GD.findi MS – GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation

Shinano Camera Corporation

LEXER Marketing — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 05:55:23 +0000

Case: Shinano Camera Corporation

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GD.findi MS

Virtualizing production lines to shorten manufacturing lead times.
Optimize work-in-process inventory by implementing complex factors such as changeover and human resources.

Shinano Camera Co. is a company based in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, that is entrusted with high-density board mounting and electronic device assembly. The company has been in business for 45 years, and its 120 employees produce products for various electronics manufacturers daily. The area we tested this time was the assembly process of electronic devices by workers, including soldering, assembly, inspection, and packaging.

Introduction of GD.findi to its production line

The company’s production line had a large amount of in process inventory before and after each assembly process.

The Production Engineering Department assumed that reducing the work-in-process inventory between these processes would shorten the lead time, improve the cash flow, and increase the ability to receive extra orders.

In addition, the benefits of reducing work-in-process inventory were clear from the perspective of identifying problems in the production process and monitoring progress.

However, in order to change a production method that had been in place for a long time, it was necessary to overturn the preconceived notions of the production department, and theoretical data was needed to gain the agreement of all stakeholders.

In addition, even if we were to try out improvement measures on the actual production line, it would be unavoidable that changeover works and worker shortages would occur at the trial stage when the appropriate method has not yet been established, so it was considered risky to verify the improvement plan using the factory site.

Therefore, by using GD.findi, which allows virtual inspection, we assumed several patterns of improvement proposals that could be expected to be more effective, and tried to verify how much lead-time reduction could be expected by reducing in-process inventory and what level of in-process inventory would be appropriate in the simulation.

Benefits of implementing GD.findi

Specifically, first, conditions such as changeover, worker working hours, and work capacity were converted into parameters and entered (modeled) using the GD.findi GUI. Next, the number of work-in-process inventory in the target process was varied from 100 to 1, and simulations were conducted each time to establish guidelines on how varying the work-in-process inventory would affect the lead time and equipment utilization rate. We were then able to use the results to discuss logical and quantitative process improvements with the shop floor. In addition, the modeling and simulation took only about 10 days, so we found that it could be practically used for kaizen activities on the shop floor.

Customer Voice

“When we were introduced to GD.findi, we immediately understood that it would be effective in solving our problems. However, since we had never used a simulator before, we were concerned about the actual operation, such as data input and interpretation of the results.This was the first time I tried using a simulation, and I thought it was a software that could be used on the production floor, since it could be simulated simply by entering parameters through the GUI. In addition, we were able to achieve results in a short period of time because of the support based on Lexer’s know-how. In addition to the improvement activities, the quantitative simulation results obtained from GD.findi were useful as evidence to explain the theoretical return on investment when applying for subsidies for equipment installation.In the future, we will continue to optimize the entire plant.” said Mr. Kamiyama, the Head of Production Engineer department.

The post Shinano Camera Corporation first appeared on GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation.

Phase One Japan Inc.

LEXER Marketing — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 05:39:50 +0000

Case: Phase One Japan Inc.

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Phase-One Japan forms a consensus through Simulation to Implement Business Revolution.

Phase One Japan is the Japanese subsidiary of Denmark-based camera system company, GD.findi was introduced as a simulation to reduce lead time in high-mix low-volume production. By promoting operational reforms with the agreement of the production site, the company shortened the manufacturing lead time from 28 days to 10 days and reduced the factory inventory by 30%. Using this know-how, the company is now expanding its business.

Use Simulation to provide convincing indicators.

The main product of Phase One, is high-end medium format camera systems for professional photographers. The company inherited the optical business of Mamiya Digital Imaging and has been manufacturing lenses and cameras at its production plant in Nagano. “Our strength is our high quality product. We also have the advantage of having a production base in Japan, which allows us to provide prompt service after-sales” said the Plant Manager Mr. Eiji Ibuka. The company also gained a positive reputation from professional photographers for its reliable high quality and quick response.

