Digital production control
at 4B AG
The challenge - central production control despite growing complexity
4B AG is a leading Swiss company for intelligent building envelopes with over 650 employees. Over 100,000 high-quality wood/metal windows are produced annually at the production site in Hochdorf. In order to ensure the highest quality and efficiency in the future, 4B planned to renew the ageing machining system - the heart of production and responsible for around a third of the total value added.
The planned modernization was accompanied by a key challenge: the existing system landscape - consisting of an ERP system and an industry-specific product configurator - was increasingly reaching its limits. Production planning and control were complex, prone to errors and required a high level of human resources. At the same time, numerous individual solutions led to media disruptions and a lack of transparency.
The aim was to create a central platform for production data and process control that acts as a third instance between the ERP/configurator and the store floor - for standardized machine connection, clean separation of product and process data and end-to-end digital control.
The implementation - digital control and automated production processes
The following main functions were implemented with iDIP:
- Integration of ERP and configurator for the automated transfer of window configurations: Transfer and comparison of all relevant order and configuration data to ensure a consistent production flow.
- Machine-specific configuration: Provision of all information relevant to production in a machine-readable format. Depending on the machine type, control takes place via standardized interfaces such as OPC UA, Siemens S7, SQL export or file interfaces.
- Creation of order details: Automated generation of CSV files for ordering timber from various suppliers - separated into sash and frame timber. The files contain dynamically calculated dimensions as well as relevant material and quality information and are made available to the purchasing department for further processing.
- Progress report processing: Collecting status and feedback data from various machines and transferring this information to the ERP for seamless tracking.
- Transport trolley sorting: Optimized assignment of the processed individual parts to compartments within the transport trolleys, taking into account grouping and dimensioning rules. Different transport trolley types can be flexibly defined and managed. The correct assignment is indicated by a label or display. An integrated fill level display visualizes the processing status of the transport trolleys in real time and automatically calculates the remaining time until completion.
- Shopfloor workstations with assistance systems: Modern digital workstations are available for quality assurance and trolley sorting. Employees are supported by visual instructions, use barcode scanners for identification and receive automatically generated labels to clearly identify the individual parts.
The result - integrated processes, greater efficiency and digital transparency
With the introduction of the iDIP platform, 4B was able to successfully digitalize and standardize central production processes. The automated data transfer from the ERP and configurator, standardized machine control and digital support for the store floor workstations led to a significant increase in process reliability and efficiency.
In addition, 4B employees are now able to make adjustments and enhancements within the platform independently - without having to rely on external support. This enables a rapid response to new requirements and strengthens digital independence within the company.
"Our employees are now able to further develop the platform independently and adapt it to new requirements. This strengthens our independence in the further development of production."
Daniel Jänicke, Process and Lean Manager, 4B AG
Integrationspartner
We implemented this project together with our integration partner ITficient
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