Digitisation Ersa production
Industry 4.0 at Ersa in production
The move to the new production hall represents a milestone not only in terms of production facilities, but also with regard to the digitization of production. Our new Worker Information System (WIS) went live shortly after the start of the new production. At the cycle workstations of line 2, large 55-inch touch monitors now display all important customer order-related information to the employees.
By linking our detailed planning system, which was introduced in 2018, with the higher-level ERP system, all the necessary information is always up-to-date. The information from the planning system tells the production line which order is at which workstation, and all data such as parts lists, work plans, assembly and test instructions are provided automatically. The employees can display all design documents and relevant documents for the current order. They are supported by a comfortable search function and an intuitive GUI (short for Graphical User Interface). The quality inspection takes place directly in the line at the end of each cycle, which leads to an outstanding quality standard of our products. In addition, the effort in the test field is reduced and also the throughput time is significantly shortened.
The WIS represents the next consistent step on our way to digitization. At the beginning of 2019 the first tablets were used in the final assembly machines. The main focus was the electrical installation of our soldering machines, where the electrical plan was previously provided in a DIN A4 folder.
Today our colleagues work with a digital circuit diagram and can thus carry out the wiring faster and more effectively. In particular, the effort required to change the documentation has been reduced, the resulting increase in process reliability and the direct search option have contributed to the rapid acceptance of the system. After the first ten devices were used in final assembly, the colleagues from the switch cabinet construction department immediately followed suit. The devices can be attached to the tool trolley as well as directly in the switch cabinet with a mounting bracket, so that ergonomics is not neglected either. In the meantime, 30 units are in use, and further expansion stages are being planned. The WIS will be further expanded in the future – we look forward to new functions, which we will be happy to report on.