Background and Initial Status in Production Planning
This use case describes the situation of a leading European manufacturer of components for the railway industry, such as brake discs and axle boxes. The company had sufficient digital maturity in recording actual performance. However, they faced challenges in production planning, scheduling, and optimization.
Despite introducing an ERP system, planning remained manual and experience-based. They used 11 Excel sheets, which required daily coordination and adjustments. Additionally, they struggled with inefficient coordination with subcontractors responsible for painting and drying large metal parts. This resulted in delivery delays, extended operation times, and transport limitations.
Challenges
Before the implementation of the Qlector Leap solution, the company faced several key challenges in their production planning and operations, which hindered their overall efficiency:
Manual search for available production capacities and manual (experience-based) planning of production lines in the ERP system.
Manual scheduling of individual tasks across work centers, as the ERP system does not support the scheduling of a single work order over two separate weeks.
Manual data entry into 11 Excel files (production scheduling involving worker scheduling, procurement, subcontractors, etc.) with daily time-consuming alignments and adjustments.
Subcontractor issues: delays and long delivery timelines, extended painting and drying processes, and transportation limitations for large metal parts.
Solution
To overcome these challenges, the company implemented the following features that streamlined production planning, scheduling, and optimization:
Digitalizing production scheduling and extending it to digital planning for subcontractors and final quality control, with all data updated in a unified system.
Building and maintaining a digital twin of the entire factory.
Automatic planning and scheduling with optimization of production processes.
Predicting tool replacements.
Alerting responsible persons in case of material shortages, delivery delays, or shipment delays.
Predicting inventory levels.
Scheduling workers to job positions, with a record of all their competencies and limitations in one system.
Benefits
The producer turned to QLECTOR for a comprehensive solution that included:
Elimination of all 11 Excel sheets, with digitalized planning of the entire production process, including material flow, actual production performance, and subcontractor monitoring, all within one unified system.
Continuous plan updates based on actual performance on the shop floor.
Ability to plan parallel operations (e.g., production of the lower and upper parts of a product, where two work orders can run simultaneously on one production line).
Tool change matrix: the tool department has a constant overview of tool requirements – when, which tool, and for which line.
Real-time monitoring and forecasting of production for easier planning in support departments, especially in quality control, which has visibility over the parts they will receive for inspection, including the first test pieces after tool changes.
Inventory tracking and forecasting of stock levels in the warehouse.
Fast and efficient management of all changes in production plans – from raw materials to the finished product.
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100% Time Savings – Redirected to Higher Added Value Tasks
With the implementation of the Qlector Leap solution, the railway component manufacturer achieved a 100% time saving in the workplace, where an employee was previously responsible only for managing Excel sheets related to subcontractors and procurement. These savings have been redirected to work tasks with higher added value.
10% Production Optimization and Just-in- Time Delivery
According to the observations and estimates of users within the railway components manufacturing company, the implementation of the Qlector Leap solution optimized their total production time by at least 10%. This achievement is attributed to realistic planning scenarios and more accurate forecasting of the quantity and timing for the production of final products, which were previously hindered by subcontractor delays. As a result, they also significantly improved communication with customers and introduced just-in-time deliveries.
Conclusion
In the company, which also deals with the challenges of ‘low batch, high mix’ type production, the implementation of the advanced AI solution Qlector Leap has effectively digitalized their production scheduling for all machining operations and eliminated the use of Excel files. Now, they monitor material flow, actual production performance, and all operations and subcontractor statuses within a unified system.
Keep following our use cases and blog posts to explore more about how innovative scheduling solutions are making waves in various sectors and driving companies toward a more efficient future.