Managing Automation - December 2008 - (Page 38)

[ INTEGRATION ] menting lean” because lean teams typically lay out plants based on as-is conditions, and, as CH2M’s Stamm says, such conditions rarely remain as is. Simulations can help build in flexibility, Muthuvelan says. Software vendors such as Siemens and Dassault Systèmes stand at the forefront of this new era, imbuing their digital manufacturing software with greater capabilities and processing power to run such simulations. Muthuvelan cites the example of the ergonomics testing common in the aerospace industry, which applies lean principles to the design of work stations before they even exist. “We take the digital model of the product, add the recorded digital mannequin, and we make him crawl inside the intricate airplane assembly and see how he behaves,” he says. PLM software’s growing ability to incorporate lean principles into manufacturing’s planning phase is complemented by manufacturing execution software (MES) that increasingly embraces lean concepts, Muthuvelan says. Under the watchful eye of MES, manufacturers can address lean concepts, such as mura (uneven operations), muda (non-value-added activities, or waste), and muri (overburdening workers). “These are the kinds of situations that could be very well-controlled and eliminated by means of an MES system,” Muthuvelan says. At the other end of the lifecycle, many manufacturers must service products in the field, a process where lean has made fewer inroads due to the greater volatility of service demand. Tim Andreae, senior vice president of global marketing for MCA Solutions, which makes software for service managingautomation.com management, says technolRELATED ARTICLES: ogy’s presence in ser vice Lean: Shaping Up for Growth management depends on the www.managingautomation.com/lean3 products involved. A Roadmap to Lean Success “One concept is you have www.managingautomation.com/lean6 visual kanban systems where MA’s Lean Knowledge Center you pull inventory [so] you www.managingautomation.com/leancenter have minimal buffers. In cerCo-High Achiever: Customer Mastery: IBM tain environments that are www.managingautomation.com/ibmpm predictable, that works well, Lean’s Next Step and maybe you can do it with www.managingautomation.com/lean4 manual process,” he says. In contrast, manufacturers COMPANIES MENTIONED: that make complex products Infor in large quantities often find www.managingautomation.com/infor4 the process unmanageable in Infosys www.managingautomation.com/infosys a manual environment. Here, Andreae says, the world of MCA Solutions www.managingautomation.com/mca predictive analytic technology, which can complement service management software, is giving manufacturers a leg up on forecasting when their products might fail or need service, allowing them to maintain more accurate service inventory levels, which, in turn, saves on working capital. All told, the list of technology vendors pitching lean software and hardware is a long one. In addition to PLM software focused on product and process planning, MES and related technologies provided by companies such as Apriso, Camstar, HighJump, Invistics, and SAP Visiprise MES, among others, look to affect the production planning process through scheduling and/or ekanban systems for efficient production. Such systems can be enabled by RFID providers such as Omnitrol, WhereNet, and a host of others that deliver better visibility into assets and WIP on the shop floor, allowing a manufacturer to avoid wasteful production. Meanwhile, manufacturing intelligence vendors such as Informance and SlipStream aim to help companies establish metrics against their lean efforts by delivering reports on shop floor performance, while more traditional enterprise software purveyors — for example, CDC, Plexus Online, and QAD — look to benchmark processes such as supply chain performance and institute industry-based best lean practices. AUTOMATING COMMON GROUND Kevin Piotrowski, director of discrete industry and product marketing at Infor, which aims to support lean principles in its enterprise software, reiterates the importance of mapping a lean transformation before shopping for technology. “The establishment of lean practices falls out of technology’s reach,” he says. “Only once those practices are selected can technology be implemented to help make them a success.” Saygin of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems brings the discussion back to the importance of metrics. “The moment you don’t have the technology, you really don’t know how well you’re doing,” he says. “Any kind of technology that facilitates operational visibility will be in synch with the lean approach.” But, like many of his fellow lean observers, he says that technology can exact a high cost if applied unthinkingly. “If you’re creating scrap with your traditional process at $10 an hour, and you basically think, ‘I’ve got to automate this thing because it’s going to bring an organized situation out of this mess’ by automating it, you’re going to make mistakes quicker, faster, and your $10 an hour will go up to $1,000 an hour,” Saygin warns. “You haven’t reengineered the process; you’ve just automated it.” I maonline ma December 38 2008 http://www.managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/lean3 http://www.managingautomation.com/lean6 http://www.managingautomation.com/leancenter http://www.managingautomation.com/ibmpm http://www.managingautomation.com/lean4 http://www.managingautomation.com/infor4 http://www.managingautomation.com/infosys http://www.managingautomation.com/mca

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - December 2008

Managing Automation - December 2008 Contents Take 1 Business Objects Chief Says Union with SAP Meets Objectives After One Year Yes, Emerson, Too, Is in the MES Market Infor Chief Puts Off IPO, Restarts Buying Plans Kronos Now Tracks Shop Floor Machines IQMS Rolls Out User Interace, Other Upgrades Notes Five Ideas for Demand Planning Building on the SOA Blueprint Innovation Now A Team Effort Lean %2B Technology = LEAN^2 Finding Flaws Before They Spread Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - December 2008

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