Everyone works digitally these days. Or at least… that's what they claim. Despite the digital revolution, we still often come across projects completed on paper. For example, we often see that the engineering department works on projects digitally, but then transfers the project on paper to production. A missed opportunity if you ask us.
Is this way of working necessarily wrong? Not quite, but can be dangerous as working this way means you run the risk of missing important project details, causing errors and delaying projects. Or worse, errors are not detected and the project is delivered incorrectly (or differently) to the customer.
It goes without saying that a digital, smart way of working must be extended to production. Below we give three crucial tips for an efficient exchange of data between the engineering and production departments.
Tip 1: Always use digital data across disciplines!
Make sure you always use the available digital data across disciplines! When the engineering department has completed an assignment, they throw the (paper) project over the fence towards production, so to speak. That is not an efficient way of working.
Tip 2: work with a Digital Twin
The most logical way of working is to share the smart data from the engineering process with production. By working with a so-called virtual twin or digital twin (or virtual prototype), no details can be missed in production. This makes it easier to wire a switch box because the project data automatically determines the wiring route.
Tip 3: Rely on machines
Those who work with a digital twin can use the smart data from the previous phases to control your machines and (partly) automate your production . What we often hear from our customers is that a (CNC) machine is only interesting in series production. In reality it is the other way around! In non-serial production, measurements have to be repeated or mechanical actions have to be performed over and over again. By letting engineering directly control the machine, manual actions no longer have to be performed, even if the design is different every time.
Your advantages of a smart approach to your production process?
- Easier production planning: Because the data is more intelligent, you can use less skilled personnel for these projects.
- Better communication between engineering and the workshop: the available virtual prototype contains all project details.
- Shorter lead time in the production of new machines / installations: errors surface faster when a new prototype is tested.
- Paper disappears from the workshop: we often see that technicians use a paper version of the documentation. Or that paper labels are taken over. By using data intelligently, these things can be used digitally.
- Compiling material lists becomes easier: thanks to smart data, you can compile the list of materials to be used more easily. A link with the ERP system can be very useful to keep stock under control.
To discover the solutions currently available to bridge the gap between engineering and production, download the latest whitepaper from EPLAN and Rittal:
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