NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT

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NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
NEWS
MPDV

                                                                                                Edition 2021

      #Future
      #Generation Change

 Beyond-MES            portrait                                              Production Planning
 HYDRA of the future   MPDV's new executive board                            Spotlight on APS FEDRA
                       Nathalie Kletti, Jürgen Petzel and Thorsten Strebel
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
Snapshot

Factory Planning,
Easy, Dynamic,
Realistic, Adaptive
In summer 2020, we have launched the next generation of planning solutions by
introducing the Advanced Planning and Scheduling System (APS) FEDRA. It can be
operated stand-alone or in combination with our Manufacturing Execution System
(MES) HYDRA while the Manufacturing Integration Platform (MIP) is used as central
foundation for operation. APS FEDRA can plan simple or complex production scena-
rios integrating even artificial intelligence.

Find out more about the APS FEDRA in the interview starting on page 36
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
Snapshot

Production IT
from the Could
The less a manufacturing company needs to concern itself with the operation
of essential IT systems, the more resources remain for their core competence -
production. With the Smart Factory Cloud Services providing Software as a
Service (SaaS), the operation of MES HYDRA, APS FEDRA or the MIP can simply
be outsourced to the cloud and consequently to MPDV. Economically speaking,
Smart Factory Cloud Services also offer many advantages.

Find out more about production IT from the cloud on page 32
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
Snapshot

AI Suite Provides
Innovative Applications
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly finding its way into manufacturing IT -
also at MPDV. New applications are successively coming onto the market as AI
Suite, which use AI methods to analyze data and predict results. Predictive
Quality, Setup Time Prediction & Utilization Analysis for shifts are first pro-
ducts of the AI Suite. This gives manufacturing companies the opportunity to
extract even more information from their data to be able to react earlier, plan
more efficiently or optimize more specifically.

Find out more about artificial intelligence and the AI Suite from MPDV on page 28
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Editorial 5

        Dear Reader,
        Currently, we at MPDV are going through a
        generation change. We have been prepa-
        ring the change in our management board
        for a long time and have now embarked on
        the next stage. In this issue, we would like
        to introduce you to the new executive
        board.

        A generation change is also pending in our
        product portfolio, which will further advan-
        ce the ongoing development of all our pro-
        ducts for the Smart Factory. After all, as our
        claim says: We create Smart Factories. The
        Smart Factory is not just a vision, but your
        guarantee for more productivity and com-
        petitiveness. Let's work alongside and turn
        your way to the Smart Factory into a com-
        plete success.

        In this issue of our NEWS you will find a
        wide range of articles that deal, among
        other things, with what the future holds
EDITORIAL

        and the decisions that have led to success
        at other manufacturing companies.

        Let's take the things that worked in 2020 -
        because they had to work - into the New
        Year and continue working on the digital
        transformation. Have fun browsing!

        Yours sincerely,

        Jürgen Kletti
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
Appification and
Other Paradigm Shifts

76

                                                                                              26
                                                                    Producing in Times of Corona

		Insight

16 HYDRA at Work
		Looking into production at the Dutch plastics
		 manufacturer Timmerije

22 	The Story of HYDRA                                      42		a question to Steffen Münch
		Talking to Bernd Berres,                                  		 How to bring a heterogeneous IT infrastructure
		 Principal Product Manager at MPDV                        		 onto a common data basis.

24 	Generation Change – also in Software                    44 From Tree to Yardstick
		 HYDRA X, the innovative successor of the HYDRA family,   		 How AGDA is driving digitalization in its production.
		 offers a broad spectrum for modern production.
                                                            46 	Industry Solution for the Pharmaceutical Industry
26 When Every Cog Meshes Perfectly                          		 What distinguishes HYDRA for Life Science
		 How Koziol changed its production in times of Corona.
                                                            50 	Interview with ThyssenKrupp
28 Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing                 		 Why ThyssenKrupp has decided to become a partner of MPDV's
		On the move towards standard software                     		 Manufacturing Integration Platform (MIP).

