Case Study Haver & Boecker

Regarding production optimization, since 2002 the Machinery Division has relied on the MES solution cronetwork by IT service provider and MES vendor Industrie Informatik. “Our cooperation with Industrie Informatik is impressive. It is partnership on an equal basis,” says Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Andreas Bauer, head of production in the Machinery Division. In projects such as ‘Integrative Information Systems and Modern Order Management with ERP and MES’, over time the partners introduced a broad spectrum of cronetwork modules: Plant Data Collection (PDC), Machine Data Collection (MDC), Scheduling Board and Time & Attendance (T&A) are some examples, and additional measures are planned. Everything began with a control panel in 1998.

Goal: improved transparency

In 1998 Haver & Boecker relied on the very powerful, graphical-electronic control panel FI-2 by IDS Scheer. When Industrie Informatik acquired this state-of-the-art product in 2000 and continued development under the name cronetwork Scheduling Board, Haver & Boecker did not take long to consider. “We wanted continuity. Industrie Informatik’s clear positioning as vendor of a professional MES solution for discrete production convinced us,” reports Bauer. Continuous growth and the required quick reaction times further intensified the need for a new solution. “Where possible, we wanted to collect data where they occur. We were looking for a way to improve transparency in order to be aware of the current order situation at any given time,” explains the head of production. “With a team of qualified engineers and experts, today we develop and produce some 700 packaging machines annually for the raw materials industry. We also offer innovative overall solutions from process technology to storage and packaging to shipping technology. To optimally cover this broad spectrum of products and services economically in the long range and with consideration of available capacities, introduction of a powerful MES was a logical step,” reports Bauer.

Important prerequisites for the new system included quick reaction to process changes, early warnings regarding schedule deviations, and configurability and adaptability to the respective task. For the company’s production planners, the current production situation should be presented as transparently as possible – and ideally online. “Even then, cronetwork was already very user-friendly and intuitive,” Bauer explains the decision for cronetwork MES.

cronetwork MES and SAP^® in harmony

A further important step beginning 2011 was the stepwise preparation for the introduction of SAP^®. The existing client/server environment was replaced by a web-based solution and both plant data collection and time & attendance migrated to touch-screen PCs in all production areas. Since the launch of SAP^® at the end of 2013, all production workers are managed and administered via cronetwork T&A. Together with cronetwork PDC and Scheduling Board, today all orders are controlled after their release via a certified interface from SAP^® to cronetwork.

Evaluated order data are reported back to SAP^® Controlling (CO). “Our most important goal for the introduction of SAP^® was to prepare MES modules PDC and T&A so that employee feedback and order data are integrated into the SAP^® system as quickly as possible. Thus already from the first day of the operative launch, it was possible to report person entries and order data error-free from cronetwork to our new ERP system,” says Bauer.

Today we transfer order data from SAP^® Production Planning (PP) to cronetwork. After orders are scheduled in Scheduling Board, the detailed scheduling data are sent back to SAP^®. There a framework for delivery is prescribed and cronetwork optimizes the order within this time window via a defined scheduling strategy and reports deviations early. Feedbacks are sent to SAP^® PP (order feedback) and to SAP^® CO (overhead feedback).

MES in all areas of the company

cronetwork MES supports everyday production at Haver & Boecker in many ways – including in combination with SAP^® – as Bauer explains: “The responsible foremen have all required data at hand. All production data are collected in a single system. The production planner receives early warnings concerning schedule deviations. Furthermore, rush orders, sequence changes and other adaptations can be handled flexibly. Nowadays, already at the first of a month, all deviations, both in plant data and in personnel time & attendance, are up to date. Processing of error protocols at the end of a month has been drastically reduced.”

In general, the cronetwork modules T&A, PDC and Scheduling Board are used in all areas of production. “Machine data are collected only in the area of machining, although we do not yet evaluate these data in detail. In total, more than 300 employees and apprentices in production use cronetwork. We see the transparency in PDC and T&A as well as in Scheduling Board as unbeatable features. Significantly less material is work in progress and the orders remain in flow,” reports Bauer. In addition, personnel leave scheduling is simple along with the monthly preparation of payroll-ready data with transfer via interface to salary software by Infoniqa. “Here we need no duplicate storage, for we simply complement cronetwork-specific data.” For data visualization, the Info Control Panel provides authorized employees with graphically displayed scheduling results. Work center monitors always ensure a current view of production.

Looking to the future

In summary, we can say that the Machinery Division of Haver & Boecker has a comprehensive MES for all company employees. The interfaces between SAP^® and MES work with no problems. “We have high transparency in our production and can act instead of needing to react,” Bauer summarizes. “Until now we have been able to meet all requirements thanks to the high flexibility of the MES solution cronetwork.”
Regarding the use of cronetwork and the cooperation with Industrie Informatik, Haver & Boecker has benefitted particularly from the SAP^®-certified interface and the broad experience from various production domains with different solution approaches.

“The cooperation is just plain good – from the start it has been a partnership on an equal basis.” Still, Haver & Boecker wants to work with Industrie Informatik to reap more benefits from its production, as Bauer states: “In 2017 we took initial steps to introduce the operative BI tool PIDO (Production Info Data Objects) to enable better index values and even more transparency in the individual production areas.”

photos: © Haver & Boecker OHG