The basis of productivity, effectiveness and quality lies in understanding the production processes to their full extent. To come to that, proper data infrastructure needs to be put in place, so that ample process data can be extracted and analyzed. The key challenge in that is how to do it in the most efficient way, with minimal burden on production resources and with minimal disruption of the processes. With Danfoss’s strategy of constant innovation and improvement, the company recognized the need to optimize its production processes and raise product quality in order to increase company’s competitiveness. To achieve that, Danfoss decided to implement MePIS MES and MePIS OPEX software solutions to enable the company to establish oversight of its production processes, automatically monitor quality parameters and perform optimal micro planning. Danfoss wanted to achieve that in 2 plants in Slovenia and China, which would also allow the comparison of key performance indicators in both sites as well as the establishment and transfer of the best practices.

To enable Danfoss to efficiently gather and analyze process data, two MePIS solutions were implemented – MePIS MES and MePIS OPEX. Both solutions were fully integrated and act as one system from user experience standpoint. Moreover, they were integrated with other production IT systems (e.g. SAP, warehouse management, maintenance management) and act as the core gateway for automatic data exchange among the systems in real time. MePIS MES gives Danfoss a wide array of functionalities vital for the production processes - from work order, operator and crew micro planning, to internal (production) supply chain management, rework management, waste management and SPC with automatic data acquisition. MePIS MES also transmits the relevant parameters to other production IT systems in real-time. Based on the data generated by MES, various reports and analyses can be done. MePIS OPEX offers rich set of analytical functionalities aimed at improving productivity and efficiency of the production processes. It features downtime detection based on automatic measurements on the manufacturing machinery as well as calculation engine with an extensive set of production KPIs, which can be displayed in customized reports. MePIS OPEX connects line operators with other personnel and can act as means for information exchange about events on the shop floor (e.g. for maintenance, quality). Both solutions offer first-rate user experience with multiple customizable screens and multi-language support (English, Slovenian, Chinese, other).

Through automatic data acquisition from the manufacturing machinery, enriched with enabled manual inputs, MePIS MES and MePIS OPEX systems provide Danfoss a platform for comprehensive overview of the production processes. They provide the basis for detailed insights into the processes and development of improvement initiatives (e.g. shortening of cycle times). In addition to enhancement of internal (production) supply chain, maintenance and quality parameters, they enable quick and efficient identification of losses and downtimes as well as their elimination. At any moment, without any additional workload, operators may get an in-depth perspective into the efficiency of the production and can compare it with the site in China. MePIS solutions today enable Danfoss’s SAP in production process to be connected with bidirectional real time data exchange (via MePIS solutions). Based on the acquired key performance indicators, Danfoss can also implement improvement measures to achieve productivity increase and gain immediate savings. MePIS solutions were adjusted to optimally fit Danfoss’s internal processes and good practices.