However, the company has faced some challenges. As a manufacturer with a long tradition, there were many craftsman-like technicians in the field, and it took up to four weeks to complete a product, and the company had a large inventory of work-in-progress and finished products. In order to increase the flexibility and productivity demanded by the head office, it was necessary to shorten the lead time and reduce the inventory.

“There were about 500 kinds of products made in small lots, and the number of pieces ranged from 1 to 3,000, therefore the production orders were extremely complicated. Every morning, the factory manager would write down the production plan for the day on the whiteboard, but due to changes in delivery dates and sudden orders, the plan was repeatedly rewritten, and by evening, it was so confusing that no one could understand what was written.” said President and Representative Director of the company.

It was in 2017, three years after the launch of Phase One Japan, the company made the decision to undertake a major operational reform. “We approached several companies that provide solutions for production innovation, we gathered information, and considered who to partner with,” recalls Mr. Ibuka. As a result, the company chose to partner with Lexer Research the provider of GD.findi, a production simulator.

“In order to involve the shop floor and promote both awareness and operational reform at the same time, we needed a consensus that everyone could understand. In this respect, GD.findi allowed us to visually see the effects of improvements and to quantify the optimal solution based on simulations and set it as a KPI. Also, I felt that the employees were familiar with the field and would take our problems as their own,” said Mr. Ibuka, explaining why he selected GD.findi.

Improvements and production optimization methods identified by simulation for procurement.

The implementation of GD.finid began in the spring of 2017. A “Production Innovation Team” was formed within the company to corporate with Lexer Research. “The Production Innovation Team consisted both business system staff and manufacturing process staff to reflect the thoughts on manufacturing side. We started with four members and increased the number to nine at the peak of the project,” said Mr. Ibuka. While receiving a lecture from Lexer on GD.findi’s functions and ideas for improvement, the actual work was done by the members of the production innovation team. After one year and three months, we repeatedly ran simulations on the layout of the production floor, the allocation of people and equipment, and the configuration of the supply chain.

Specifically, we input data such as layout, process, number of people, parts, etc. into GD.findi rendering (simulation), and then confirmed the next decision from the results to controlled the process. From there, it became clear what needed to be changed in the conventional way.

The first thing that came to light was the need to improve the supply chain. As a result of our test of what needed to be changed, we found that we needed to review the subcontractors that we had outsourced the lens manufacturing process. The only way we could get closer to our goal in the simulation was to re-test between internal and external production,” said Mr. Ibuka.

We also pursued a floor plan that would allow us to achieve our target lead time. This involved a major change in the production system in the factory. The factory had been producing all products in lots, but it was necessary to switch to single-unit production, where one worker is in charge of multiple operations and assembles many products into finished products.

At the same time as making major changes to the floor plant layout, we switched 10 out of 13 lens models that had been produced in lots to single-unit production. I think it was a bold change,” said Mr. Ibuka.

Use simulation to shorten manufacturing lead time and reduce inventory.

Based on the possibilities and feedback obtained from the simulation. The first thing was to set a goal of shortening the lead time of products from 28 days to 10 days and reducing the number of inventory items in the factory by 30%. Although this was a high goal. “We were confident that we could achieve it by managing indicators based on KPIs from the simulation. That’s how much confidence we had in GD.findi” said Mr. Ibuka. In addition, GD .findi was able to help out members to build consensus in the field. GD.findi is an system that is easy to use for the people in charge in the field. While it has its own logic behind it, the simulation can be done by using its own terminology. It is the kind of tool that can change the workplace by the people in charge themselves,” said Mr.Ibuka.

Since GD.findi is a tool that is familiar to the people on the shop floor, it proved to be very persuasive when we switched from in-house production and lot production to single-unit production. “We were able to persuade the shop floor in a logical manner because we knew the effects of using GD.findi for in-house production and production method improvement.

