|
|
"Improved efficiency, quality and safety--Digital's BASEstar is a total Manufacturing Execution System solution." |
ITT Defense and Electronics, Incorporated of McLean, Virginia is a producer of electronic and mechanical systems for the civilian and defense marketplaces. The ITT Antilock Brake System Division, a subdivision of the ITT Automotive Division, located in Morganton, North Carolina, provides anti-lock brake systems (ABS) to American automobile manufacturers.
When you are manufacturing 1.4 million anti-lock brake systems (ABS) annually for the North American automobile market, you have a responsibility to produce a flawless product. And because you are in the business for profit, you have to do it efficiently. Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) software can help accomplish both goals, but it has to be the right MES system. For ITT Automotive, Digital Equipment Corporation's BASEstar MES, met that challenge.
ITT's Anti-Lock Brake System Division utilizes automated cell production lines running three shifts, five and one half to six days a week. Each cell consists of several work stations that include Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), electrical, mechanical, and pneumatic controls, and feeder bowls. Automated assembly and testing is performed at the stations, which are controlled by a central Digital VAX cell computer running the BASEstar software.
Because production runs tend to be short, production lines are frequently reconfigured. Additionally, ABS systems are continually undergoing design, material, and product changes. These rigorous manufacturing demands call for a system that is both highly flexible and easy to change.
In 1992 Bill Walker, manager of computer integrated manufacturing operations at Morganton, began looking for a MES system that could meet his primary need of maximum flexibility. Because of the massive amounts of data that must be stored for 10 years to meet its customers' safety requirements, the system needs a relational database for data storage.
The existing Morganton ABS plant systems downloaded parameters and uploaded station data, but the system had neither the desired capabilities nor necessary flexibility. Also, the system's proprietary software was costly and difficult to change; and its file-based orientation of production data made it difficult to generate statistical process analyses and capability studies. Walker soon found that BASEstar could perform all those functions.
With the BASEstar solution, each time a new production run is started, the cell computer downloads the appropriate set of device parameters, guaranteeing that the line is always using the latest values. When problems arise, selected parameters can be altered in real-time to facilitate fault location and isolation.
Additionally, BASEstar reduces code development time by as much as fifty-five to sixty percent and provides real-time viewing of important production line information by line supervisors and managers who continuously monitor line operation and status from their PCs.
"We have seen a sizable percentage production increase with the BASEstar system because our production equipment can now operate at its full design potential," said Walker. "Mainly as a result of improved communications provided by the system."
ITT Automotive also has seen improvement in its ability to generate high visibility process analyses, guaranteeing that no defective units are ever shipped. (That is good news for those of us driving on highways.) A related benefit is that reject rates are now more visible, resulting in production problems being resolved more quickly. ITT's goal is to cut their downtime by fifty percent.
Today, the Morganton plant plans to have fifteen lines operational using the BASEstar system. Because of the success of this plant, ITT Automotive considers BASEstar the world-wide solution for its cell computing needs. ITT Automotive also sees a variety of future potential uses for BASEstar, including monitoring and controlling the manufacturing environment.
"Improved efficiency, quality and safety -- Digital's BASEstar is a total Manufacturing Execution System solution," said Walker.
Winning with Digital - March 1996
Spokesperson:
Bill Walker
Computer Integrated Manufacturing Operations Manager
ITT Automotive Division
Morganton, NC
Updated: Thursday, September 12, 1996