Aug 12, 2020
About the Customer
The customer is a leader in American Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing specialized in the delivery of material support for a broad spectrum of state-of-the-art defense and commercial aircraft, including airplanes, jets and helicopters, as well as airborne weapon systems. This support includes system research, design, development, engineering, acquisition, testing and evaluation, as well as the provision of training facilities and equipment, repair and modification services, and in-service engineering and logistical support.
A Strategic Partnership for Industry 4.0
Engineering Industries eXcellence has been this customer’s strategic Digital Manufacturing partner for a number of years now. Previously, our Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) team led the implementation of an integrated PLM to Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to Direct Numerical Control (DNC) solution. This "top floor to shop floor" closed-loop approach enabled the customer to manage all of their piece-part manufacturing data in a single centralized repository, make it available to relevant personnel across all levels of the organization, and then utilize this data in downstream processes all the way to the execution of production on the factory floor.
The Customer’s Challenge
The scope of this new multi-site simulation project covers 3 of the largest air depots in North America, all of which are responsible for the maintenance, repair and modification of different aircraft and airborne weapon systems. As part of their enterprise transformation initiative aimed at updating and improving the layout of all of its air depots and shipyards in the U.S., the customer asked Engineering Industries eXcellence’s Manufacturing Simulation team to implement a solution to help them identify existing bottlenecks as well as opportunities for improvements that would lead to faster, more efficient and higher quality overhaul service lifecycles for incoming aircraft.
About the Project
Leveraging Siemens Tecnomatix software, our team of Plant Simulation experts will build an advanced simulation model of each air depot in scope. We will study each of its layouts and processes in a virtual environment in order to drive a redesign and restructuring of each facility. Based on our model, we will help the customer plan where and if new infrastructure should be placed, which infrastructure should be removed, if new infrastructure and equipment should be purchased and which repair services should be performed where in order to avoid bottlenecks.
Ultimately, we will provide the data needed to create a plan for what the future depots should look like and what real-life results, time and cost-savings the customer can expect based on these simulation models. The customer is especially interested in studying these models at the equipment level in order to understand which old equipment should be removed and/or replaced, if machines need to be moved to different locations, which new machines should be purchased to meet demand, and how to reduce the time needed to execute the end-to-end repair process for a single aircraft.
Benefits of Plant Simulation
- Improve productivity of existing facilities
- Reduce investment in planning of new facilities
- Reduce inventory and throughput time
- Optimize system dimensions, including buffer sizes
- Lower investment risks through early proof of concept
- Maximize use of manufacturing resources
Engineering’s Advantage
Engineering Industries eXcellence specializes in applying simulation methods to manufacturing and production systems and processes. Our consultants help organizations identify opportunities in order to strategically employ simulation to study their processes and systems, giving teams the information and tools they need to drive real improvements. As our team begins the development of the first plant simulation model for this initiative, we will be able to add further value by leveraging our deep knowledge of this customer’s unique environment and business processes gained from our previous work for them over the years. We look forward to enabling the transformation of their facilities driven by lean and efficient processes.
