With custom-tailored solutions for data collection and analysis, AppliediT deploys state-of-the-art methods in the industrial sector and identifies possible efficiency killers and interfering factors in production. Working in concert with Staufen AG’s process specialists, weak points can not only be identified more quickly using AppliediT, but also eliminated for the long term.
Along the entire value chain – from development to production to recycling – enormous amounts of data are created. However, these are in different applications, systems, and databases. AppliediT specializes in combining data from multiple sources and preparing it for analysis. “There is enormous potential in data for gaining important information, detecting patterns, and drawing conclusions. We use the figures to solve operational problems and eliminate quality deviations, solve guarantee problems, and improve inefficient production lines,” says Ignacio Quiñonero Ferrer, Managing Director of the German-Spanish company.
While in the past databases were sooner used as archives for tracing material numbers, for example, proactive data analysis strives to increase production and efficiency. To do this, a wide variety of data sources from all relevant areas of the company must be combined across a longer period of time. In order to detect deviations and problems in production, it’s important not only to have figures from the line, but also data from departments such as accounting, HR, purchasing, on through to the management level, so that strategic goals can be incorporated into the analysis.
AppliediT connects isolated data silos, providing the prerequisite for valid real-time analysis. Individual teams receive data prepared specifically for them in the form of evaluations and real-time feeds. This allows companies to achieve data democratization: Important information is no longer reserved exclusively for individual employees, but instead, it can be made available to broad segments of the team depending on their access rights. Companies therefore have a broader basis for using knowledge and initiating improvements.
Lean and digital combined perfectly
The combination of engineering know-how and statistical methods offers companies great added value with regard to information. Carlos Hernandez, Senior Expert at Staufen, explains: “Normally dashboards in production display only the most critical high level KPIs (OEE, Parts per Hour, etc). But this only reflects the current production status. What’s more important are statements about how the KPIs can be optimized. Our platform provides this information because it prepares the data so that the whole system is attuned from A to Z – down to the individual steps of a machine.”
The AppliediT approach perfectly complements the work of Staufen AG with its process expertise. “This is a win-win situation, for the end customers and for both companies. Staufen contributes excellent industry expertise and a clear hands-on mentality to the partnership. We bundle our core competencies and confront our customers’ entrepreneurial challenges from two directions: With figures and statistics on the one hand, and from the production side on the other,” says the AppliediT Managing Director.
For the transfer of the analyzed data into operative measures, Staufen relies on a comprehensive approach and profits from its many years’ experience in industry:
Michael Feldmeth
Project Manager
STAUFEN.AG
"The data-driven approach requires great data analytics competence. We supplement this with our process and domain knowledge from manufacturing. Together with AppliediT, we adapt the solution approach according to the situation: We identify the bottleneck in production, take a deep dive and analyze which measures will result in improvements and have the greatest influence on the entire system."
The current Staufen study “Future Industry 2023” also reveals which opportunities lie in the combination of data analysis and operational excellence. Asked about current challenges that should be confronted with digitalization, three top topics emerge: Efficiency increases (86%), greater transparency in processes (75%), and cost reductions (57%).
Searching for the biggest lever
Staufen and AppliediT use data from all areas, for example, also from HR. This way, the experts can analyze where, when, and why people are getting sick and how the company can take measures to confront this. “Once upon a time, departments such as HR were not considered for data analysis; instead, data analysts weighted production and purchasing very heavily. Today, we have access to a lot more data and we can also evaluate it. By linking with stock and sales, for example, we obtain important information from which we filter out the relevant results,” says AppliediT Managing Director Ferrer.
Only the integration of a wide variety of data sources provides a comprehensive view and identifies individual measures with the greatest possible effect. “Low-hanging fruits, that is, tasks that bring maximum success with minimal effort, hardly exist in today’s competitive corporate environment. This is especially true after the second and third iteration of improvement initiatives” says Carlos Hernandez.
“But when output on the assembly line increases by just five percent, this often means savings in the millions of euros. However, this is not immediately evident from the naked figures. It’s more important to detect and understand relationships. Many problems initially appear as small deviations from the plan, but they cause a backward wave effect that can be exponential. They function like a big lever, one that we detect with our software. At the company, the motto is therefore: Even small improvements can do a lot,” Carlos Hernandez adds.
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