The challenge
Within the framework of the digital upgrade of the entire location, the Cologne-based company Romaco Kilian GmbH has been organising its shop floor with the manufacturer-independent WERKBLiQ platform since September 2018.
In this context, chipping production is very relevant to the product development, especially when it comes to the components which ensure quality and expertise. The machine fleet currently comprises 10 machines, from a “manual treasure” to a modern 5-axle machining centre. Within the framework of the ongoing modernisation and expansion measures, the number of CNC machines is set to be gradually increased. However, the focus is currently still on organisational and structural improvement schemes. Initially, the system was installed to be able to better organise, document and evaluate the ongoing maintenance and service processes.
Issues resulting from this:
Lack of evaluation of machine data
Lots of different communication channels, e.g. noticeboard and emails
Maintenance tasks are delegated using Outlook
Founded in
employees
machines
Finding solutions
Heinrich Krull discovered the system in his role as Head of Operations during the in-house trade show at Pfronten at the start of 2018. The simple test installationthen took place in March. “We were offered a trial period at the in-house trade show in Pfronten. They sent us two tablets with a specific basic configuration. They connected via Wi-Fi, which we set up to enter certain data and machine data according to the checklist, and then we were up and running,” says Krull.
The decision
Heinrich Krull definitely does not dither. When the authorised officer and Head of Operations at the special machine engineering company Romaco Kilian has decided on something, he’ll get it done. His team have to keep up with his pace. “They don’t always like it, but if they can see added value they get on board.”
The implementation
We implemented the software without any staff from Bielefeld being here.
In mechanical engineering, we are used to projects which span multiple years and implementation cycles which last several hundred hours. At Romaco Kilian in Cologne, new maintenance software has now been introduced, expanded and given new uses – which has taken around 35 hours.
The required measures, including setting up the system and configuring the phases, were developed independently. Any knowledge needed was quickly imparted using video tutorials. Just at the end of the trial period, shortly before going live, an expert from WERKBLiQ was here on site to get to know Romaco Kilian and Heinrich Krull in Cologne. The individualisation and interactive work with the iPad are very simple, which leads to a high level of employee acceptance.
The result
The WERKBLiQ platform rapidly acquired a strategic importance that goes far beyond what had originally been promised for the system, explains Heinrich Krull, Head of Operations at Romaco Kilian.
The tablet is now part of the day-to-day toolkit. Romaco Kilian uses WERKBLiQ document management to provide zero point drawings and clamping procedures, which previously always required a trip to use the central workshop computer. In addition, a maintenance calendar in WERKBLiQ now provides timely notifications of any upcoming service deployments, including the correct contact and their contact details. In parallel (of course) all maintenance logs and service reports are also stored centrally in the system. Previously, they would have been covered in dust in a drawer in case of doubt (i.e., as a general rule). In addition, lots of communication tasks can be dealt with using the system: From the shift schedule to the noticeboard, employees get everything they need for their day-to-day work digitally on their tablet nowadays. Only the order documents are still issued on paper. Whereby Heinrich Krull places emphasis on “still”.
This makes it clear that WERKBLiQ is more than just a tool for the digital organisation of maintenance procedures and service processes. WERKBLiQ offers an “all-in-one” solution on the shop floor. “On the side” the employees also document main and secondary periods for the machines, they use the dialogue to identify reasons for absences, they acknowledge orders, and they record quality issues in procedures and processes. “This gives us transparent information depth on the shop floor for key productivity figures that make investing in more expensive BDE systems unnecessary – and that caters to us as a medium-sized company,” explains Heinrich Krull with proud satisfaction.
Next steps
By engaging in depth with the options, we find new opportunities practically every week.
The manager of the Operations department believes that the limitations of WERKBLiQ have not yet come close to being tested. Krull uses the opportunity to offer some additional praise to the innovative spirit and agility of the WERKBLiQ team: “When we expressed an idea, the improvement was generally already implemented in the next release.” He personally learned to value the convenient options offered by statistical analyses. “Status presentations for the management board can now be perfectly prepared in just a few minutes and certification audits can essentially be prepared at the touch of a button,” concludes Heinrich Krull. As such, we didn’t ask about amortisation.
About ROMACO KILIAN GmbH
ROMACO KILIAN enjoys a global reputation as a leader when it comes to top-class tableting machines. This applies to customers in the pharmaceutical industry in particular. Customers in the cosmetics, food and chemical industry also value the quality and reliability of the traditional Cologne-based company, which has been operating since 1875. The company has 180 employees and has already manufactured over 3,000 machines.