All of these business reforms were based on the results of GD.findi simulations. By implementing GD.findi solutions, the company was able to reduce the lead time from 28 days to 10 days and reduce the number of inventory items in the factory by 30%, just as the simulation showed.

GD.findi has also proved effective in other ways. “The front line is now able to think flexibly and not be afraid of change. We have found that there is a lot to gain by changing the conventional way of doing things, and the awareness of the people in charge of the field has changed as they have gained success in implementation.

Showed improvement to head office and be entrusted with digital camera back contract.

After GD.findi had achieved a great success in reforming the company’s operations to reach everyone’s expectation. The company was now ready for the second act of the project. The company’s head office had been working on the assembly of digital camera backs (electronic image sensor) for some time, and there was a proposal to transfer this work to Japan.

“If we work on the digital camera backs, we will be able to manufacture the entire digital camera system. We knew that there would eventually be a limit to what we could do with just the camera itself, and we felt strongly that we had to do it as the core plant of the Phase One Group” said Mr. Ibuka.

However, it was not enough to simply say “I want to do it. It was necessary to show head office that whether there would be any problems in purchasing parts, and whether the manufacturing process could be reliably controlled, and what advantages the transfer would bring. This is also where GD findi comes into the game.

The company made a presentation to the head office based on its experience of formulating an optimal production plan and clarifying the direction of the company from parts purchasing to manufacturing process through GD find. We were able to convince the head office by showing them the logic behind the improvements, and we were able to use our experience in simulating lens manufacturing,” said Mr.Ibuka.

After successfully obtaining the agreement from the head office, the transfer of digital camera backs production was completed in 2019, allowing Phase One Japan to add a new production category. GD.findi has become a powerful simulation engine to transform management and production.

The post Phase One Japan Inc. first appeared on GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation.

Panasonic Corporation

LEXER Marketing — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 05:08:54 +0000

Case: Panasonic Corporation

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Panasonic is introducing GD.findi as a cyber-physical system to their production line.

A major change is taking place at Panasonic manufacturing plant. By using a production simulator, the company is working on how to improve speed and quality innovatively. In the battery business, the company is using GD.findi, a production simulator, to propose automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for factory lines. The company formulated an implementation plan and proposed to each factory in one-tenth of the time it would have taken previously, and within a year of implementing the system, it was able to complete 10 cases at four factories.

GD.findi is a powerful tool that can specify various conditions dynamically in your factory.

The Manufacturing Innovation Division is the driving force behind Panasonic Smart Factory initiative, which was established in 1963 from the Production Technology Research Laboratory, and has contributed to business expansion through the development of unique production equipment and other production technologies. Currently, it is also working on the digitization of manufacturing sites. “We have just under 300 factories globally, but many of them are small-scale and division-based, and are inefficient in some aspects. We will aim to build a cyber-physical system by changing the procurement, operation, and supply chain into a one-operation system using IT” said Mr. Tadashi Makihara, the chief engineer of the Next Generation Base Project in this division.

The company has been using simulators in the field of production processes for some time to digitize the manufacturing floor. However, the simulator for production process did not take root. We kept buying them and then not using them,” recalls Makihara.

That’s when I came across GD.findi five years ago. GD.findi was easy to implement because it is available via a browser as a subscription software. Also, since we can create models based on GUI without programming, we felt that even non-experts in the field can use it,” said Mr. Makihara, describing his first impression of GD.findi.

Since then, the company has proposed GD.findi to various production plants, including production lines for products that need to be customized by users and for verifying process designs to cope with fluctuations in production volume. For the battery business unit, which is currently achieving great results, we have accelerated the introduction of the system by utilizing the MI Division’s system in the cloud and integrating our knowledge.

“GD.findi can quickly produce highly accurate output by reusing the model. We believe that GD.findi is a powerful tool for specifying various conditions and data dynamically.” said Mr.Makihara.

