consult “The METUS® method and software provided us with a simple solution for synchronizing all the teams involved in the platform project. This step enabled us to create an optimal product architecture for the new plant in virtually no time. The new architecture not only lays the foundation for the quick and cost-efficient development of tailor-made variants but also protects our intellectual property in combination with the associated sourcing strategy.” Dr. Roger Steins, Project Manager Lean PLM, Siemens AG (Healthcare / formerly Siemens VAI) SUCCESS STORY Modularization in Plant Construction The Challenge Platform development – resilient, polished and refined Siemens VAI Metals Technologies (now Primetals Technologies) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of continuous casting plants. The com- Added value at a glance: Development of a modular platform with a high level of standardization and implementation of a sourcing strategy that ensures the protection of intellectual property pany has more than four decades of experience in the engineering, Ability to quickly deliver customized plants and supply, installation, and start-up of slab, bloom/beam-blank and billet as well as combi caster installations. It is, therefore, in an ideal position the reduction of target costs for development to advise and implement the optimum casting solution for today’s me- and production by 30-50 percent tal processing industry. The global demand for steel products has significantly increased in Successful, IT-supported coordination of the various development and competence teams recent years – particularly when it comes to the emerging markets of newly industrialized countries. Siemens VAI responded to this development by expanding its portfolio to include a new plant for the riod of time and can easily be adapted to individual customer require- Siemens VAI Metals Technologies GmbH (now Primetals Technologies Ltd.): ments. There was only one strategy qualified to master all these chal- Siemens VAI Metals Technologies is a worldwide lea- price-sensitive M3 market. It processes large volumes in a short pe- lenges and still quickly deliver customized variants: the introduction of a modular platform with the highest possible level of standardization. Special challenges: the library structure could not exceed the established target costs, while strategic know-how had to be protected. ding life-cycle partner for the metallurgical industry. The Siemens Business Unit based in Linz, Austria, offers a comprehensive technology, modernization, product and service portfolio, as well as integrated automation and environmental solutions for the entire life cycle of plants. The Solution Pulling together BEFORE Roger Steins, Project Manager Lean PLM, Components AFTER Assemblies Components Modules Siemens AG (Healthcare / formerly Siemens VAI) chose ID-Consult as their partner for implementing this strategy. The first step to success: gathering all the requirements that are essential from the customer as well as Standard module quality perspective. “The METUS method and Level of standardization: software was a crucial success factor to our project management. Although six developModule (external production) ment teams as well as numerous representatives from other business units were involved, Module (purchased components) the shared data model ensured excellent, in- S standard P C parametric customized Sourcing strategy: In-house production External production Purchased components terdisciplinary collaboration”, Steins explains. “Today any kind of coordination based on Excel or other tools is simply out of the question.“ Definition of standard modules and implementation of the sourcing strategy with METUS This approach certainly also paid off in the tegic know-how could be efficiently located Despite the high level of plant complexi- further course of the project: in a second and taken into account in terms of the sour- ty, many components could be combined step, the collected requirements had to be cing strategy. to form standard modules. On top of that, the clearly structured product architecture translated into a graphically processed, functional model that laid the groundwork for In a last step, the estimated actual costs discussing various technical solutions. The were determined and broken down to the result: a structured list of all the individual component level, which made it that much components needed to fulfill the required easier and more efficient to compare them functions. “First a preliminary product struc- to the previously defined target costs. ture is established but this is only the starting provides an optimal basis for informed make-or-buy decisions. This is how customers make sure that their strategic intellectual property stays within the company. The overall target costs both for plant production and the development of tailor-made point of the actual standardization and opti- The Result variants could be reduced by 30-50 percent. mization process”, as Jan Göpfert, Managing Everything flowing smoothly Steins concludes, “It certainly was the right Director, ID-Consult, explains. “Once the pro- decision to work with ID-Consult and struc- duct architecture is visualized, we are able to Siemens VAI was able to develop the plat- ture our data in the early stages of develop- examine individual components from different form for the new plant in virtually no time ment. The platform makes it possible to sup- angles and combine them into optimally confi- thanks to the unique and consistent METUS ply our customers in a heartbeat, while still gured standard modules.“ method and software by ID-Consult. The meeting the quality and cost requirements all most important success factor in the course around the world.” When it comes to Siemens VAI, the new mo- of the project: the interdisciplinary, IT-sup- dular structure was primarily determined by ported cooperation between the various the desired level of standardization, simpli- development and competence teams. A fied assembly processes, and the protection follow-up project on data integration bet- of intellectual property. The clear graphic ween METUS and Siemens PLM Software presentation of all mechanical, hydraulic has been intensifying this successful coope- and automation parameters in one shared ration ever since. Today, METUS is not only METUS model made it possible to quickly a central element of the Siemens VAI engi- identify and eliminate variance drivers. In neering process but also an essential tool of addition, all the components including stra- internal knowledge management. Further references and more information on ID-Consult at: www.id-consult.com © ID-Consult GmbH 2015. All rights reserved. Images and illustrations: ID-Consult GmbH and Siemens VAI Metal Technologies GmbH / Primetals Technologies Ltd.