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NetQM, Visual Shop Floor in action – Dashboard
NetQM is a high-tech full-service provider in the field of mechatronics. The group of companies with locations in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina develops and produces technologically complex series parts from product development to prototype construction to series production. The portfolio covers the areas of cable assembly, electronics, mechanics and injection moulding as well as individual special developments. Customers come from the automotive industry, racing, telecommunications, medical technology and many more. The company employs 400 people. The headquarters are located in Puch near Hallein, the production site in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
NetQM is a high-tech full-service provider in the field of mechatronics. The group of companies with locations in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina develops and produces technologically complex series parts from product development to prototype construction to series production. The portfolio covers the areas of cable assembly, electronics, mechanics and injection moulding as well as individual special developments. Customers come from the automotive industry, racing, telecommunications, medical technology and many more. The company employs 400 people. The headquarters are located in Puch near Hallein, the production site in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
NetQM, production site, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Challenge
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Many stand-alone workstations -
Lots of paper instead of digital information -
Outdated and incomplete information -
No data visualization capabilities
Solution
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Visualization and consolidation of scattered data -
Easy interfaces to various systems -
Live data display in daily meetings -
Andon boards with real-time quality metrics
Result
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Real-time monitoring of production data -
Immediate identification of root causes -
Deviation analysis of target times -
Cross-border data exchange and communication -
Unified standards
From isolated data silos to a centralized solution
Many stand-alone workplaces that were not really connected. A lot of paper instead of digitized information. And thus hardly any possibilities to visualize and meaningfully evaluate the data. The company NetQM wanted to change these general conditions and take the internal processes a step further towards digitalization: “Our goal was to centralize and, above all, visualize the information that was floating around distributed in the different departments. Instead of the individual data islands, we wanted to create a digital platform where the data is brought together,” explains project manager Lukas Höller-Strasser from the company NetQM.
“In the past, the shift and department managers met at shift changes with pen and paper to check and update the data. To be honest, I have to say that the update was not always implemented.” As a result, NetQM often worked with outdated and incomplete information.
Visual Shop Floor – the data octopus
During the search for suitable software to address this challenge, NetQM came across the company Solunio and its Visual Shop Floor software platform. “In the end, this solution convinced us because it brings together and visualizes the scattered data via simple interfaces from the systems like a data octopus,” says Lukas Höller-Strasser. The various data from the ERP system are consolidated by Visual Shop Floor and processed into useful information for quality management.
Screens in production – the focal point
Today, Visual Shop Floor displays the collected data live on screens during daily meetings, revolutionizing communication and decision-making processes. Around 80 strategically placed screens visualize current quality metrics in the form of Andon Boards. "We are currently using the software intensively in quality management to precisely define where and how improvements should be implemented. Visual Shop Floor became the central player in this process and is now our basis for optimization steps," says Lukas Höller-Strasser.
In the end, this solution convinced us because it brings together and visualizes the scattered data via simple interfaces from the systems like a data octopus.
Lukas Höller-Strasser,
Project Manager, Network Quality Management (NetQM)
Quality control in production
In production, Visual Shop Floor makes data available in real time. If deviations occur, signal points indicate a possible need for action. “Visual Shop Floor shows us the top 3 error sources as well as the top 3 articles where deviations occur. The QM department thus immediately recognizes where it needs to initiate measures.”
Visual Shop Floor also makes it possible to control performance, because those responsible can see the target time deviations at department level. “We have the over- and under-comparison of the target times and the corresponding articles shown. This way we know immediately where the target times are exceeded or fallen short of.”
This continuous monitoring extends to the inspection systems area. “The inspection systems in production have been linked using Visual Shop Floor so that we can now track all inspection data in real time. We have defined First Pass Yields and intervention limits. If an intervention is necessary, it appears live on the screen,” explains Lukas Höller-Strasser.
Cross-border integration
NetQM′s headquarter is located in Puch near Hallein in the province of Salzburg. The production plant with over 400 employees, on the other hand, is in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thanks to Visual Shop Floor, data exchange and communication clearly also succeed across borders, for example in complaint management: “In the case of complaints, a complaint report is created at headquarters. As soon as the complaint is accepted, the employees in the production plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina can easily access this report including photos and documentation.”
Visual Shop Floor also guarantees uniform standards and efficient handling of workflows, for example in the creation of articles in the ERP system or in the maintenance and support of the entire IT infrastructure. “We can now immediately see which processes still need to be completed for an item entry. In case of server or computer problems or upcoming updates, the responsible employees know immediately what needs to be done and where.”
Extensions planned
Visual Shop Floor is a modular and therefore open system. It can be adapted to the needs of the company at any time or extended by functions. NetQM also wants to use these possibilities for itself: “In a next step, we want to connect the machines to Visual Shop Floor so that the data is not only taken from our ERP system, but also directly at the machines and evaluated. Since production runs on the machines via many automated processes, this will give us an even faster and more accurate basis for our decisions,” explains Lukas Höller-Strasser.
NetQM has enjoyed double digit growth figures for years, but these are also associated with certain challenges. The company also wants to master these challenges with the software Visual Shop Floor. For example, warehouse logistics is confronted with increasing material volumes and product diversity. To support the warehouse, it has already been equipped with devices for mobile data collection. In the future, Visual Shop Floor will also support the logistics staff: “We will place screens in the warehouse where Visual Shop Floor will show us the incoming and outgoing deliveries per day. This will make it easier to keep track of incoming and outgoing deliveries.”