Your regional qualified partners from Messer Cutting Systems

We have gained a lot of experience with our customers in the implementation of digitization projects. We would like to share these best practices with you and provide answers here to the most important questions about digitization and digitization solutions from Messer Cutting Systems.

     

    Digitization checklist

    Digitization and Industry 4.0 are the talk of the town everywhere. Many manufacturing companies are already well advanced or have implemented smaller digitization projects.

    With this checklist we would like to give you the opportunity to assess your degree of digitization and to get ideas for further steps.

    1. Please answer all eight questions using the given answer options. Write down the corresponding score for each answer, which you can find in the right-hand column.
    2. At the end of the eight questions you will find the evaluation of the score for each question as well as recommendations for action.
    3. Now add up all the points to get a total score.
    4. You will then find your overall result and a classification of your degree of digitization at the end of the document.

    We are happy if this checklist brings you a lot of knowledge on the subject of "digitization in production" and wish you a lot of fun! We hope that this will give you ideas on how to improve your competitiveness with digitization in your production. We are happy to be your contact to discuss your ideas and implement them together with you.

    Please download the cheklist as PDF document here.
     

    Why should I digitize?

    • With digitization in your company, you avoid duplication of work and thus sources of error through automation.  In particular the connection of different systems, such as your ERP or CMS systems, ensures that you avoid data breaks. This makes you faster and more confident in your decisions.
    • Numerous manual activities are eliminated and replaced by automation (e.g., selection of process data). This gives your employees more freedom and time for relevant activities and makes their task profiles more interesting. Interesting tasks bind your employees more strongly to your company. This becomes especially important in times of shortage of skilled workers.
    • Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important competitive factor. Providing digital information replaces printouts and thus wins important points in terms of environmental protection.
    • Some processes are well-worn, but often no longer up to date. With digitization, you rethink existing processes and workflows and discover potential for improvement. This has a positive effect on your resources and time allotments.
    • Digitization ensures transparency in your company, from the offer, through the order and its processing in production, to delivery. You are always able to monitor every step and can always tell your customers the status of their order. This readiness to provide information strengthens confidence in your professionalism. Your customers will credit you with this.
    • All employees involved have the same level of knowledge about current jobs and their priority. This involves them more and promotes motivation. Motivated employees are more productive and stay longer in your company.
    • All data is available to you at any time even on the move. Should you ever be on the road, you always have an overview of what is going on in your production. Day and night 24/365 and from any mobile device. All you need is Internet access and a standard web browser.
    • With digitization, you get real-time data from your production. With the right digitization solution, this data can become crucial for the future of your company. You will detect errors or weak points early on and be able to correct them quickly.
    • Automated processes significantly reduce manual interventions. This saves you time and money. Your customers will thank you for it.
    • Companies that go digital become more productive, save time and money through digitization and automation, and make fewer mistakes.
    • This allows them to take competitive advantages, for example, in terms of price or deadlines.
    • These companies are more flexible and more relevant to their customers. Order status, adherence to deadlines, early partial delivery, modification of an existing order are decisive competitive advantages, to name just a few examples.
    • With the introduction of an ERP, MRP or merchandise management system
    • When you want to replace an existing ERP, MRP or enterprise resource planning system
    • With new managers in the company
    • When existing processes no longer produce the desired results, and it is time to change existing workflows to become more productive
    • When you see an attractive offer on the websites, social media channels, at in-house exhibitions or trade fairs of digitization providers, such as Messer Cutting Systems, that open new perspectives and inspire you
    • You want to connect your production to your ERP, MRP or merchandise management system to avoid double entries and errors.
    • You consider digitization a sensible investment in the future and are planning the first steps towards digitization/automation and Industry 4.0.
    • You recognize the value of real-time data from production and want to leverage all available data from work preparation and production.
    • You want to become more productive and save time/costs.
    • Your goal is to remain competitive in highly competitive markets.
    • Your focus is on productivity to be able to accept and execute more orders.
    • Your customers are your priority, and you want to increase customer satisfaction.
    • It is important to you to create more transparency in your production.
    • Satisfied and informed employees play a role for you and all employees involved should receive all necessary information in real time.
    • You want to recognize weaknesses and errors at an early stage to eliminate them as quickly as possible.
    • Your machines should run fail-safe as often and as long as possible. To this end, you use the collected data for predictive maintenance and to prevent machine failures.
    • Cost transparency is important to you, also for accurate pricing. For this purpose, you need an accurate post-calculation of orders using collected information from production.
    • Does the supplier understand you and are your requirements clear to him?
    • Does the supplier listen to you, or does he only want to sell his solution?
    • What competence and experience can the supplier demonstrate?
    • Is the supplier able to integrate your existing systems?
    • How many solutions has the supplier already successfully established in the market? Which ones?
    • Do the solutions cover your requirements?
    • Are the solutions scalable to your needs? Do they grow with you?
    • Are the solutions being developed further and are they updateable?
    • How accessible is support for the solutions? Is there support in your area?
    • Can you contribute your ideas and perceptions to the further development of the solution?
    • Has the supplier been on the market for a long time and is it big enough to survive crises?
    • You always need partners for digitization projects, as they are very complex and usually involve several systems.
    • You need ERP or MRP system contacts from your suppliers to coordinate interfaces, their characteristics, and workflows.
    • Internal IT contacts are necessary for checking the system requirements for the solutions, for approvals, for defining and setting up authorizations, and for defining protocols and ports during installation and commissioning.
    • Your internal users are important for testing process flows, ensuring data completeness, and testing usability and GUI.
    • Many companies believe that it is only worthwhile for large companies to digitize. In our experience, small and medium-sized companies with 30 to 250 employees are already successful in digitization.
    • Of course, digitization also fits for large companies with > 250 employees.
    • Even as a very small company you can digitize. Own or manual or semi-automatic solutions are just right for you.
    • Our customer projects have shown that inertia in rethinking - especially when workflows are redefined - can become serious challenges.
    • There may be traditionalists in your company who oppose digitization according to the motto "What's new is not good".
    • Some are also attached to what is. Because that's the way you've always done things, and that's a good thing.
    • It can happen that your employees do not feel involved or taken along in such an important project and therefore do not support it.
    • Project participants often don't understand or can't abstract the complexities involved.
    • The age and education of employees can also become challenges.
    • If employees are excluded from the outset or their concerns are not taken into account, this can also lead to problems.
    • Project participants do not have time for the project in addition to their daily work, or even later during commissioning and testing.
    • The project was planned with too little lead time.
    • There is a lack of someone internally to lead and drive the digitization project.
    • Existing systems are so outdated that they cannot be integrated into the digitization.
    • There is no budget.
    • Management is not fully behind the project.