32 Software from the Cloud                                  52 	Transparency from Batch to Machine
		 All products of MPDV are now available as Software       		 Requirements of the process industry
		 as a Service (SaaS).
                                                            55 	The White Gold of the Food Industry
36 	Next Generation of Production Planning                  		 MES PILOT:FOOD by Felten in use
		The Advanced Planning and Scheduling
		 System (APS) FEDRA by MPDV                               58 	Introducing Artificial Intelligence
                                                            		 How to proceed
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Contents 7

                                        the lion city

                                       82
                                                        64
                                                        the new executive board

		foresight

62 	Interview

                                                        contents
		 With Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Kletti
		 and his daughter Nathalie Kletti

64 Portrait
		The new executive board of MPDV

70 	Interview
		Talking to Wolfhard Kletti                             5 EDITORIAL

72 letter from the future                                8	NEWS
		 What the Smart Factory will look like in 2050.
                                                        90		Column
76 	Trends of Manufacturing IT 2021
		 Appification and other paradigm shifts

82 	The Lion City
		 MPDV in Asia
                                                        IMPRINT                               Doku-Ident: NEWS 2021
                                                                                              Picture credits:
		oversight                                             Published by:                         Unless otherwise indicated, the pictures
                                                        MPDV Mikrolab GmbH                    used are from MPDV, Fotolia or Adobe
                                                        Römerring 1, 74821 Mosbach, Germany   Stock and are authorized for publication
86 Helpers on the Way to the Fully Networked            Tel. +49 6261 9209-0                  by the relevant originators. The menti-
		Production                                            info@mpdv.com, www.mpdv.com           oned product names are trademarks
                                                                                              of the respective producers or suppliers.
		 Alexander Lubianski, Senior Consultant at MPDV, on   Editing and Project Management:       HYDRA and MES-Cockpit are registered
		 Shop Floor Integration                               Isabell Short                         trademarks of MPDV Mikrolab GmbH.
                                                        Editorial Collaboration:
                                                        Markus Diesner
88 	from the city to the country
		 Visiting Senior Product Manager Henry Eckhardt       © 2021 MPDV Mikrolab GmbH
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
8   MPDV NEWS 2021 l News

MPDV
                                  NEWS
Online HYDRA Users Group Conference

First Virtual HUG Conference Succeeded

Due to the uncertain Corona situation,       ject of one of the best practice presenta-
the HYDRA Users Group Conference 2020        tions by Kevin Mahler of VACOM. The mix
could not take place as planned in the       of product news, live feeds with best        "Excellent digital realization of the
Hockenheim city hall this year. "As a        practices and video messages from part-      16th HUG conference. Once again,
result of the pandemic, we decided back      ners in the MIP ecosystem made the on-
                                                                                          it was an informative and a varied
in summer to refrain from taking such a      line event a resounding hit. "We've made
health risk for the participants and orga-   a virtue out of necessity", says Laura       event with different presentations
nize the HUG as an online event," says       Kirstätter, Manager Research & Educa-        and, above all, without travelling",
Mathias Schmälzle, HUG Chairman and          tion at MPDV and HUG contact. "Digital       reports one of 300 participants
CFO of RUCH NOVAPLAST, explaining the        media enriched the mixed bag of lectures
                                                                                          during the HUG conference.
decision.                                    of all kinds. The conference was spread
The focus of this year's 16th HUG Confe-     out over two days and so the users could
rence was, besides news on products and      arrange their time well without missing a
services of MPDV, the combination of lo-     thing."                                          mpdv.info/hug2020
gistics and production on the way to the
Smart Factory, which was also the sub-

Welcoming to the online user conference
Source: MPDV
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
SMA Information Dashboard extended

Absolute Transparency on the Shop Floor
Displaying key figures and crucial evaluations with the greatest flexibility – no problem. MPDV's SMA Information
Dashboard visualizes data from production and quality management in a user-friendly and responsive way.

