Digital assembly processes for greater efficiency and product safety

Paper, pen, and then what? The story of a digital new beginning

Somewhere in Germany, where the clocks sometimes tick a little slower, production has long been based on a tried-and-tested principle: paper, pen, and a good memory. Measurements were documented by hand, and Excel spreadsheets were the best we could hope for. Every step of the assembly process—from planning to shipping—was a little adventure between media breaks and stacks of paper.

But requirements are changing. Measurements must be recorded accurately, information must be available quickly—and all without a mouse or scrolling, right at the workplace. Employees need a solution that not only works technically, but is also intuitive. An interface that adapts to them—not the other way around.

Find out how SPIRIT/21 has accompanied this change and which solution is now successfully in use in this project example.

Challenge

The project aims not only to map existing assembly processes, but also to allow future product developments to be taken into account in a flexible manner. A key requirement is the seamless integration of the solution into the existing system landscape and reliable support for different assembly variants. Due to the widely varying requirements for each assembly step, a high degree of customization was necessary.

Since not every assembly step is carried out at a traditional workstation, the user interface must be designed so that it can be operated without a keyboard and without scrolling. Therefore, particular emphasis is placed on a user-friendly, intuitive interface that can be used equally by all employees and offers a high level of usability—regardless of the end device used or the respective work situation.

SPIRIT/21 solution

SPIRIT/21 is developing a generic data model for mapping assembly processes and has provided a web-based application for this purpose. This is seamlessly integrated into the existing system architecture via standardized interfaces.

The UI/UX design is specifically tailored to user requirements and enables intuitive, efficient operation directly at the workplace. The solution is designed to be future-proof so that it can map other processes in addition to the initial pilot process. Two main assembly processes have already been successfully digitized.

Advantages for the customer

• Accelerated and standardized assembly processes
• Reduction of sources of error in documentation
• Compliance with legal requirements for product safety
• Flexible adaptation to future product variants
• Seamless system integration without additional work for assembly personnel