Producing in takt, that's what we do at AP&S. To achieve this, we have newly introduced a comprehensive planning tool at the beginning of 2022. Producing in takt is a method for production planning and control, which includes the processes of order generation, order release and capacity control. The aim is to create a constant production flow and optimize on-schedule delivery.
Since the order situation and our company have grown considerably in recent years, the internal processes also had to be adapted to the new challenges. Maximum transparency and meeting deadlines across the entire value chain is what we have set ourselves as our goal. The prerequisite for this is digital project recording, tracking and capacity planning that is comprehensive for all projects and departments. Matthias Hillmann, Team Leader Organizational Development explains, "With the new capacity and project planning software, we create a takt- and flow-oriented process with reliable deadlines and respond early to challenges from construction to commissioning at the customer's site."
With the introduction of the new system, we now have a 360-degree view of project progress and production in real time. In combination with the integrated, digital shopfloor-management, we can react to conflicts and disruptions in a targeted and timely manner. The cross-departmental, digital mapping of all processes gives us the necessary data basis to analyze, evaluate and optimize processes.
"Despite special machine construction, we have succeeded in producing in sync. Through our lean management, we have already achieved a halving of the takt time as well as an increase in the quality of our products. We can plan takt time windows far in advance and thus, avoid procurement difficulties in the best possible way," says Project and Product manager for the cleaners at AP&S Andreas Hertz-Eichenrode.
