APS and the steps for industry 4.0

Having emerged a few years ago through public partnerships between the German government and leading innovation companies in the country, the theme of industry 4.0 is emerging in the industrial sector. The concept covers a series of technologies, now widespread in other segments of the economy, interconnected to generate manufacturing solutions. These technologies cover automation, internet of things, robots, simulation, augmented reality, big data, additive manufacturing (3D printing, for example), cloud and artificial intelligence. All inserted in the context of industry needs. We have, with the help of these tools, for digital manufacturing, through digitization. That is, not only our work objects are digital, but also the processes that involve the entire production chain should be digitized. And this need is evident that the processes and products of companies are increasingly complex. In this sense, Siemens has invested for many years strongly in PLM (Product Lifecycle Management), so -called product life cycle management, providing solutions to giving more robustness and agility in product development and production planning processes (this planning in the conception of the productive system, not in the case of APS systems). Development costs, increase the quality of your products, better manage knowledge about your portfolio and also reduce your Time-to-Market dramatically. Many companies are today replacing entire prototyping factories with much more effective scanned solutions.

But even so, it's not enough. Properly developing products and processes is pointless if they mes n't be implemented within the timeframe expected by the market and with the necessary efficiency, since they are absorbed by a mass production system. Understanding this need, Siemens acquired PREACTOR APS in 2013. BUT WHAT IS APS? A few decades ago, APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) systems emerged to assist in Production Planning and Scheduling with a finite capacity perspective, considering production resource constraints, as well as those related to the availability of production materials and tools, physical storage space, among other possible criteria. In addition to these constraints, each industry has a series of rules for scheduling its production orders, such as time limits between operations, transfers, perishability, breakages, and batch controls, among other aspects. PREACTOR is one of the pioneers of this trend and, created in 1993 in England, has become what it is today: a world leader in APS solutions. Implementing APS software brings stability to PPC and confidence in the mes , inventory reduction, and lead times mes It also enables optimizations in manufacturing efficiency through intelligent algorithms that can reduce, for example, setup times. The benefits are truly significant, and implementation is feasible in numerous industry segments. Thus, after developing the product quickly and correctly in PLM, you can validate through A+B testing whether it can (or cannot) be produced within the required market timeframe. If it can't, you can simulate different scenarios to better meet these needs and gain visibility into the results in advance. This is APS! VISION OF THE FUTURE Even so, despite living in the present, we need to think about the future. Therefore, in addition to offering a cutting-edge APS solution integrated with the most comprehensive PLM portfolio, NEO is forward-thinking and embraces Industry 4.0 technologies. We envision a future where production scheduling is autonomous, equipped with artificial intelligence and advanced optimization algorithms. This way, PPC can focus on activities with the highest possible added value, enabling more in-depth analysis of its scenarios, becoming more present in the production environment itself, and being activated only in situations requiring human intervention. Today, NEO is proud to have clients with the mes innovative mindset and willing to become early adopters of this shared vision, and the first steps of this innovation are being taken. By bringing together the best tools and the best people, we will make the future present as soon as possible! [noptin-form id=2822]