The application can show key figures such     Thanks to the highly configurable applica-          The data basis is provided by the Manufac-
as OEE or scrap on the digital shop floor     tion profiles, the users are supplied with          turing Execution System (MES) HYDRA by
monitor alongside evaluations of downti-      exactly the data they need in any given si-         MPDV, which is well established on the
mes and complaints. The dashboard can         tuation. For this purpose, users can run the        market.
also be used interactively for regular team   Information Dashboard both on a mobile
meetings in the production environment.       tablet and on a PC.

The SMA Information Dashboard has re-
cently been extended and now offers,
among others, the following evaluations:
- 	OEE report and OEE profile
- 	Different status reports
- 	Overview of all workplaces/machines
- Scrap statistic and scrap analysis

    mpdv.info/smanews

                                                                     Using the SMA Information Dashboard, all key figures and evaluations from production
                                                                                                 and quality management are available in your meetings.
                                                                                                               Source: MPDV, Adobe Stock, Andrey Popov

New Version of HYDRA Dynamic Manufacturing Control

Increased Flexibility and Standardization
When it comes to modeling complex ma-         The new version also provides three ad-             nufacturing Integration Platform (MIP)
nufacturing processes and integrating         ditional standard components that can               and can easily be connected to applica-
them in the manufacturing IT, tools like      be licensed, if required:                           tions of other suppliers. The data recor-
HYDRA Dynamic Manufacturing Control           -	The Dynamic Workpiece Distributor                 ded for each workpiece can be used in
(DMC) are indispensable. To achieve a          provides the data collected for each               another mApp to perform a root cause
comparable result, you could also pro-         workpiece in selected HYDRA                        analysis, for example. Or you use mApps
gram a PLC-based head control, which is        applications.                                      of other providers to extend the operator
simply outdated.                              -	The Dynamic Workpiece Generator                   guidance integrated in HYDRA DMC by in-
                                               creates a process workflow for a work              novative technologies, such as Augmen-
The new HYDRA DMC version offers an            piece of a specific variant; this workflow         ted Reality. In short: Starting in spring
enhanced user interface for operators.         is based on the process model created              2021, HYDRA DMC users will benefit di-
Here, the latest technologies are used,        for the variant production.                        rectly from MIP’s steadily growing eco-
which simplify the design of the user in-     -	The Workpiece Assessment Manager                  system.
terface and provide ergonomic dialogs.         supports the evaluation of automatically
Furthermore, the user interfaces can be        recorded quantities.
displayed and operated on both normal
PCs and mobile devices like Android tab-      Just as importantly, the new HYDRA DMC
lets or iPads.                                version is provided as mApp for the Ma-
NEWS - #FUTURE #GENERATION CHANGE PORTRAIT
10   MPDV NEWS 2021 l News

MPDV
                             NEWS

We are MPDV
"Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together
is progress. Working together is success."
(Henry Ford)

The MPDV initiative "United Colors of      ments were asked to express team spirit   tos in the colors of MPDV reflected also
MPDV" has captured Henry Ford's            and creative powers. The employees of     in the polo shirts. Find here a small selec-
words in pictures in 2020. All depart-     different departments met to take pho-    tion of the best photos.
Research Project PHI-Factory Successfully Completed

