Not only the car industry strives to use lean production, but it also gets more and more common in mechanical engineering. Its advantages are for example the reduction of stock levels, reduction of processing times of products and the just-in-time-philosophy. For these reasons more and more mechanical engineers are prompted to restructure their production. This also has an effect on suppliers. They rise to the challenge of providing their products – like the corresponding cabinets – just-in-time.
At the SPS IPC Drives 2012 in Hall 5, Stand 170 and 270, häwa GmbH showed how the company can include their individual cabinet components into the stages of customer production using the example of a simulated production line. The modular design of häwa cabinets facilitates these processes and allows the company to react very flexibly to the supply requirements of their customers. Generally, the mounting plate is supplied first, then the doors and afterwards the side walls. Finally, the interior is supplied.
“The just-in-time supply of our customers can be summarised by using the ‘guiding principle of 6 Rs’: the right part, in the right quality, at the right time, in the right quantity, at the right price, to the right location” explains Christian Feger, responsible for corporate planning and development at häwa. “This way our own processing times are also reduced and this way we can react even faster to our customers’ needs. We can also increase our internal quality standards because we cannot allow faulty components with just-in-time supply to customers” adds Feger.
