Yanfeng works to seize the potential of 4.0

Much has been written about the fourth industrial revolution and the need of industry and manufacturing to participate in the digital transformation or be left behind. However, the reality would seem to be that many companies, at least those in the European plastics processing industry, are taking it slowly.

Not many processors are comfortable talking about the subject. While the manufacturers of plastics processing machinery, systems and auxiliaries of all kinds continue to develop and expand on the Industry 4.0 technology available to the industry, many companies are still testing the waters. Some have developed an implementation strategy, and others are still wondering whether and where to start.

Nonetheless, there is an undercurrent of change that, while barely perceptible, has been making itself felt in the way European processors approach the purchase of new machinery and the type of automation that is being considered. All the injection molding machine manufacturers are reporting a heightened interest in increasingly sophisticated machines and turnkey, automated production cells. Robot sales have soared.

As Thorsten Kühlmann, secretary general of Euromap and managing director of the VDMA's plastics machinery group, described it: "It's like making popcorn. You know something's going on under the lid, but it takes a while — and then all of a sudden, everything starts popping at once."

And yes, there are always some leftovers that take longer to pop and even some that never do, whatever the amount of encouragement they get.

Experts tend to agree that a good place to start is with a manufacturing execution system, or MES, which can operate as a plant-level integration backbone. Wolfgang Frohner, co-founder and CEO of TIG, an Austrian company specializing in the development of customized MES solutions for the plastics industry, noted that despite the demonstrable benefits of a MES system, only an estimated 25 percent of processors used one. "There is still a lot of ground to win," he said. The biggest benefit of a MES system is the transparency provided by hard data: an IDC white paper sponsored by Seagate, for example, forecasts that by 2025, the global datasphere will reach 163 zettabytes — 163 with 21 zeros — and 10 times the 16.1ZB of data generated in 2016. "Data is like electricity," he quoted. "Without it there is no light."

A company that, over the past two years, has gained experience with the impact of transitioning to an Industry 4.0 environment is auto interior specialist Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. Yanfeng (YFAI) was created three years ago as a truly global joint venture between Yanfeng, one of the largest automotive suppliers in China, and Adient, a leading player in automotive seating (formerly a part of Johnson Controls Inc.). Yanfeng holds a 70 percent majority share in the joint venture, and Adient has a 30 percent share.

Historically, the company followed a decentralized approach to the implementation of digitalization technologies, with each department more or less going its separate, best-in-class way, said Michael Schachler, executive director of operations and global lead Industry 4.0 transformation at YFAI.

"As a result, point solutions evolved, creating disconnected data," he said.

Working with a Chinese company was an eye-opener.

"They have an extremely high level of automation, integration and collaboration and are therefore highly efficient," Schachler said. "Their labor productivity is higher than in Europe, and they work with very highly skilled and motivated people."

At Yanfeng, the insight grew that a more globally organized approach was needed. In addition, there were customers who also indicated that they were interested in a more integrated relationship along the supply chain.

The decision was made to establish a single, central function with organizational powers for the implementation of a 4.0 environment, and to start with production and from there, to expand vertically and horizontally following a defined roadmap. Centralization was necessary, Schachler said.

"We needed to put the topic very high on the agenda, above the functional silos to overcome friction and disputes about cost allocation, among other things," he said.

The decision to start with production was mainly driven by the Chinese partner: "China is already grappling with a dramatic shortage of skilled laborers. They are very consistent in implementing the highest standard of MES and shop floor automation," he said.

The company called in the Boston Consulting Group for support, which, like all the big consultancies, had developed a framework that could be used as a starting point to assess the Industry 4.0 maturity level of a company.

"They also identify the key challenges to a company's operation and provide exhaustive examples, 'use cases,' for implementing advanced automation technology," Schachler said. "It was extremely helpful, as it gave us a complete, working picture of what it could look like holistically and helped in prioritizing the 4.0 areas to be focused on going forward."

A key part of this is aligning the business priorities with corporate strategy, one step at a time.

