“Ready” is a global project creating the IT-based foundation for digitalization at Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST). The company’s facilities are being positioned to tackle digitalization projects.
Consider the latest digital technologies – data glasses (HoloLens), mobile wireless scanners, autonomous transport vehicles or a manufacturing execution system (MES). What good are they if manufacturing lacks fast WLAN, the required network structure and adequate network connections on site? The aptly named “Ready to Connect” project is the first of four components of the new global initiative to help the company reach its digitalization goals. “The basic infrastructure has to be right if we want to network machines digitally and use modern technologies,” Project Manager Christian Hense said. In short, the IT infrastructure is the door-opener, trail-blazer and enabler for digitalization.
The program was launched in February, and FST’s IT organization (CPIM) has taken the reins. “We’ve fielded more and more requests for the expansion of the WLAN, an increase in bandwidth, and the use of tools in production. Many locations wanted to carry out their digitalization plans as one-offs, but hardly anyone has the time. The requests kept piling up. We hardly made any headway and lagged behind. Despite the incredible effort, we could rarely see the requirements as a whole. In the end, neither the facilities nor the IT staff were happy. We’ve changed that. We are coming up with our own solutions and defining an up-to-date target infrastructure. We are proceeding in a structured way,” Hense said.
Ready
During the “Ready” project, FST is working in month-long sprints and using the methods of agile project management. “After our launch in February, we laid the groundwork. We are already planning the first pilot projects in the individual project areas, including “Ready to Connect’ (with Brian Staples as manager); ‘Ready to Innovate’ (Dominik Bihn) and ‘Ready to Operate’ (Jeff Davey). We will certainly be busy executing our vision for three more years,” said Christian Hense, who launched the overall project. He led it jointly with Jannik Ritter before being named IT manager at the new Business Group Freudenberg e-Power Systems.
Fit For Digitalization
The “Ready” project is the driver. The basic question is: How do we get each FST facility in shape for digitalization? One answer: FST sets global IT standards to meet the needs of the future. “We no longer want standalone solutions. We want to create the preconditions for digitalization across the board and do it systematically,” Hense said. This requires a significant investment, which the Board of Management approved in January.
But the program doesn’t just involve networked factories. Digitalization generates data and a demand for IT solutions so people can learn from the information, simplify processes and generate knowledge. The preconditions are created in the subproject “Ready to Innovate.” Employees at FST sites can maintain a “toolbox” as so-called “citizen developers.” They ideally would be tech-savvy users – not professional programmers – who can personally create small applications tailored to their facility.
The crucial aspect: All facilities are given a uniform software development landscape, the Microsoft Power Platform. They can move freely within it, individually using solutions specific to certain areas. They receive licenses, disk space, expert support and training from CPIM on the applications. “Employees can discuss their ideas with us and then get help from consulting services. They can book an appointment for consulting online on our website. It works exactly like an online reservation at a restaurant or hairdresser. We keep staff in reserve for these services,” Hense said. If the expertise is not available locally or the solutions are too complex, teams of professional developers are brought in.
It has to run as stably as a machine
A third building block of the “Ready” project involves the use of IT technologies in factories. “We had hardly anything to do with IT in production previously. To oversimplify just a bit, a manufacturer delivers a machine that is controlled by a small computer. The machine manufacturer took care of the standalone solutions,” Hense said. IT plays an entirely different role in the era of the connected factory. Machines communicate with one another and data is continuously generated, analyzed and reported back to the operator in the form of recommended actions or warnings. The information technology must be just as stable as the production equipment.
IT specialists have to understand the new mechanisms and interrelationships within factories. “Production cannot be a black box for us. We need transparency,” Hense said. That means CPIM itself has to be “Ready to Operate,” which is the name of the third subproject. It has to find ways of ensuring the functionality of critical systems. CPIM also has to provide emergency aid in case equipment and sensors malfunction. Since they operate and control processes around the clock, the assistance even has to be available at 2 a.m.
External factors can also cause breakdowns. That’s why the issue of IT security (cyber defense) is an important element of the project and its fourth component.
In short: The “Ready” project is all about laying the groundwork for digitalization at FST. It requires a high-performance IT landscape where local units and central functions jointly develop common solutions – and operate them securely. The goal is to promote innovation and remain competitive.
