"Design to X" (DtX) in the machinery and plant construction sector
The industry faces conflicting challenges in the design of its machines and systems: precise values from target costing must be reconciled with the high demands on quality and functionality. Customer-specific requirements drive variant diversity and make it difficult to reduce costs through standardization. With the consistent application of various design specifications ("Design to X"), these and other contradictory objectives can be resolved, for example with regard to costs, sustainability, and product longevity.
"Design to X" supports manufacturing companies
in finding the balance between different objectives.
ROI-EFESO guides companies from the machinery and plant construction sector safely and purposefully through all facets of product design. For example, a "Design to Cost" initiative reveals unexpected levers in material and production costs, while at the same time making the product significantly more sustainable ("Design for Sustainability").
Results
Initiatives with a focus on "Design to X" achieve the following results for companies in the sector (selection):
- 15% - 30% Savings in the manufacturing process
- 20% - 35% Reduction of the investment costs
- 7% - 35% Savings at direct materials
Success factors for "Design to X" in machinery and plant construction
When working with ROI-EFESO, companies focus on the following fields of action:
- Target definition and prioritization: definition of specific and measurable targets for "X"; harmonization of contradictory targets through prioritization and target conflict management.
- Profitability toolbox: application of precise methods and tools to improve the product in the preferred dimensions such as production and assembly, sustainability, total costs. Usage of tools such as Product Benchmarking, Design Thinking, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Cost Engineering as well as technologies (e.g. digital twins, simulations, and AI) to forecast and control target achievement.
- Modularization and standardization: development of a modular system for products in order to reduce the number of variants and exploit economies of scale (example: uniform drive, control and frame units for different machine models); consideration of the reusability of components for different functionalities.
- Integration: early integration of production, purchasing, quality and supply chain management into the design process in order to resolve conflicting objectives at an early stage.
Further services for companies in the machinery and plant construction industry
CLIENTS
CASE STUDIES - PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
OPEX: Worldwide Operational Excellence Initiative
The ROI-EFESO OPEX model: activate the forces of excellence. You learn from mistakes. It is important that continuous improvement is the result. In industry, this is targeted as "Operational Excellence", or OPEX for short. Instead of resorting to off-the-shelf solutions, companies should develop their own strategies here - like the group from the steel industry, which successfully used the OPEX model from ROI-EFESO in its plants.
Cost reduction/restructuring due to market changes
A plant and mechanical engineering company had to ensure its competitiveness. ROI-EFESO identified all the adjustment screws for the necessary changes at a production site in Germany and got the turnaround going with a multi-layered restructuring approach.
Reduction of complexity through standardization
In China, the "made in Germany" label stands for innovative strength, quality and a high level of development competence on the part of the manufacturers. A textile machine manufacturer wanted to reduce the variance and complexity within the Product portfolio. The main goals: reducing costs and strengthening the position in the Chinese market. With the China expertise of ROI-EFESO, a solid, regional supplier network was created in a short time.
Digital Process Twin: Process optimization through Predictive Quality and Predictive Production
An automotive supplier improved the transparency of work and organizational processes in a production plant for dashboards. With a "Digital Process Twin" from ROI-EFESO, the company reduced the reject rate and made improvement potentials in its value creation networks visible.
Lean Digital Manager
Shaping the factory of the future with Lean 4.0. How can lean principles be combined with the technologies and possibilities of networked digitization in value creation networks? By further qualifying employees to become decision-makers. The ROI-EFESO certification program for "Lean Digital Manager" shows how digitalization of lean production works. To do this, it combines strategies with Industry 4.0 technologies.
Operations Footprint: Redesign of the worldwide manufacturing network
Reorganization of the manufacturing landscape: A manufacturer of industrial pumps is pursuing the goal of achieving a new sales growth record within three years. With ROI-EFESO, the mechanical engineering company therefore put the manufacturing footprint of eight locations and subsidiaries in its international production network to the test. Among other things, it analyzed the product groups and segmented the manufacturing landscape.
Energy boost for the SAP S/4HANA transformation
A mechanical engineering company wants to activate the digital innovation potential at its global locations by switching from SAP R/3 to SAP S/4HANA. Together with ROI-EFESO, it revitalized an ERP / MES transformation that had previously been started with another service provider and threatened to lead to a costly dead end.