This is exactly how events should be organized 
MDC Customer Event at Steel Automotive in Germany
INCLUDIS, together with its distribution partner SGP, held a customer event at Steel Automotive GmbH in Großbottwar in Southern Germany on 7/16/2008. Twenty-five potential customers were present and considered the live-presentation of the web-based MDC solution INCLUDIS.mdc an excellent event. On their feedback sheet, every single one either ticked “excellent and informative” or “this is exactly how events should be organized”.
At the beginning of the event, Mr Schumann, the CEO, introduced the company during a short talk.
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Mr Schimmele, Head of IT, shows the metal structure of a car seat
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On the initiative of two investors, i.e. C. Rob Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG and Willi Elbe Group, Steel Automotive GmbH has been successfully positioned in the marketplace since 2005. The incorporation of qualified personnel of the former Hermann Stahl GmbH is another key success criterion. Steel manufactures stamped and formed parts for the automotive industry such as carrier plates for motor control, parts for automobile electronics or infotainment, elements for sunshine roofs, etc.
The company currently has approximately 250 employees.
Customers are companies such as Bosch, Valeo, Continental, Visteon, and Panasonic, just to name a few. They are well-known companies which attach great importance to high quality.
Right from the start, Steel Automotive placed emphasis on the automation of production work flow. “The higher the level of automation, the better the process reliability, and the lower the costs,” is the motto of management. The ERP system infor.com, implemented by SGP, has been operated successfully right from the start. The only thing missing was the continuous machine data collection from the machines. SGP, the distribution partner, presented the web-based software solution INCLUDIS.mdc which was then initiated in the company within a short time. Seventeen machines, among them 3 large press units (100-800 tons), are monitored fully automatically with INCLUDIS.mdc; 8 additional ones and 1 robot will soon be connected.
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Shop Floor of STEEL Automotive
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The continuous flow of information from the office to the machine provides for a complete process documentation chain. Data collected are processed and will be available as key performance indicators (KPIs) in real-time via web-browser access on intranet/internet. Infor.time shop floor terminals for manual data input such as “Start/ interrupt/ terminate job” are directly connected with INCLUDIS via Infor-ERP integration which has been set up.
According to Mr Schumann, the Managing Director, the next acquisition will consist of two plasma displays in central positions of production which precisely indicate current production key figures. He is of the opinion that this serves both the voluntary self-control of employees and for them getting a sense of achievement.
He intends to involve his 250 employees even more in corporate processes and motivate them to exhibit more individual responsibility.
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Mr Schumann in conversation with participants
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The goals Mr Schumann combines with his decision are: “Smooth installation, quick availability of meaningful machine data, an excellent price/performance ratio, and easy intuitive operation”.
The question: “Which are the advantages of INCLUDIS.mdc for you?” was answered by Mr Schumann as follows:
“The evaluation of machine data with error and fault analysis has become an essential part of production. These data are reliable, precise, and current. They are automatically recorded and cannot be manipulated. We are able to measure the overall time of a production run and break it down afterwards.
The reasons for faults can be allocated to every single article, which means that for 400 tools x-reasons for faults can be defined. The recording of reasons for system faults is relatively easy. With continuous production monitoring, faults can be avoided and a higher production quality be achieved. The INCLUDIS-System supports the TS 16949 quality standard.
In addition, the web-data basis is excellent. During a stay in Milan, I was able to log on to my production via internet and to exactly inform myself about the actual production status.”
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Shop steward pleased about O.E.E. key performance indicators
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During a plant tour, the visitors of the MDC customer event met the shop steward who informed them about the advantages of an O.E.E. calculation (that is the degree of the machines’ utilization x performance x quality) automated by INCLUDIS.mdc. To him it is a matter of increase in production. He also confirmed that the employees’ level of acceptance with regard to INCLUDIS.mdc is high.
Mr Schumann was of the opinion that if an O.E.E. is below 50% this is a reason for increases in capacity and not for the acquisition of a new machine. The target is an indicator of at least 70%. It is currently checked whether the degree of the utilization of machines can be increased by the rearrangement of production shifts. In the last three months the runtime behavior of machines was constantly recorded. On the basis of these evaluations it is now possible to take targeted action.
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Mr Schumann with customers on the shop floor
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All in all, Mr Schumann has appreciated the value of machine data already in the past and now he, in the young company, is glad to have invested in a reliable MDC system. His decision in favor of INCLUDIS.mdc has not taken more than one month. To him, continuous monitoring of production via machines with automated reporting through e-mail or SMS is no longer conceivable.
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