Success Story
MAN Truck & Bus
Simulation-based staff planning and optimization in sequenced production lines
MISSION
MAN Truck & Bus AG offers to its customers the service of configuring their trucks individually, which leads to a high complexity in the assembly line. 120 and 160 different models per day are produced with a wide spread of workload. Our goal was to implement a web-based application for short term dynamic staff assignment and line balancing that depicts the high complexity in the sequenced production lines and guarantees a consistently optimum real time planning and steering of personnel capacity.
SOLUTION AND WORK PROCESS
We developed a simulation-based application, here are the working steps:
KPI system which depicts and evaluates the various levels of sequenced production lines
Conception of a method and customized solution for dynamic line balancing in the short term category
Implementation of a web-based planning application which depicts the production system and its assembly processes dependent on the respective variants and periodically accesses current process time and sequence data
Data processing: to get the data in the right aggregation and combination
People engagement by training and coaching in the transformation process until the planners mastered the new system
RESULTS
A new dynamism in planning was installed as real time simulation. It enabled the planners to play out a wide variety of production scenarios and their effects to optimize in advance, by simulating future flexible deployment of personnel. The short term results are:
Full transparency regarding staff underutilization and bottlenecks
18% productivity increase (full cost equivalent of one vehicle per day)
Significant increase in planning reliability in complex production environments
80% cost reduction for planning and adjustment for EURO 6 introduction
95% planning accuracy in operational business even in ramp-up scenarios
Stefan Röser
Project Manager MAN Truck & Bus AG
"Application of the simulation-supported REALTIME TECHNOLOGIES planning system has generated a new level of transparency and dynamism in planning for MAN Truck & Bus AG which in turn has many positive effects. Real time simulation enables our planners to play out a wide variety of production scenarios and the effects they have.
Preparation and follow-up of productivity improvement measures are significantly accellerated and the planning results safeguarded in advance. Accordingly, it has been possible to further develop existing methods and approaches with the goal of discovering and realizing optimization potentials.
Furthermore, with the support of the REALTIME TECHNOLOGIES planning system, we have been able to increase productivity in areas of the frame construction assembly line by 12 to 18 percent – a very worthwhile investment. Expressive visual presentations of the scenarios meant that REALTIME TECHNOLOGIES swiftly convinced our planners in practice."
