Actemium Helps Bronkhorst Digitise Manufacturing
Bronkhorst High-Tech BV, based in Ruurlo, the Netherlands, is a leading supplier of Mass Flow Meter / Mass Flow Controller technology for gases and liquids, pressure controllers and evaporation systems. The company's meters and controllers are used in a wide variety of industries around the world.
The goal: leaner manufacturing, with real-time oversight
Bronkhorst strives to continuously improve its manufacturing processes. In recent years it has implemented modern processes including one-piece-flow cells, a lean manufacturing technique where products are processed one at a time, passing through a series of closely arranged workstations.
Actemium proposal wins out
The next logical step for Bronkhorst was to standardise and digitalise its assembly process through the step-by-step installation of an MES, or Manufacturing Execution System, to give it real-time visibility and detailed data on how its factory is running. That is where Actemium came in. Its proposal to integrate the Infor MES (formerly Shopfloor-Online) turned out to be the best fit for the standardisation process that Bronkhorst was going through. The MES project with Actemium is giving Bronkhorst unparalleled insight into its factory processes.
Our operators now have a better overview, which allows us to guarantee consistently high quality,
said Nils Ooijman, a digital project manager with Bronkhorst.
Efficient, paperless and sustainable oversight
Actemium’s proposal to integrate the Infor MES included a workflow module that allowed Bronkhorst experts to model the production process in the MES. Actemium’s previous experience integrating the Infor MES was a big help during the design process, which was organised into sprints using Agile methodology. With the MES now operational in the first production cell, the Bronkhorst staff can use the workflow module to show exactly which part an operator has to pick up and what he has to do with it at each workspace. “We have more insight into our production efficiency, which allows us to increase quality and speed. All of this is completely paperless, so it is also sustainable,” Ooijman said.
Nick Verstegen, Lead Software Engineer MES at Actemium, said the implementation was going smoothly: “Bronkhorst has arranged things well and mapped out in advance what they wanted to achieve and how. They also have the right people on board.”