What Mr. Makihara is currently focusing on is the implementation of simulation for cooperation with overseas factories. Under the situation of Covid-19, it becomes difficult for engineers in Japan to go to overseas factories for supervising purpose. Therefore, they use GD.findi to conduct precise simulations and use the results to guide them in planning and designing production lines.

“By using simulation as a communication tool, we can have more logical discussions, and we are positioning GD.findi as one of the tools for cyber-physical systems,” said Mr.Makihara.GD.findi aims to strengthen the company’s fundamental ability by increasing its engineering power from the bottom up.

Using simulation to realize optimization for battery factories.

By using GD.findi to accelerate the implementation of AGVs in the factories, the battery business unit is achieving great results. The company has a long tradition in the battery business, but they were under pressure to improve the efficiency of their production lines and reduce manufacturing costs. This is where the use of AGVs, Automated Guided Vehicles, came into the picture. “AGVs are an important solution from the perspective of labor saving. However, we often find the return on investment is not worth it if we try to introduce them in the shadows” said Mr. Satoshi Yamamura, General Manager of the Smart Factory Development Department and in charge of enhancing manufacturing capabilities at the Energy Manufacturing Center.

In order to ensure that the implementation of AGVs would lead to enhanced manufacturing capabilities, Mr. Yamamura decided to bring in simulation. By running simulations beforehand, they can optimize their operational design and provide evidence to verify the results after the implementation. That is why they decided to use GD.findi.

Mr. Yamamura used to belong to the same Manufacturing Innovation Division as Mr. Makihara, and was promoting GD.findi. “The interface is easy to understand and intuitive to use, and I feel that the advantage of GD.findi is that it allows us to make a speedy outlook rather than bringing us closer to the real workplace.” said Mr.Yamamura.

Once the layout and operations are decided, AGVs can be implement in the plant in six months, even for those existing factories that already have production lines. Speeding up the process from proposal to operation design will lead to a shorter overall schedule, which in return will lead to greater benefits from the implementation.

In fact, the power of GD.findi was immediately noticeable. Mr. Masami Shimono of Engineering Section 1, Smart Factory Development Department, who was in charge of making proposals to factories using GD.findi, started using GD.findi in May 2018 and was able to make the first proposal by the end of June. The target was to design the optimal number of AGVs, the optimal number of personnel and the optimal number of inventory quantity for a new production line.

“We run a simulation with 2 to 4 AGVs and 1 to 4 workers to find out the optimal number of AGVs, the number of workers, and the maximum number of inventory quantity required for product storage. I think we were able to make a convincing proposal by showing the simulation video and graphs of the calculation results” said Mr. Shimono.

Reduce the time to one-tenth of the conventional proposal.

Mr. Yamamura and Mr. Shimono continued to make proposals for the implementations of AGVs using GD.findi, and in one year they made proposals for 10 cases in four factories. They investigated the current situation and input data into the model. The number of AGVs varied from 1 to 12, and the system was also applied to transport units between buildings. At the beginning, it was sometimes difficult to create the model as we wanted, but we soon got used to it. The difficult part was deciding the target range based on the on-site interviews, and the appropriate level of granularity for the simulation. If it is too detailed, it may take too much time and produce no results,” said Mr. Shimono, explaining the key points in using the system.

A unique feature of the system is the effort to accumulate experience and know-how and utilized it in the next step. The company has compiled information on model creation, simulation execution methods, and case studies in the “Guidebook for Using Transport Simulation” to expand the scope knowledge of users within the company. At the same time promoting to reuse of the models created so far. If models can be reused, the proposal cycle can be shortened.

“The important thing is to make proposals in a speedy manner. The simulation itself takes less than two days. This is one tenth of the time it used to take. Thanks to this, the average time it took us to compile an internal proposal was reduced from one month to about two weeks. Ideally, we would like to be able to do this in real time, but we are aiming to reduce the time to about three days,” said Mr. Yamamura.

In the “Smart Factory Lab” located in the Energy Manufacturing Center, various types of AGVs have been implemented, and research on advanced manufacturing processes, such as combining AI technology with sensing, is being conducted. The ultimate goal is to create a cyber-physical system in the factory and realize a smart factory.

