Case Study
Manufacturing excellence as a survival strategy for the telecom future
Alcatel Shanghai Bell
Tecnomatix manufacturing execution system cuts costs while improving efficiency and on-time delivery of PCB assemblies
Moving toward the telecom future
Created by the integration of the former Shanghai Bell with Alcatel’s key business units in China, Alcatel Shanghai Bell (ASB) delivers end-toend solutions for fixed, mobile and private communications markets. With a strong integration capability and global resources, ASB is moving forward to deliver user-centric broadband network solutions that will help service providers match the unique needs of individuals and provide personalized services regardless of device or location.
The mission of ASB’s 6,500 employees is to continue the strong forward momentum that has brought the company this far and to ensure a major role for ASB in the telecom industry of the future. ASB, which plays a leading role in Alcatel’s global broadband access, NGN, 3G and optical products, is organized around five product lines: wire line, wireless, convergence, printed circuit board assemblies and piece part/rack manufacturing. Fully integrated with Alcatel’s global manufacturing system, ASB can supply both the domestic market and the rest of the world.
Using MES to meet business challenges
Surviving and thriving in the telecom industry presents a number of challenges. Competition among the major players is intense and the shelf life of the products is short. It is crucial to be able to respond quickly to the market with innovative, high-quality products. Quality control is essential because customers’ expectations are high. Another challenge is the globalization of planning, manufacturing and the supply chain, which has become necessary to reduce costs and maximize profits. The global nature of the telecom market also means complying with many different regulatory requirements.
ASB has implemented the Tecnomatix manufacturing execution system (MES) from Siemens PLM Software to help meet these challenges. MES was implemented to reduce production lead time and increase manufacturing capacity; to enhance the visibility and control of manufacturing operations across all enterprise levels by delivering real-time reporting and analytics data from the operator level to the executive level; to achieve quality improvement and higher first pass rate, which can directly result in substantial cost savings; and to capture the traceability of the entire production process, facilitating easy product recall and compliance with governmental regulations.
The Tecnomatix software was initially implemented for PCB assembly by a team consisting of members from both ASB and Siemens PLM Software. A broad range of Tecnomatix MES functionality is being used for the following tasks: collecting and analyzing test and inspection data and data from pick and place machines; traceability (by order, product, process, machine, operator, components, vendor and customer requirements); reporting (a management dashboard and drill-down engineering reports); SAP collaboration; KARDEX synchronization; material verification and part traceability; and work-in-progress management and routing.
Improvements in many key performance indicators
Tecnomatix has allowed ASB to optimize its shop-floor process. Today 5S, Sixth Sigma and JIT are integrated on a single platform, and management convergence has been realized in business areas such as operations, procedures and decision-making. In addition, manufacturing processes have been re-engineered for more effective quality control and higher production efficiency.
Since implementing the Tecnomatix MES solution, ASB has seen improvements in many key performance indicators. For example, production costs and product lead times have dropped while on-time delivery rates have improved. The first pass rate is higher. Mean time to failure has increased and mean time to repair has been reduced. Inventory and scrap have also been reduced. The company calculated the return on this investment by weighing the cost of the MES implementation against savings in the areas of quality, operating efficiency and cycle time reductions. The first phase of the MES investment will have paid for itself in 15 months of operation.
This success has encouraged ASB to increase the scope of its MES. Future plans include extending traceability to the entire Alcatel-Lucent China production process and to continue expanding the MES as a master system for manufacturing process and production recording across all Alcatel-Lucent China production sites. The company also plans to use Tecnomatix to enhance operational visibility and control across all of its other product lines. ASB believes that its future success rests on the combination of leading-edge research, innovation and manufacturing excellence using Tecnomatix.
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Challenges:
- Intense competition
- Short product shelf life
- Customer demands for top quality
- Global operations
- Compliance with many countries' regulations
Keys To Success:
- Software-controlled PO release and kitting
- Automated material validation and route checking
- Traceability by order, product, process, machine, operator, components, vendor and customer requirements
- Real-time, accurate, webenabled reports
- Management dashboard
Results:
- 15-month ROI on Tecnomatix® software
- Production costs down
- Shorter product lead times
- More on-time deliveries
- Higher first pass rate
Industry:
- High Tech & Electronics
Client's Primary Business:
Alcatel Shanghai Bell delivers end-to-end solutions for fixed, mobile and private communications markets.
Business Initiatives:
- Enterprise Data Management
- Production Efficiency
- Regulatory Compliance
Solutions/Services:
- Tecnomatix
Client Location:
Shanghai
China