Manufacturing Executive - September 2008 - (Page 33)

firsthand knowledge of the hazards of impreciNext up: Fruehauf plans to implement a prodsion. Until last year, things were, you might say, uct data management (PDM) system. It had going bump in the height. Brand new tippers it hoped to have one installed by now, but the Spanhad produced on demand to feed Spain’s thenish construction industry has stalled amid a harsh booming construction industry were jamming, version of the same credit and general economic forcing the company to redesign and reassempressures afflicting the housing and construcble. The problems were straining relations betion industry in many countries. tween design teams and Fruehauf’s plants in In an April report, Royal Bank of Scotland pointMadrid; Ciudad Real, Spain; and Rio Maior, Pored out that Spanish housing prices had risen well tugal, and with subcontractors such as MSR above fair value and that the construction indusTrailer and Mursem. Subcontractors sometimes try’s share of GDP had surged to an unsustainbuild the upper portion of Fruehauf’s semi-trailably high level, well above its average. It predicters while Fruehauf builds the chassis. ed a difficult period of adjustment, noting that The root of the problem was a two-dimen“the eventual bursting of asset price bubbles will sional design software program from Smar t Sketch that designers and Because the new 3D designs simulate a prodplant workers could not read clearly uct’s operations before production even begins, or that left too many variables to guesswork. “We could only see colli- “you’re able to see if a part is going to collide sions once the product had been with another.” — Fruehauf’s Ortego Bielsa made,” Ortego Bielsa recalls. So last year, in the first step of a planned overalso dampen domestic demand, as falling asset haul of antiquated IT systems, Fruehauf impleprices depress households’ net wealth.” mented Solid Edge 3D CAD software from Translated, that means manufacturers that supSiemens, after evaluating CATIA from Dassault ply the construction industry are paring back Systèmes and SolidWorks from SolidWorks Corp., their own forecasts. Fruehauf has trimmed a a Dassault company. planned 15% increase in output this year but is opThe result: Fruehauf’s dump trucks are tilting timistically targeting 3,000 units in 2009 — up flawlessly right off the production line, eliminating from 2,100 semi-trailers last year. the need for tedious, costly reassembly. Because Ortego Bielsa says Fruehauf now hopes to imthe new 3D designs simulate a product’s operation plement PDM software in August and is evaluatbefore production even begins, “you’re able to see ing products from Siemens and others. The first if a part is going to collide with another,” Ortego step will be to integrate Solid Edge with FrueBielsa says. “It’s led to a better understanding with hauf’s own manufacturing shops and with subsubcontractors.” It has also helped Fruehauf recontractors such as Mursem and MSR. duce its materials costs, he adds. Later, the company also hopes to integrate with The clarity has yielded other benefits as well: vendors such as Mercedes, Meritor, Michelin, Ortego Bielsa says that Solid Edge’s user-friendGoodyear, Firestone, Finnforest, and Wabco, liness has effectively cut the company’s time to which supply Fruehauf with various components, market in half. In seven months last year, Fruesuch as tires, wooden floors, and brakes. Longer hauf designed as many trailers and parts as it term, Fruehauf wants to indid in all of 2006, he says. tegrate design information ESOURCE CENTER According to Ortego Bielsa, Fruehauf impleinto its Microsoft Dynamics mented Solid Edge in one month. The company (Navision) ERP system, leadARTICLES: PLM and Manufacturing: A Digital Bond spent €55,000 on six licenses for 12 users. It’s eying ing to a smoother “bill of www.managingautomation.com/plm9 an ROI of two-and-a-half years from staff reducmaterial” flow, Ortego Bielsa PLM’s Vertical Challenge tions and other efficiencies, Ortego Bielsa says. says. Today, it costs Fruehauf www.managingautomation.com/plm10 The company has already let go two designers. about €30,000 a year to re-enAutomakers Push PLM Vendors for QC The Solid Edge deployment was the first step in ter information manually. Solutions (Short Circuit) a set of sweeping IT changes that Fruehauf is It’s all part of the bigger www.managingautomation.com/plmqc planning in order to stay competitive. For decades plan to claw back market The Digital Factory the market leader, Fruehauf started slipping in share. In Fruehauf’s IT activwww.managingautomation.com/digitalfactory2 the 1990s. “Our engineering was, in a sense, a bit ities, it started with the deold-fashioned,’’ Ortego Bielsa concedes. “By 2006, sign change. Sometimes, to COMPANIES MENTIONED: we realized that if we didn’t change, we were going regain former glory, you litSiemens www.managingautomation.com/siemens to drop in our sales. We needed a change in engierally have to go back to the neering and production on all levels.” drawing board. ■ R September 2008 33 http://www.managingautomation.com/plm9 http://www.managingautomation.com/plm10 http://www.managingautomation.com/plmqc http://www.managingautomation.com/digitalfactory2 http://www.managingautomation.com/siemens

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Manufacturing Executive - September 2008

Manufacturing Executive - September 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Opinion By David Humphrey Starters Road Trip Part 1: Innovation or Efficiency? Part 2: The Innovation Gap Opinion By Lisa Bodell Special Report: Great Aspirations Supply Chain: The New Money Machine Product Design: Fruehauf Gets into High Gear with 3D CAD Business Intelligence: Food Distributor Turns Up the Heat on Manufacturers Software: Manufacturers Face SaaS Hurdles Dialogue Opinion By Pierfrancesco Manenti

Manufacturing Executive - September 2008

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