Shortfacts - July/August 2020

Digital workplace in manufacturing

Weidmüller, a manufacturer of electronics and electrical connection technology, has developed a digital workplace for its workers on its store floor - based on the SAP Digital Manufacturing Suite. The IT service provider Syntax was the implementation partner. Weidmüller wanted to digitize the manufacturing processes at its Wutha- Farnroda plant in Thuringia - as a blueprint for other Weidmüller production sites around the globe.

The aim was to increase digital consistency, to work paperless as far as possible, to bring transparency into the processes and to maximize the flexibility of man and machine. To achieve this, the machines were equipped with measuring cells and connected via a specially developed IoT controller. In addition, the introduced Manufacturing Execution System (MES) accesses the ERP system:

In the past, data was still in silos in various places; today it is centrally recorded. First and foremost, the workers benefit from the new Digital Workplace. Instead of a clipboard, workers now have an iPod in their hands on which they can see all the data relevant to them.

Workers can see the current status of their machines, capacity utilization and potential problems on their display. This saves them from having to make constant inspection rounds. In addition, visual inspections can now be documented, quantities recorded or material scanned in from anywhere via the iPod. All in all, the paths in production are much shorter as a result.