    How does a digitization project proceed?

    • The first step after deciding on a digitization project is to take stock of your current solution or situation.
    • Define what your goals are with digitization. Many ideas can be found here at FAQs under "Why should I digitize?"
    • Create a list of requirements based on your defined goals. Here you can already include your partners / suppliers.
    • Clarify who the project participants are and what their availability is in your company, but also with your project partners.
    • Inform your employees.
    • Create a market overview and clarify which supplier can meet your defined goals with their solutions.
    • With this information, review possible suppliers and their solutions. Put remaining candidates on a "short list" with the goal of deciding on a solution.
    • Analyze which of your systems and machines are involved.
    • Consider which partners (ERP, MRP, IT, CAD providers, machine manufacturers) are involved.
    • Define workflows, processes, interfaces, and data.
    • Determine the type of documentation for the project.
    • Together with your employees, partners, and suppliers, create a project plan with milestones including the responsible persons and contact persons.
    • Start your project and document milestones.
    • Train your employees.
    • Think about a test installation and test processes and data until your goals are met.
    • Install your production system. Test procedures and data again.
    • When everything is up and running and in order, give the go-ahead.
    • Via direct contact with machine manufacturers such as Messer Cutting Systems.
    • With experienced CAD/CAM software companies
    • On the Internet - digitizing solutions as a search term
    • At trade fairs and exhibitions
    • Since digitization projects affect many processes, there are some departments and people that you should inform in good time and, in some cases, involve permanently in your project. These include:
    • Your management, who as decision-makers evaluate information and recalculate, and possibly approve the budget.
    • Your ERP and MRP managers, as they contribute to the decision-making process.
    • Your IT managers, especially if system requirements for the solutions need to be clarified.
    • Your sales department, as quotation generation, order entry and deadline tracking will change.
    • Your work preparation, which is involved in on-time nesting, NC generation, provision of operating resources such as digital plan layout or digital meshed drawings.
    • Your production, which executes cutting orders, records operating data, creates cut parts, produces rejects, reports back material used.
    • Your production management, which evaluates the information collected, plans predictive maintenance, remedies weaknesses, documents errors and trains those involved.
    • One of the most important milestones is certainly your decision for a solution and the supplier.
    • It is important to define the project owners on all sides and to name their responsibilities.
    • It is also best to define the type of documentation and the form of communication of the project team.
    • Think about the creation of a project manual with
      • the listing of responsible persons with contact details and already known absences
      • chapter on escalation management; appoint arbitrators if necessary
      • process diagrams
      • milestones, deadlines, and planning
      • definition of the test installation (date, test period, result, release)
      • the installation of the production system (tests, release, and acceptance documentation)
    • The execution of your project, possibly in partial steps
    • The test installation including tests and releases
    • The installation of your production system including testing and commissioning, release, and acceptance
    • Show mutual respect.
    • Communication should take place at eye level.
    • All arguments should be examined and evaluated neutrally.
    • Keep an eye on your project phases.
    • Control your efforts, times and costs and adjust them.
    • Successful acceptance is everyone's goal.
    • Plan for the time after the project with software lifecycle, updates, and support.
    • Digitization projects have widely varying requirements and characteristics. The duration of your project therefore depends on many factors such as
      • the complexity of your solutions
      • the number of modules and software packages involved (ERP, MRP, 3D-CAD, CAD/CAM software, IT)
      • the availability of the project participants
      • the will to implement the project
      • the competence of the partners involved in the project the budget
         
