Siemens PLM software Archives - The Manufacturing Connection

Siemens Talks Manufacturing In America

by Gary Mintchell | Mar 16, 2018 | Automation, Operations Management

A small group of journalists and writers trekked to the Detroit area March 12-13 to glimpse the future of Manufacturing in America sponsored by Siemens Industry and its local distributor/partner Electro-Matic. We toured the local Founders Brewery facility, visited with faculty and students of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Oakland University, and attended the annual thought leadership panel.

Food and Beverage

Founders Brewery, craft brewery founded in Grand Rapids, MI, built a smaller version of brewery/restaurant in downtown Detroit not far from Ford Field and Greektown. The automated part of the brewery and instrumentation was supplied by Siemens. We toured the brewery, had an awesome sandwich, and sampled some of the many craft beers from founders.

Education

A complete change of pace (well, maybe not as I remember my college days) took us north to Rochester, MI to Oakland University. Robert Van Til, Ph.D., Pawley Professor of Lean Studies and Chair of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), introduced us to his program and several students who explained their experiences both in class and working in local factories.

Siemens has donated much software and equipment to the program. Students explained how they had been trained in Siemens PLM software and used the simulation application to model real-world problems. They impressed me with a maturity I doubt that I had at that age, but also with how smoothly they integrated Lean Manufacturing concepts with their factory cell simulations.

-> An important point. I hold the impression left over from some years ago that young people view manufacturing negatively—as dark, dirty, unsafe, backwards places to work. Much to the contrary, these students all viewed manufacturing as a place to use their technical training to make an impact. They see how they can contribute to an organization immediately. I guess the work we’ve done over the past 20 years to clean up our factories and apply technology are being rewarded.

Finance 4.0

Nothing beats an early morning meeting to talk finance. Actually, it’s not that bad. Before the Wednesday summit meeting, we met with the Siemens Finance team. Note: we did this last year, as well.

Siemens has identified six challenges for manufacturers on the journey to Industry 4.0. Challenge No. 2 identifies access to finance for the scale of investment over time that manufacturers need to make in digital and automated technology platforms.

The team has released a white paper, “Practical Pathways to Industry 4.0 in the USA.” This would be Finance 4.0 for Industry 4.0. Snipping one section, “Integrated Strategic Finance,” here are a few points:

Evaluate potential sources of finance for both OPEX and CAPEX
Consider how you’ll finance all aspects of digital transformation
Align with strategic growth vision and technology investment
Find financing partners with willingness and skills for this journey
Is your CFO a ‘virtuoso’ in linking initiatives to financial outcomes

Siemens Finance has many financial instruments in place to help from brownfield upgrades to greenfield projects—and for complete equipment financing, not only Siemens equipment.

Thought Leadership Summit

Raj Batra, President of Digital Factory for Siemens Industry Inc., took the ball from MC Eddie Murray (former NFL kicker), discussing how manufacturing executives in the US are very optimistic about the near future for manufacturing. One large problem is finding talented people to fill the positions. He also discussed Siemens technology and how it is helping manufacturers, for example like adidas who in this “order the latest fashion online” world need to shrink the 18 month timeline from concept to delivery of new shoes. Siemens PLM to the rescue.

Greg LaMay, Director Global. PLM Implementation for KUKA NA, showed how his team is using Siemens PLM applications to break silos within the company to improve time to ship and customer experiences.

John Greaves, IoT, RF, and Blockchain Solutions Architect (with a portfolio like that, he could probably bring the world to an end 😉 ) at Lowry Solutions, showed how Blockchain (the technology used by Bitcoin, for example) is already used for critical supply chain applications.

Alan Beaulieau, Ph.D., Economist, and President of ITR Economics (check it out, he wrote a column for me at Automation World for several years and he’s a great speaker), gave his usual well researched and reasoned view of the economic scene. Hint: it’s better than you might think reading the newspapers or listening to TV. itreconomics.com

Digital Manufacturing Does It Need PLM

by Gary Mintchell | Mar 25, 2015 | Automation, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management, Technology

During my continuous research for topics such as Industry 4.0, digital manufacturing, smart manufacturing and the industrial Internet of things, I came across this Siemens PLM software blog.

In it, Zvi Feuer, Siemens PLM Software’s Senior Vice President, Digital Factory, Manufacturing Engineering Software, shares his perspective on “how Siemens helps companies worldwide to realize innovation in manufacturing.”

Feuer says, “I want to be able to offer our customers industry solutions which provide the means to turn any manufacturing operation into a high tech manufacturer. In order for us to sell not only the software but also usage methodologies And, in fact, to increase productivity with the customer and to help the customer deliver to his customers in a better and faster shape. This will obviously create opportunities for people, opportunities for jobs.”

Siemens executives have explained its digital manufacturing strategy to me for more than 10 years. And the vision has been remarkably consistent. The first conversations were even before the UGS acquisition that led to the Siemens PLM business.

PLM As ERP for Manufacturing

The blog refers to a white paper, PLM For Manufacturing, “If you are looking for ways to connect all domains of the design/build lifecycle, consider a manufacturing process management (MPM) solution. This provides an enterprise-scalable foundation that allows you to perform product design, while simultaneously optimizing manufacturing processes. This means that you can better manage lifecycle cost, meet launch dates and maintain product quality targets.”

That statement reflects Siemens thinking even before the acquisition. Is it possible to design not only the product but the manufacturing digitally, and then proof it all out digitally before even cutting the first steel.

“We believe that an MPM system that is part of an enterprise PLM system is the best way to move
forward. This will provide an environment that supports a flexible process plan capable of reflecting any changes to the product design or requirements. This might be called a single window for enterprise data management – a single application that supports the complete lifecyle of product data in an enterprise environment. The main idea is to provide users with one platform for all their data management needs. Teamcenter PLM software is the only comprehensive system that provides a platform in which users can conduct all their data management needs from engineering to manufacturing to execution.”

Is it sustainable?

This is a grand vision. It reads like Goldratt’s “The Goal” coming to life totally automated. But, there are inherent problems to the grand scheme. I have witnessed and otherwise seen the benefits of more and better information informing production/maintenance teams enabling better decisions and improvements. But to think that this could eventually happen without human intervention–I doubt that ever happens effectively.

The white paper also talks about complexities of manufacturing and software, then it argues that it would be better to put everything into one overarching software application. I would argue, along with my Lean friends, that this would just make for one very complex software application.

Any of us who have actually done automation know that when the application gets too complex, then it doesn’t work. It is not maintained. It is not understood. People begin developing their more simplified (and understandable) workarounds.

The vision is like most things I have witnessed over the past 40 years of applying technology. We develop something. We get benefits. We get over ambitious and build something cumbersome. People stop using it. We develop something simpler. People use it. And so on.

Digital manufacturing and Industrie 4.0? Interesting. The jury is still deliberating as to whether it is giving Germany the desired competitive edge in manufacturing.