"At MPDV, the commitment to research          dynamic power supply for the factory ge-     was used to link the MES-based data
and science projects is virtually part of     ared to the grid and supplier capacity in    collection to the energy data collection.
our everyday life," says Laura Kirstätter,    order to support the local distribution
Manager Research & Education at MPDV.         grid.
"This is how we ensure that our products                                                   Innovation as teamwork
continue to meet the zeitgeist." In the       MES as link to production control            The three-year research project was fun-
course of the recently completed re-          MPDV largely contributed to the project's    ded by the Federal Ministry of Economics
search project PHI-Factory, the Manufac-      success by providing the MES HYDRA as        and Technology (Germany) with almost 5
turing Execution System (MES) HYDRA of        a central hub for information and data.      million euros. The project searched for
MPDV proved once more that interopera-        The MES collected the relevant data such     measures optimizing the load manage-
bility with multiple systems is an impor-     as quantities and times during operation     ment, improving the grid quality and per-
tant standard for a modern production.        and evaluated this data in real time. Ap-    fectly integrating peripheral supplier and
                                              plications mainly used in the project were   storage systems into the comprehensive
Saving energy costs – securing grids          the HYDRA Machine Data (MDE), the            and enhanced energy management.
The research project had the objective to     Shop Floor Data (BDE) and the HYDRA          Other partners of the research project
develop technical and organizational so-      Shop Floor Scheduling (HLS). One of the      were the technical university of Darm-
lutions for manufacturing companies to        most important tasks of the Shop Floor       stadt, Rexroth, Software AG, Opel and
help them save energy costs and secure        Scheduling was to implement the sugge-       Ökotec.
the power supply system at the same           sted control measures in production. A
time. The project strived to implement a      JSON/REST interface developed by MPDV

Expand Your HYDRA Knowledge

Keeping with the motto "Don't fancy a         The focus was on issues such as machine      great," says one of the participants.
holiday either", users had the opportunity    and control connections, AIP collection      The successful format "Smart Factory
this summer to refresh or expand their        functions or key figures and reports. Ex-    Summer Camp" is now serving as a mo-
knowledge at the Smart Factory Summer         perts from MPDV showed in the sessi-         del for the new online training program
Camp 2020. More than 70 long-time HY-         ons, amongst other things, how data          "Live Classes".
DRA users participated in the online trai-    collection functions can be optimized at
ning sessions – a complete success.           the terminals of the MES HYDRA or what
In three-hour training sessions, the parti-   is important when creating evaluations
cipants gained valuable know-how and          with the system. "We received so many
useful tips from everyday working life.       new stimuli for our work. It was just
12   MPDV NEWS 2021 l News

MPDV
                             NEWS
New Applications for the MIP
The ecosystem of MPDV's Manufac-               mation on the systems graphically acces-        easy and precise implementation of (re-
turing Integration Platform (MIP)              sible to employees on all end devices.          mote) maintenance concepts down to
keeps growing. We present four new                                                             process level.
                                               Using the cloud-based software cioplenu,
partners as examples.
                                               MIP users can now digitally generate all        Information on further MIP partners can
                                               their work instructions and checklists. In-     be found on the marketplace at mpdv.
MPDV has gained an expert for connec-          teractive elements such as target/actual        info/mipmarktplatz
ting    machines     with     RSConnect.       value comparisons, multiple-choice se-
RSConnect's solutions help manufactu-          lection, image or video feedback and                mpdv.info/mipmarktplatz
ring companies to gain an overview of          many other functions increase process
machine capacity utilization and provide       reliability on the shop floor and also the
greater transparency in the shop floor.        digital, systematic evaluation for conti-
                                               nuous process improvement.
With its UniversalPlantViewer software,
CAXperts contributes to the MIP ecosys-        The specialists at Stego Elektrotechnik
tem a solution for the digital twin co-        offer with the Smart Sensor CSS 014 IO-
vering the entire life cycle of a plant. The   Link a solution for monitoring ambient
software displays systems in 3D from all       temperature and humidity. The CSS 014
common sources and makes the infor-            IO-Link Smart Sensor CSS 014 allows

New Training Format: Live Classes
"Let's Make Friday Morning a Live Class Day!"

