PROJECTS

WIND TURBINE ENGINEERING II

Start-ups and young companies often have excellent ideas, are highly innovative and very flexible when it comes to implementing individual customer requirements. However, such companies can only be successful when they are consistent in terms of product modules, modularisation and flexible standardisation. That begins in sales, continues through offer management, pricing, offer/project parts lists and CAD methods right up to incorporating the experiences of commissioning personnel on site.

Client: Start-up company in wind energy sector

Branch: Wind turbine engineering

Topic: PDM system roll-out, offer configuration, document management, cutting production costs, overall IT concept, product modularisation, configuration of parts lists, product configuration

Situation: A new start-up company was planning to subcontract future wind turbine erection and commissioning operations in certain countries. The only product documentation available was Excel parts lists, 2D drawings and other company documents describing the product. The board knew from experience what happens when product, process and IT architecture are not implemented properly right from the start and are not conceived and mapped consistently. A 1:1 transfer of the company’s current working method would probably have led to uncontrolled growth in numbers of parts and hence to unnecessarily complex processes and excessive production costs.

Brief:

• Structuring and modularisation for wind turbines to suit assembly
• Flexibility with respect to planning, purchasing and assembly of items with a long delivery time/heavy components on site
• Mapping of the subcontracted business and the company’s own product improvements/developments
• Recommendations for a tried-and-tested CAD, PDM and ERP solution suitable for an SME
• Prototype-style mapping of the configuration logic in the new ERP system (offer/order and parts lists configuration)
• Introduction of 3D CAD and PDM, including ERP integration

Result:

• Configurable product structure suited to the needs of assembly (LEGO modules)
• Therefore, minimum product and process complexity right from the outset
• Introduction and operational roll-out of CAD, PDM and ERP standards in the short-term
• Process and data consistency from CAD to PDM and right into the ERP system
• Guaranteeing parts lists with a high quality, thus avoiding incorrect parts or incorrect deliveries to site