Building & Repairing A Superior Defense Fleet
Industry Challenges
Aerospace, Space & Defense manufacturers are facing an increasingly competitive global market where an emphasis must be placed on improving efficiency, reducing build times and fully utilizing modern lean manufacturing techniques. Companies need to be able to better control their component supply chains, improve product quality and reduce waste in order to shorten production cycles, grow profitability and increase market share. If that sounds like a tall order, that’s because it is.
Our Industry Expertise
Engineering’s experience in Digital Defense, Aerospace and Homeland Security expands beyond just what first comes to mind – cybersecurity, services and servers. Our Industries eXcellence division also has extensive expertise in the Aerospace, Space & Defense sector, but in this case, from the manufacturing perspective. Manufacturing for the government requires strict guidelines and regulations be followed, and perhaps in no country is this truer than in the one with the 3rd largest army, navy and air force in the world – the United States. Engineering Industries eXcellence’s team of digital manufacturing experts has been working to deliver Industry 4.0 consulting, technology solutions and services for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for many years now.
1. Defense Fleet Readiness
When talking about U.S. defense, it is all about readiness. Manufacturers are tasked to produce planes, jets, submarines and aircraft that are superior in how quickly they can respond to an attack and jump into action against enemies. Consequently, the primary aim of the technology solutions we deliver and the work that we do for the U.S. DoD is to improve efficiencies of the products produced, in addition to saving money in terms of manufacturing efficiencies. Product quality and performance are the main focus in this industry.
2. A Complex Product & Supply Chain
In order to produce and repair the highly complex, confidential and expensive equipment and machinery utilized by the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force, the U.S. government leverages and regulates an extensive supply chain of manufacturers, contractors and suppliers. While this presents a huge opportunity for chosen manufacturers, it also places a huge amount of pressure in terms of time-to-market, efficiency and quality in the way they produce and the final product they deliver. Engineering Industries eXcellence works directly with the U.S. government, but more often with their suppliers.
3. Solutions for Digital Manufacturing
When it comes to technology, defense contractors responsible for manufacturing the aircraft and vessels for the U.S. defense arsenal are looking to improve how quickly they can design and manufacture their products. Our expertise in the entire spectrum of technologies for digital manufacturing enables us to deliver these industry-specific solutions and system integration services that help them achieve these goals and meet strict regulatory requirements at the same time. Our Industries eXcellence team is involved in helping build nuclear submarines, radar systems, ground vehicles, fighter jets and navy shipyards for the U.S. government. Our team drives digital transformation from the manufacturing side; we deliver and integrate IT systems that manage the data and the execution of products being fabricated, including Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
4. Solutions for Fleet Repair & Maintenance
In addition in providing solutions to support the build process, we also deliver solutions to optimize the repair side of defense equipment. U.S. ships and submarines, for example, must go in for maintenance and repair every so often. The U.S government relies on trusted suppliers to execute and expedite this process, to ensure that these vehicles can be put back into action as soon as possible. Our Industries eXcellence team helps these suppliers leverage technology to ensure the most efficient processes in getting equipment back into service as fast as possible.
Our Customer References
Here are a few examples of the work Engineering Industries eXcellence's team of industry experts has delivered for leading companies in Aerospace, Space & Defense Manufacturing:
Use Case: Digital Manufacturing for Weapons Systems
- About the Customer: The customer provides material support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. This support includes research, design, development and systems engineering, acquisition, test and evaluation, training facilities and equipment, repair and modification, and in-service engineering and logistics support.
- What We Did: In support of the customer’s enterprise standardization initiative, our Industries eXcellence team implemented a solution based on Siemens Teamcenter Manufacturing to enable the management of their digital manufacturing data in a centralized repository and the utilization of this data in downstream processes. By creating a single source of truth with data managed in one system, the customer was able to significantly reduce time-to-market and improve repair and overhaul processes for fleet management.
Use Case: Industry 4.0 Assessment for Defense
- About the Customer:The customer is an American global aerospace and defense technology company and one of the largest arms traders in the world in 2015. The company is made up of four business sectors: Aerospace Systems, Mission Systems, Technology Services and Innovation Systems.
- What We Did: Engineering Industries eXcellence is the customer’s strategic digital manufacturing partner. Taking business drivers, processes, functional requirements, gaps and legacy systems into account, our team created a Solution Maturity Model, timeline and roadmap that aligned with the customer’s desired Industry 4.0 vision. The goal was to enhance data-driven decision-making, increase competitive advantage, increase automation across multiple production sites and help the customer move towards closed-loop manufacturing.
Use Case: The Next Generation of American War Submarines
- About the Customer: The customer has been the primary builder of submarines for the United States Navy for more than 100 years. The customer is also the manufacturer of the world’s best nuclear power submarine for missile use. In 2017, they won a massive contract with the U.S. government to produce the next generation of war subs.
- What We Did: Our Industries eXcellence experts joined the customer’s team in the first implementation of Siemens Next Generation Planning (NGP) in North America, enabling the customer to transform engineering data created in 4th Generation Design into a detailed manufacturing plan. The aim was to maximize performance and scalability to support the assembly of massive, complex structures.
Use Case: Advanced Plant Simulation for Shipbuilding
- About the Customer: The customer is an industry-leading manufacturer of commercial vessels. Recently, the corporation has also taken on an agreement to help produce combat ships for the U.S. government.
- What We Did: Engineering Industries eXcellence completed a project leveraging Manufacturing Plant Simulation to help the customer increase foresight and efficiency in their complex shipbuilding assembly and production processes.
Engineering’s Advantage
Most Aerospace, Space & Defense manufacturers do not have the internal knowledge, technical expertise and resources necessary to navigate and understand all the complexities of digital transformation alone. They must look towards a strategic partnership with an expert that can help them assess their current systems and processes, identify gaps and priorities, source and implement the right solutions, and support the digitalization process from start to finish. With over 10 years of experience implementing Industry 4.0 solutions for manufacturers, Engineering Industries eXcellence has established a depth of expertise and understanding of industry-specific challenges, standards and solutions that Aerospace, Space & Defense customers could not find at any other company in the world.
