency improvement of at least 10% over the initial results.
As a result of this implementation, Talleres Felipe Verdés, S.A. achieved an improvement in its ability to react to possible deviations due to the incorporation of Industry 4.0 solutions, to be able to simulate any potential production scenario, and to consolidate the necessary strategic, organisational and cultural change towards Industry 4.0.
The achievable improvements consisted of consolidating the savings identified in the previous diagnosis:
- Improving the productivity of the Lathe Cell by 10-15% and increasing the flexibility of production, maintaining the optimum level of production.
- Reduction of the time needed to manage the optimal combination to manufacture the planned products and to quantify the results achieved, as well as the corresponding incentive report for employees: between 30 and 50%.
- Guarantee of having information and calculations according to reality immediately and with no error possibilities.