At YFAI, MES solutions serve as the backbone. The company completed a data-based prioritization of MES functionalities, including scheduling, maintenance, labor management, logistics and process management. "We determined our priorities and the modules that we needed to achieve this," Schachler explained.

"However, it is a long journey, and the technology may change while we are still traveling. It is important to build upon a flexible architecture."

Not only is it a long journey, but also it is a very high entry barrier to getting started, Schachler noted.

"A meaningful part of the business needs to be connected and integrated to realize the benefits, organizationally and financially. Nobody starts greenfield — everybody has systems of some kind. We have more than 100 systems in operation that cover MES-type functionality. It's the connectivity that's the problem. Everyone is already digital. What happens is that we take out old systems and replace these with new ones that are connected, connecting feedback loops for faster execution and better decisions. This is a virtual revolution, not a digital ​ revolution," he said.

In that light, process integration is more important than point functionality and requires cross-functional executive leadership.

"MES is not an IT system, but a way to operate using one or many ... connected and integrated IT systems along the process chains," he clarified.

The plastics industry is traditionally also risk averse and conservative, as well as having to deal with stringent compliance issues in sectors such as the medical or automotive industry. Regulations and customers can operate as inhibiting factors to implementing new technologies. "Once the customer has signed off, any process change would require revalidation and corresponding cost. So not much can be done once a production program is launched," said Schachler. "We can't change anything."

Essentially, what this means is that the implementation of 4.0 technologies occurs either in greenfield projects or when installing new lines, instances where the company can start from scratch.

"It is difficult to completely overhaul brownfield sites to be integrated at all levels," Schachler emphasized. "Especially areas such as the physical world of logistics. It is very hard to implement AGVs (automated guided vehicles) once the equipment is literally cast in concrete on the shop floor. In the end, we still need people on the shop floor."

At Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, one thing the company did was to get the different plants and divisions involved by having them experiment with cobots.

"They were encouraged to 'play' with the technology of collaborative robots [cobots], learn to use them, and to look for those employees who could and who wanted to set them up in a low-pressure initiative; we will need those tech wizards," Schachler said. The company also established four lighthouse plants, which serve as pioneers: two in China, one in Luneburg, Germany, and one in Belvidere, Ill.

"The latter is wall-to-wall MES, a highly automated plant, where very contextual instructions are provided in time for every production step, so that everyone can work with it."

At Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, the production lines are replaced roughly every seven years as the customer's car programs are changed. Eventually all the old lines will be replaced based on the experience gained from the lighthouse plants. Once the lines are integrated, the hall will follow and then the plant.

"We don't have the capacity to replace everything at once," Schachler said.

As the lighthouse plants function more or less as applied automation laboratories, other rules apply, as well.

"They can take slightly longer to prove themselves, and the new technologies are given a little bit more time than the regular investments before they have to turn a profit," he said.

Asked about the actual implementation, Schachler admitted that the homework was more than anticipated.

"While it's about shortening feedback loops and optimizing rounding errors of cycles, and moving towards a leaner operation and less working capital, increasing agility, flexibility and accuracy, the system has to work as if cast in stone. Instead of the unclear communication between people, that same fuzziness needs to be sharpened and codified in software, taking away some of the flexibility. The exceptions are the problem — how can the system cope with those, how to incorporate these into a running system?" he said.

The benefits are definitely tangible, he said, with the big difference being that the first generation of automation was in silos.

"Now everything is being integrated. The next step will be artificial intelligence," Schachler said.

The costs were slightly higher than originally anticipated, and "the learning is still there; we are still facing challenges," Schachler said.

The workforce has responded positively to the changes, seeing the investments as a validation of their value to the company. And the people who work on the lines?

"The lack of qualified workers, absenteeism, the costs of poor quality are huge problems that we want to address with a higher level of automation," Schachler said. "We are not destroying employment. It is challenging to find people to do simple physical work eight hours a day without fault."

The labor shortage is an issue at all levels, he added. "There's a war on for talent," he said. "Any way we can make this issue more manageable, we will."