Jointly as a project partner with BIBA, Quast is developing a new type of  software-based production optimization tool

At the Bremen Institute for Production and Logistics at the University of Bremen (BIBA), we are developing a new type of software-based production optimisation tool in cooperation with our supplier, FMM Finkenwerder Metall- und Maschinenbau (Metal and Engineering). JobNet 4.0, as it is known, is directed towards the needs of modern and future-oriented production planning and control (PPC). Two years are planned for the development of the "Decision-making tool for adaptive design of PPS methods for subcontracting in dynamic order networks of the aviation industry", or  "JobNet 4.0" for short. The partner project is being sustained and supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the "KMU-Innovativ” programme. This initiative should make it easier for small businesses to share in “cutting-edge research in important future areas" such as Industry 4.0.?

React quickly and flexibly to changed order situations with JobNet 4.0

JobNet 4.0, with the help of correct working methods, should contribute to the flexible and dynamic optimisation of production processes. The declared principal objective is to be able to react immediately, thanks to JobNet 4.0, to constantly changing order positions, new product variations and the rising deadline and cost pressures, which particularly burden small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). “We are gearing up for Industry 4.0," stresses 4.0 Dorit Kleinerüschkamp, a member of the Quast Executive Board. We know from our daily work that flexibility plays a major role, especially in the aviation industry, in which production contracts are constantly being awarded. Orders are given from the aircraft manufacturers to their suppliers as well as from the suppliers to subcontractors. Incoming orders for those companies competing, vary greatly in terms of order volume and in terms of the product variations to be produced. This means that both suppliers and contractors are dependent on a dynamic project control tool, with which their own production can be scheduled in an optimal fashion. So flexible that the performance capability (throughput time, reliability of delivery and utilisation) is constantly high and the cost of production remains as low as possible. ?

“Organisational responsibility is shifted to the detriment of suppliers." 

Here at Quast, we currently employ around 60 employees, who cater primarily for renowned customers from the aviation industry, such as Airbus. In doing this, we make use ourselves of the services of various suppliers and sub-contractors and feel clearly how “organisational responsibility is shifted to the detriment of suppliers”. For this reason, in the last four years we ourselves have significantly increased the proportion of employees in management, organisation and planning compared to that in production.?

Industry 4.0 - Quast opts for future-oriented production planning

“If we want to remain successful in the market, we need to avail ourselves of more sustainable production planning and control systems", says Dorit Kleinerüschkamp. With JobNet 4.0, production planners in the future will be able to flexibly select suitable PPS methods for respective dynamic order situations. In a simulation study and on the basis of a request catalogue, the project partners evaluate various PPS methods on the basis of existing order scenarios. Logistical metrics such as throughput time, reliability of delivery and utilisation serve as evaluation criteria. “The findings of the simulation study then flow into the development of software-supported decision-making tools. This will enable the situation-specific selection of PPS methods", explains JobNet-project manager at BIBA, Marius Veigt Dipl.-Wi.-Ing. It will be possible to integrate the tool, which is to be designed to be compatible with existing software systems - this is the goal of the research - into the production planning and control processes, and efficient adaptation and transferability to other sectors will be ensured. The tool being developed in the project, is being designed with the focus on the aviation industry, but it should also be possible to employ it in a modified form in other sectors of industry. It is the opinion of all the project partners, that this a fact from which perspective suppliers and sub-contractors in mechanical and plant engineering as well as in the automotive industry might benefit.