    • Depending on the will of the customer and the competence of the partners (ER, MRP, IT) a project can be completed within 6 - 12 weeks. However, there are also examples of projects lasting more than 52 weeks. Larger projects are often divided into sub-projects.

    What are results I can achieve?

    • You avoid double entries and thus incorrect entries.
    • You create transparency.
    • You make all information available to stakeholders in real time.
    • You identify and eliminate weak points and errors at an early stage.
    • You increase your productivity.
    • You increase the utilization of your machines.
    • You work faster, more effectively and save costs.
    • You bind your employees to the company through more interesting tasks.
    • Networking of the various systems
    • Common readable interfaces that are monitored
    • Documents that are available digitally
    • Production data collection
    • Machine data collection
    • Web applications
    • Use of mobile devices
    • Latest development technologies and methods
    • Solutions from a single source as far as possible
    • Scalability of solutions
    • Updateability of the solutions
    • This depends on the complexity and number of solutions/modules you use.
    • Process analyses reveal and avoid weak points. Optimized processes ensure faster throughput and save valuable production time.
    • Transparent machine planning improves the use of machines so that downtime costs are reduced.
    • If, for example, you spend 2 hours per day double-entering orders, the daily costs for these 2 hours are eliminated. Incorrect entries are also avoided.
    • By providing information in digital form, printouts are no longer necessary. You reduce printing costs, use less paper, and thus contribute to sustainability or save resources.
    • By comparing pre- and post-calculation, you provide real prices in your offer. Orders do not slip into the red so quickly.
    • Through predictive maintenance, you avoid machine breakdowns and thus high costs.
    • Many manual activities are eliminated.
    • With quotation and order entry in only one place, you avoid monotonous multiple entries.
    • The processes are clearly defined and known to all.
    • Errors are largely avoided.
    • All information is always available to everyone, even in real time. There is no need for constant phone calls and inquiries.

    Our modular software portfolio integrates your cutting machines into your business and production processes in the best possible way and supports the key functions throughout the workflow. You can find out how this works from our reference reports:

    • Do the solutions cover your requirements?
    • Does the solution provider speak the same language as you do?
    • What competence does the supplier have and what market penetration do his solutions have?
    • How big is the supplier? (Not a 1 - 2-man operation)
    • Do I get everything from a single source if possible?
    • Are the solutions developed by the supplier or is the supplier only a consultant?
    • What is the update capability of the solution?
    • How are functions and solutions developed further?
    • What scalability does the solution have?

    Digitization solutions from Messer Cutting Systems

    • You contact us.
    • You make an appointment with us and receive an (online) presentation of the OmniWin and OmniFab software.
    • Together with us you determine your needs and clarify with us which problems should be solved.
    • You will receive an individual offer.
    • The next step is a kick-off meeting with all project participants (project manager, ERP system provider, IT manager).
    • You will receive detailed advice on the integration options with your ERP system provider.
    • We define process flows and forms of data exchange.
    • We discuss the system requirements for the (test) installation.
    • Integration tests between the systems take place on a (test) system.
    • After successful tests follows the going-live.
    • Modular means that the functionality is divided into different product parts, "modules", and you can choose the functionality that fits your business.
    • You buy only the modules you need. So, you don't have to buy functions you don't need.
    • Yes, this is possible. You can start with one module and purchase and use the other modules later.
    • When you purchase OmniFab, you also sign an update and support contract for both products. This ensures that you can update to the latest OmniWin version and thus always use the latest version of OmniWin and OmniFab.
    • MesserSoft GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of Messer Cutting Systems GmbH. The solutions developed by MesserSoft are distributed worldwide exclusively by Messer Cutting Systems companies. Therefore, please directly contact the national company responsible for you:
    • To learn more, please contact your local support.
    • To purchase the solutions, please contact your local Messer Cutting Systems sales.

    We want to ensure that you are connected directly to the right contact partner to solve your problem. So please contact your local hotline. There you can reach qualified product specialists of your region in person.

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