"You are using HYDRA and already know          along with the other participants.              pics change every week and MDPV cons-
a lot about it, but want to expand on your                                                     tantly adds further ones.
knowledge without spending too much            The benefits are obvious:                       MPDV's Live Classes are a continuation
time, then Live Classes is the right format    -More flexibility due to improved               of the success of the Smart Factory Sum-
for you", says Martin Geppert, Vice Presi-      availability in terms of time and place        mer Camps 2020 and will also be availa-
dent Services at MPDV. Live Classes is a       -More efficiency as travelling and              ble in English.
half-day online offer complementing the         overnight stays in hotels are not
existing training program. The new for-         required
mat focuses on best practice methods                                                           Find out more about Live Classes and
and extends your knowledge.                    All in all, Live Classes is a simple and eco-   register at:
Expert trainers will spend an entire mor-      nomic opportunity to build up or refresh
ning to interactively explain specific to-     practical knowledge. Best of all, users
pics in remote sessions. HYDRA users           can conveniently book and participate               mpdv.info/liveclasses
can ask questions at any time and help         online - even spontaneously.
determine the course of the Live Class         Live classes take place every Friday. To-
10,000
CT-UMPS interfaces by WAGO have been installed by MPDV. CT-UMPS
stands for Computer Terminal - Universal Machine and Process Inter-
face. CT-UMPS is a hardware solution for easy recording of digital and
analog signals. CT-UMPS can be used to connect each machine to the
production IT in no time and with little effort. MPDV thereby supports
the connection of heterogeneous machinery. CT-UMPS can also out-
put digital signals, for example, to control a signal lamp. Using approp-
riate accessories, CT-UMPS can also collect energy data or process va-
lues automatically. Now CONN-IIoT (IIoT Connector) is the fourth
generation of WAGO controllers.
14   MPDV NEWS 2021 l News

MPDV
                             NEWS

Meet our
products:                                       The Networker in the Background:

                                                MIP
                                                Dynamic, unique, flexible - this is how to
                                                initially describe the Manufacturing Integ-
                                                ration Platform, in short MIP. The MIP is a
                                                trendsetter and loves the conviviality of the
Experienced All-rounder:                        ecosystem. Not shying away from the unk-
                                                nown, she throws herself headlong into
MES HYDRA                                       never-ending adventures and discovers
When it comes to keeping an overview in         other modern systems to exchange and
every situation, only one thing is important:   connect with. Nevertheless, she always
experience. Our Manufacturing Execution         stays in the background and drives other
system MES HYDRA has exactly this pre-          systems to high performance.
cious quality. Despite endless data sets,
HYDRA always keeps an eye on the entire
production process. Thanks to the extensi-
ve expertise as a production expert, HYDRA
is highly versatile.
Like every experienced all-rounder MES
HYDRA doesn't push itself into the
spotlight, but pulls the strings carefully in
the background. Each work step and each                         The Mastermind - Always On Hand:
product is always thoroughly checked and
continuously adapted and optimized. This                        APS FEDRA
prudent      approach      allows     HYDRA                     Endless to-do lists, total chaos and no idea
to permanently improve production                               what happens next? This is where our reli-
efficiency.                                                     able and hard-working mastermind APS
                                                                FEDRA steps in. The Advanced Planning
                                                                and Scheduling System is meticulous, high-
                                                                ly motivated and keeps on top of things in
                                                                every situation. FEDRA is always on hand
                                                                whenever you need help and advice. Her
                                                                planning is well structured and neatly pre-
                                                                pared in a way that is intelligible for every-
                                                                one involved. Future planning based on
                                                                past results is also no problem for our
                                                                highly sophisticated FEDRA.
Digitalization of                                                                                                           Our field engineers

the shop floor
                                                                                                                             understand your
                                                                                                                           production, machines
                                                                                                                              and interfaces.

