And there are still efficiencies to be made says Colin Watson of Imass Ltd

Friday, 27 March 2009

As I write the financial markets remain in crisis, and figures show that manufacturing output is at its lowest for decades.  Yet, there is a feeling in manufacturing that, if this downturn hadn't penetrated our businesses when it did, the UK industry would still be holding its own. 

As Ian Brinkley, associate director of The Work Foundation think tank said on BBC Radio Four's Today programme recently: "this recession has little to do with the real economy".  He went on to stress the need to protect the UK's scientific and technical research, development and design sectors; the areas where we can be competitive and profitable.  Otherwise, what will we have left when we come out of this situation? 

The interview underlined that the modern UK manufacturing market has already been pared by lean manufacturing and other strategies.  In many cases, only the design and support services remain in the UK with much of the fabrication shipped to areas where labour and land are less expensive.  Nonetheless, by retaining these high-value skilled areas, we still have a potentially profitable proposition. 

So, despite rumblings of protectionism from some quarters, it is difficult to see how we could now unravel the global supply chain.  This, together with the weaker pound working in favour of exports, means that for most of us, globalisation is still a fact of life that needs to be addressed. 

The good news for economically-challenged firms here, is that this is an area where there are still efficiencies to be made - particularly in the sharing and management of information.  So, here are five ways that taking a careful look at your design software and the way it is used across your workflow and supply chain can help cut the costs of global working. 

1.   Use an industry standard
 
A new product should stand out from the crowd - but this does not mean that your software should too.  Unfortunately, a downturn is not the time for niche, unusual or unnecessarily complex products.  

Global manufacturers need a software solution that is available - and supported - across the globe from a firm which is unlikely to disappear overnight and that has a sizeable research and development budget. This way they can be confident that the chosen product has a long future and that new features are constantly being developed and passed on to users as soon as they are ready. 

When a solution is popular worldwide, users can be sure of a ready pool of skilled users if you do need to recruit.  This can help reduce pressure on training budgets and mean less downtime when new skills are learnt.  They can also be more flexible about moving staff from one office to another - but most of the time there will not be any need to do this, as the work itself can be transferred. 

Protocols and component libraries can be seamlessly shared - with drawings and designs passed around for review and comment. 

2.   Make economies of scale

Smart IT managers are using this time to audit exactly which IT products are being used within their organisation.  Sometimes one company may use a myriad of different solutions - but more likely, different departments are using varying versions of the same software. 

Organisations using CAD are particularly susceptible to inefficiencies through incompatability.  Files tend to be large and contain valuable information so a mismatch of products and versions can cause data to be lost or corrumpted - a real drain on time and resources. 

Choosing a global standard software and version can help matters considerably.  Purchasers can benefit through economies of scale and licence arrangements can be rationalised.  Through busy times it is easy to stick to an outdated agreement, even though it is costing more than it should.  However, considerable savings can be made through moving to a new plan and terminating redundant licences. 

For example, we have recently moved one of our customers from stand-alone licences to a consolidated shared network model for its 700-plus global community.  Savings have been considerable, enabling the company to invest in new, standardised software across its entire international operation. 

Now, because teams are working on the latest software versions they are enjoying substantial day-to-day efficiencies - such as the ability to exchange data seamlessly and easier collaboration across projects.  As a result this customer has seen fast paypack in its investment through strong productivity gains. 

3.   Use digital prototyping  

There is no doubt that working with a 3D digital design solution can bring significant time-savings without compromising quality of design.  Working with digital prototypes is faster, more flexible and far more agile than creating physical models.  It also makes communication with customers so much more effective through the ability for designers to get closer to original intent and requirements. 

This is the case even if your customer is just down the road.  When they are the other side of the world, the benefits are compounded further.  To discuss a set of drawings with a customer in, say, Hong Kong, would at best incur printing and postage costs plus a hefty phone bill, at worst an air fare or two.  Then there is the inconvenience of sharing a physical prototype with more air fares or courier bills. 

If, after all this, your customer wants major changes, you then have to destroy the prototype and begin all over again. 

However, a digital prototype can be sent electronically.  Using the latest visualisation and collaboration software, a customer can review/comment on screen and send it back to the designer.  Even using a telephone or video conferencing it is far easier to collaborate on the design. 

Changes made on screen automatically update all other models, drawings and documentation within the project, so revised versions can be viewed almost immediately.  This way designers reach the best quality design faster - reducing the entire design cycle and delivery lead times. 

Digital prototypes can also test the performance and viability of alternative materials, perhaps experimenting to see whether a less expensive substitute will work.   As a result, manufacturers can avoid over engineering and ensure unit costs are kept to a minimum. 

A report by the research firm Aberdeen Group states that best-in-class manufacturers typically build around half the number of physical prototypes versus the average, so halving development costs.  Consequently, they get their products to market an average of 58 days faster. 

4.   Extend the digital pipeline   

Starting to define a concept with a few doodles on the back of an envelope is one thing - but drafting this in 2D first and only then modelling it in 3D is another.  The sooner and easier ideas can be captured on screen the better, even if you then go through dozens of iterations after that.  Imagine the time taken to make the same number of drawings. 

With a digital model, bills of materials are created automatically, so global supply chains can be set in motion earlier in the product development, resulting in fewer delays waiting for the required resources. 

If designs can be handed over to manufacturing in digital form they are more likely to keep their original integrity and result in accurate, reliable products. 

Language and cultural barriers may make a drawing difficult to interpret, even for experienced production managers.  However, a realistic digital model leaves little to the imagination.  Better still, the data can be fed directly into a CAM system. 

5.   Use images - not words 

An increasing number of manufacturers are using digital models instead of expensive photography to create assembly or maintenance instructions that can be understood by anyone - whatever their language.  Now that the simulation and animation tools in software, such as Autodesk Inventor, have been significantly enhanced, explanations can take the form of moving pictures. 

Imass customer Continental Crushing & Conveying is the UK's largest manufacturer of bulk materials handling equipment with a large customer base in the Russian coal mining market.  As its product engineer, John Davidson explains, by using Inventor to create a video file of components coming together in the right place and in the right order, they were able to demonstrate exactly how a complex piece of equipment would work without words. 

Another customer, ContiTech has found similar advantages, using 3D images on detailed data sheets which they post on the web, as well as for 3D animation for a training video. 

"We supplied this customer two offloading stations in Brazil worth upwards of £1.7 million each and they requested training.  However, we suggested that we give them a training video showing the whole process using 3D animation - with captions and a background of the sea - and it looked like a real vessel," says Andrew Esson, ContiTech engineering specialist and technology strategist.  Of course, it also saved the time and expense of one-on-one training thousands of miles away." 

Unlike financial services and other sectors of the economy, manufacturing has been through tough times before - and survived.  But the downside of this is that many operations have little left to change or tighten up.  However, here is an area that deserves attention. For relatively small investment - and with a proven fast payback - there are still savings to be made - all helping to ensure that UK manufacturing will be up and ready for the next swing of the pendulum.