“We are currently using simulations to optimize the number of units and design production plan, but in the future we will use actual data from IoT and other sources to detect abnormalities on the production floor and verify improvement activities.GD.findi is a simulator, but if it can be linked to AI-based predictive monitoring, it will contribute to the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry,” said Mr.Yamamura.

The post Panasonic Corporation first appeared on GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation.

Manufacturer Company M

LEXER Marketing — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 06:26:23 +0000

Case: Manufacturer Company M

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Development of a global production base network by taking advantage of the Cloud

Company M was developing production bases in various overseas locations, but it faced problems in production preparations for launching mass production. Although the products being produced at these overseas production bases would be uniform and the production processes would not change, the production volumes would vary by location. Moreover, the company had to respond to constraints in existing facilities and issues related to production worker skills by developing production center-specific process plans. It also faced management problems. For one thing, since it had no choice but to rely on its local staff, it was not able to draw up and implement appropriate process plans. Furthermore, from the perspective of the parent company in Japan, it could not control how the process planning should change. By introducing Lexer simulations, the company was able to use the Cloud to provide mother line plans from Japan, and directly control how they were incorporated at the overseas production bases. Since with these simulations it was in a position to monitor things at the plan creation level while engaging in production preparations, it could thus achieve global production preparations that were efficient and carried out at a high level of management.

The post Manufacturer Company M first appeared on GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation.

High-pressure gas cylinder manufacturer Company B

LEXER Marketing — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 06:21:42 +0000

Case: High-pressure gas cylinder manufacturer Company B

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Minimization of work in process and maximization of the operating rate

The post High-pressure gas cylinder manufacturer Company B first appeared on GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation.

Motor vehicle manufacturer Company T

LEXER Marketing — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 06:12:11 +0000

Case: Motor vehicle manufacturer Company T

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Rectification of the floor layout design and on-site materials flow

In order to adjust its production capacity, motor vehicle manufacturer Company T had been implementing plant layout planning, although previously it had been unable to effectively utilize complicated materials flow simulations. However, by making use of Lexer technologies, it was able to efficiently verify floor routes, on-site routes and transport plans, and create a system under which in-company consensus can be effectively achieved.

The post Motor vehicle manufacturer Company T first appeared on GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation.

Pressed parts manufacturer Company T

LEXER Marketing — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 02:30:05 +0000

Case: Pressed parts manufacturer Company T

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Use of simulations for production plan drafting work

Company T is engaged in the manufacture of high precision pressed parts. However, it is dependent on a limited number of planners. That is because drawing up the production plans for the types of press lines required in order to be able to respond to small-lot orders from various manufacturers of assembled products is an extremely complex task. When formulating production plans that cover both retooling work and employee assignment, it is a very time-consuming process to be able to ensure that these production plans are indeed viable. Enhancement of productivity, operating rates, TAT (turn around time), etc., requires a wealth of experience and professionalism, as well as considerable investment of time. In response, the company introduced Lexer simulations and is now drawing up its daily production plans by using data in the EXCEL format as the basis for carrying out simulations.

In this way, by carrying out production plan simulations it is able to ensure that there are no problems with the plans (in terms of repetition, negligence in following a plan, etc.), and also determine what the operating rates for various facilities would be. Furthermore, because of the ability to verify instantaneously that there are no problems with areas like work in process, it is therefore in a position to incorporate this data into better-fashioned plans, while other staff members are also able to efficiently formulate plans.

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GD.findi MS – GD.findi │No-Code, Model-Based Manufacturing Simulation​

Shinano Camera Corporation​

Case: Shinano Camera Corporation​

Virtualizing production lines to shorten manufacturing lead times. Optimize work-in-process inventory by implementing complex factors such as changeover and human resources.

Introduction of GD.findi to its production line​

Benefits of implementing GD.findi​

Customer Voice​