for manufacturing
SMEs

Proven solutions developed for small and medium enterprises                   End-2-end digitalization of your production
We developed an industrial IoT Platform with many digitalization solutions.   We connect your machines, let them speak in one joint language
Proven in more than 30 sites it is quickly deployed, affordable and           and make them controllable with toii®. On top we integrate your
designed for SMEs. Let us introduce to you: toii® our iiot platform.          ERP systems and, if available, also your MES. This way we achieve
                                                                              an end-2-end digitalization of your shop floor.
Quick end effective start into shop floor digitalization
As an entry product we developed toii.Lights for you. It digitalizes your     End-2-end service
machines within days, not weeks. No matter the age, no matter which           We make digitalization easy and accompany you on every step – from
interface, this solution works with every machine. This entry into            the concept to implementation and operations thereafter.
digitalization is not just quick but also highly affordable and pays off
within months!

thyssenkrupp Materials IoT GmbH
thyssenkrupp Allee 1, 45143 Essen, Germany
P: +49 208 989924-0
iot@thyssenkrupp.com
www.thyssenkrupp-materials-iot.com
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 17

                                                    HYDRA Success Story about Timmerije

objective:

To become the most popular
plastics manufacturer of
the netherlands
In the run-up to the 85th anniversary of plastics manufacturer Timmerije in Neede, the Netherlands, a journalist
phoned and asked if the company was a start-up, involved in 3D printing or marketing disruptive technology. When
the employee at Timmerije denied everything, the journalist remarked that the company was probably not interes-
ting and hung up. The fact that this assessment is a blunt misjudgment was not only made clear by the speaker in
his welcoming speech at the anniversary, but also becomes apparent when one takes a look at both the success
story of Timmerije and on how HYDRA is used in the company.
18   MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

You cannot ignore Timmerije if you need      HYDRA helps us achieve our objectives        project manager, administrator, trainer
plastic parts in the Netherlands. The        "We need to know exactly what is going       and power user and is therefore familiar
company has approx. 130 employees and        on in production to achieve and keep our     with the IT world and the production pro-
about 50 injection molding machines.         objective", says Peeters. "This includes     cesses.
They cater to the needs of diversified in-   information about machine statuses,
dustries and produce goods like parts for    produced quantities, quality and the         More is more
heating and ventilation equipment, car       complete documentation of all material       At present, machine operators only log
safety seats, bicycles and truck interior.   data and process parameters." This is the    on the orders in HYDRA and confirm the
"Our declared goal is to become the most     only way for Timmerije to guarantee both     produced quantities collected automati-
popular injection molding company in the     a high degree of efficiency and the neces-   cally. Scrap is classified and then sent to
Netherlands", explains Pim Peeters, Ma-      sary quality. Traceability of material and   the recycling process. In other words,
nager IT & Control. Timmerije has been       process data is particularly important to    quality assurance focuses on the pro-
using the Manufacturing Execution Sys-       the automotive industry, as this is called   ducts manufactured. "That is why, it
tem (MES) HYDRA for several years now        for by the major manufacturers or is a       might take 200 parts before we detect
to achieve this goal and to meet all cus-    statutory requirement. "But also other       that something goes wrong", explains van
tomer requirements as regards quality,       customers benefit from the documenta-        Wijk. "For this reason, we now want to
prices and delivery time. The MES HYDRA      tion of manufacturing processes. If com-     monitor the whole process." Here as well,
collects production data, fine tunes plan-   plaints arise, we can easily identify the    MES HYDRA supports its users with the
ning specified by the higher-level ERP       reasons and if other parts are also affec-   automatic collection of process data. At
system, monitors and documents the en-       ted", explains Emile van Wijk, MES Engi-     the same time, Timmerije wants to auto-
tire manufacturing process.                  neer at Timmerije. Emile van Wijk acts as    mate the transfer of setting data to the
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 19

