Lots of spare capacity: An integrated MES gets more out of your machine park

Krailling, May 8, 2017 – Waste-free processes, short lead times, low stock levels and top-class manufactured products – manufacturing companies face challenges on many levels due to competition and cost pressure. Against this background, those companies who can fully exploit their machine park hold an advantage. It is important for machine data to be continuously recorded and evaluated in order to avoid unnecessary downtimes. Those who do this are already well on the path to the Industry 4.0 era.

Why should a wire processing company record and evaluate machine data? The main reason is to constantly improve their production performance. Inefficiencies are uncovered in this manner and can be illustrated in concrete terms in numerical figures. A decisive indicator is the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). It illustrates the availability and performance of the machine, as well as the quality of the wires produced.

“Wire processing companies who wanted to record and evaluate OEE in the past were forced to tinker with their processes and invest a lot of time. Comprehensive production data had to be recorded in part by hand and then analyzed in a subsequent step,” remembers Christoph Plüss, Market Development Manager Software at DiIT AG. DiIT AG is a provider of integrated software systems for wire processing and wiring harness production. “Today, the operator’s gut feeling is replaced by meaningful data about the productivity of the machine,” according to Plüss “The resulting findings help companies to eliminate all manner of conceivable losses of efficiency.” How? For example, by identifying still available reserves on existing machines and starting to exploit them.

However, it is not possible to adequately record and evaluate OEE figures without the use of an integrated Manufacturing Execution System (in short: MES). It is only when the data automatically made available by the machines and systems is directly transferred to an MES that systems or even plants can be compared and target-oriented optimization measures introduced such as distributing production jobs based on the actual utilization of the individual machines. The same is also true when it comes to lead times and quality. Only an integrated MES is able to seamlessly integrate production processes into the value added chain according to the concept of Industry 4.0.

An integrated MES enables, amongst other things:
• OEE to be represented in a uniform way across the company
• Continuous improvements based on actually measured levels of efficiency
• A reduction in surpluses due to needs-based production
• Prompt identification and visualization of optimization potential
• Fact-based process optimization and investment
• Control over product quality in real time
• Fast responses to insufficient production performance

“Therefore, our customers significantly increase the utilization of their machines using our MES software and produce their wire harnesses much more efficiently as a result,” according to Bernd Jost, Managing Director of DiIT. “An integrated MES is the prerequisite for moving industrial processes into the Industry 4.0 era,” says Bernd Jost.

About DiIT:
DiIT AG, based in Krailling near Munich, is the world’s leading provider of integrated software solutions for engineering, manufacturing execution (MES), customized wire harness production and logistics. DiIT‘s competencies are bundled in the “4Wire Solutions” software suite, which is primarily used for the production of wire harnesses and wiring systems in the automotive industry and other industrial sectors. By digitalizing the value chains, the company‘s innovative software optimizes and controls complex development, manufacturing and logistics processes and supports quality assurance and traceability. DiIT was founded in 1990 and has subsidiaries in Berlin (Germany) and Arad (Romania). DiIT is also represented in the key markets Mexico and China. The company offers a comprehensive services package to both large and small customers which covers consulting, project management and customized implementation and training. The DiIT support line is available during 24 hours and 365 days. DiIT is a wholly-owned, independently managed company of the Schleuniger Group. Schleuniger is a globally active technology company and a leading solution supplier in the wire processing industry.

More information:

Bernd Jost
DiIT AG DiIT AG
Justus-von-Liebig-Ring 11a
D-82152 Krailling
Tel.: +49 89 8932500
bernd.jost@diit.de