Production simulation gaining ground beyond automotive sector

So called manufacturing process management (MPM) – the methods and simulation and optimisation IT that sit between the ‘what to build’ of CAD/PDM and the ‘where/when’, crudely, of ERP systems – are gaining ground if $90 million MPM software and service provider Tecnomatix is anything to go by. At its European user event in Frankfurt this week the firm revealed serious wins, particularly from the automotive industry, and was upbeat about both its own growth – at a time when others in IT are struggling – and that of MPM technology usage in the UK in general. MPM is what used to be termed ‘digital factory’ software, a superset of CAPE (computer aided process engineering), aimed at sorting out the ‘how to’ manufacture beyond the ‘what’ and ‘when’. Today, it’s more than that, typically providing a collaborative environment for early production line planning, optimisation and operator assistance, 3D engineering and operations design, project management, quality management and authoring. It includes business logic, workflow, etc and integration into both CAD/PDM on the engineering side and ERP on the manufacturing and business side. This class of packaged applications is likely to be one of the most valuable investments, alongside PLM (product lifecycle management), particularly for larger manufacturers involved with complex engineering and change, for the next few years. CAD and ERP are well defined, understood, packaged, supported and almost universally implemented, but the same has not been true of production planning. At best, the big boys have, for example, integrated 2D factory planning with digital mock-ups as bespoke systems, but integration across BoMs, parts lists and engineering change management, never mind suppliers and the rest, have been problematic. Handling all this, as well as logistics planning, typically involving large volumes of data to transfer and keep up to date between departments, suppliers and third parties, as well as robot and machine programming, line balancing, sequencing and operator support, now make MPM very attractive. PSA Peugeot Citroen is the latest to sign up for Tecnomatix systems – to the tune of 130 seats, with 30 up-front for work in power train and final assembly simulation and planning. The firm joins a catalogue of automotive OEMs and first tier suppliers and developers that’s essentially a long list of the big global players, harnessing the software for the entire spread of physical production planning in everything from body in white (BIW) to final assembly and logistics. Among users are GM, Ford, BMW, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Audi, VW, Renault, Hyundai, Mazda and Suzuki. There’s also a large number of Tier One automotive suppliers: names like Visteon, TMS Produktionssysteme, Marxer Anlagen and TWR, which uses MPM for simulation work in BIW and final assembly, as well as running its specialist projects for vehicles like the Volvo C70 convertible and cabriolet. There’s also smaller but high profile names like Bentley, which now intends to use the software and Tecnomoatix’s services in final assembly factory simulation as it moves from craft operations making 1,500 cars per year to modern production lines and machines producing 9,000 units. Indeed, of Tecnomatix’s 200 or so current projects, most are in automotive. Aerospace manufacturers are also big users with, for example the British Aerospace and IFS joint venture harnessing the software for logistics and quality simulation, while long term user Airbus is now planning final assembly for the A380 in Toulouse. Other sizeable users include Pratt & Whitney and Boeing. And heavy and more general engineering are now shaping up, with users like Caterpillar, Groupe Schneider and Atco on the list. Albert Ifrah, senior vice president Europe at Tecnomatix, says: “we are 100% focused on digital manufacturing.” And he adds: “Manufacturers need these systems to be highly integrated with their CAD and ERP systems so we are partnering with as many [organisations] as possible.” Partners to date include PTC, EDS, SAP and Oracle, and there are integrations with Dassault Systemes PLM systems despite the rival Delmia connection. The EDS partnership was initiated by the automotive industry itself, specifically GM: Tecnomatix systems now link into the EDS Teamcenter for collaborative engineering, with EDS is leaving its own digital factory development to its partner. Certainly, the business benefits from the automotive sector are clear. Users talk openly of accelerated new product introductions, shortened time to volume production, optimised operations and reduced operating costs through planned production line flexibility. They also allude to product and process quality improvements, with tracking, audits, and right first time production through effective ‘collaboration’ between manufacturing engineers, designers and shop floor personnel. In a sense, it’s the old message of profiting from putting engineering information at the heart of the business, rather than treating it as an add-on. Much the same message as that of PLM. The benefits come not only from starting manufacturing production process planning much earlier in design, development and change cycles, but through improving engineering productivity, cutting costs, improving speed and quality and reducing rejects, rework and scrap. TWR, for example, now claims to runs one of the largest virtual reality centres in the world at its Oxfordshire base on MPM. As Nick Miller, head of manufacturing engineering, says, it’s used throughout production planning for the seriously large number of low volume and prototype projects the firm runs. This is its route to establishing and optimising everything from required resources, to process and facility development on the mechanical and electronic sides, even project management. It covers capex, manpower, operations planning, costing and line balancing – and generating the business case. Indeed, TWR has got it down to a fine art, with templates for the generic processes like doors off, harness routes and so on – and these are now templates that can be cut and pasted into projects. But it’s also used to capture and provide access to detailed manufacturing sequences, for instance, that enable operators working on specials with numerous variants and long cycle times to confirm what they are doing. This is the way to go. Miller makes it clear that for TRW it’s provision of a common engineering database, and the potential for information and methodology re-use for improving engineering, production and manufacturing management are key to its success. Tecnomatix’s eMPower software is now at version 6, with the most notable change being its move to the Oracle database to expand the platform and remove what for some was becoming a limiting factor. The firm is already working with the Big Five consultants, including Accenture, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, AT Kearney and KPMG and, at the smaller level, Magenta as a CAD partner for the UK. Entry level CAPE type systems cost around $25—30,000; full deployments can be up to the $1 million mark.