injection molding machines of different     the order progress and the anticipated        mans, and the digital world of the MES
manufacturers and age. This saves time      order end using the collected data", exp-     HYDRA. Timmerije conducts regular trai-
and increases process quality. "We want     lains Peeters. "If the order end is delayed   ning sessions and maintains close con-
HYDRA to automatically transfer the set-    considerably, for example, due to an un-      tact with operators to increase the wor-
ting data needed for the next order. This   expected malfunction, our planner will be     kers' acceptance of the IT system. "Some
avoids errors that are due to manual ent-   in the position to react and to initiate      people do not like the system, but I like it.
ries", says Emile van Wijk about the new    measures to compensate for the delay."        The system provides me with all details
project. Peeters adds: "By monitoring       In order to meet these requirements, HY-      about the machines I work with. A label
process data, we notice much earlier if     DRA also integrates the injection molds       printer is also next to my workstation. To
something is wrong and can respond be-      in the planning process. The molds are        me the system is quite perfect", explains
fore scrap is produced.                     kept as resources in HYDRA and logged         an operator we meet while visiting the
                                            on to the HYDRA shop floor terminal with      Timmerije factory hall. Van Wijk adds:
Everything under control                    every order.                                  "Acceptance is pivotal. What good is the
Timmerije leaves nothing to chance. Pl-                                                   best system if people do not use it? For
anning, production and delivery - eve-      Green bridges                                 this reason, we have slightly adapted HY-
rything is based on sophisticated proces-   Timmerije has developed their own shop        DRA to make it look similar to our previ-
ses and monitored. The complete             floor PCs for their operators. These in-      ous system. Fortunately, this worked
production is planned in the ERP system     dustry PCs are bright green so no one can     with the visualization of our machinery.
and then transferred to HYDRA for de-       overlook them between all the machines.
tailed planning. "HYDRA knows the cur-      Altogether 18 touchscreen terminals
rent machine statuses and can calculate     bridge reality, i.e. the processes and hu-
20   MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

KPIs help                                         Consistent path
Apart from the shop floor operators,              Timmerije also wants to add HYDRA qua-
about 30 other persons also work with             lity management applications. Timmerije
the HYDRA office client. These include            will then be among the users that use
the planners and work schedulers on the           nearly all HYDRA functions. "With HYDRA
one hand and the supervisors, the plant           we are taking a logical course of digitiza-
manager and controllers like Pim Peeters          tion all the way to the Smart Factory", ex-
on the other. The controllers evaluate the        plains Peeters, "HYDRA also helps us
data collected with HYDRA, use the cal-           achieve our goal of becoming the most
culated KPIs and report to the higher             preferred plastics manufacturer of the
company levels. Important key perfor-             Netherlands." To Timmerije this aim is
mance indicators are, for example, the            also a means to an end. The injection
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE),            molds are developed together with the
utilization efficiencies of single machines       customer but then they become the
and the scrap rate. KPIs help Timmerije           customer's property. Customers could
identify their economic efficiency and            easily take their molds and go to another
provide for continuous process improve-           manufacturer. "We must be the best to
ment.                                             prevent this from happening", asserts
                                                  Peeters, "and HYDRA supports us in
                                                  achieving this goal."
Focusing on people
To improve the planning process as well,          Interesting, isn't it?
Timmerije no longer wants to rely on its          To come back to the beginning ... a com-
manual personnel scheduling using mag-            pany that supplies a wide market with
netic boards and wants to introduce HY-           high-quality plastic parts with the aim of
DRA. The main objectives are to avoid             becoming the most popular should not be
fluctuations in capacity utilization and to       interesting? This must certainly be a false
better plan different requirements when           assessment, because reality tells a com-
processing orders. In this case, each em-         pletely different story. Timmerije is a
ployee can be planned on one or several           successful company heading for the
workplaces according to their defined             Smart Factory. "We cannot complain
qualifications. This ensures that all requi-      about a shortfall in demand," says Pee-
red stations are assigned and processes           ters, "but nowadays you have to keep
are not interrupted due to staff shorta-          moving if you don't want to be left be-
ges. For the existing magnetic board can-         hind. I think that MPDV and HYDRA are
not meet the ever increasing complexity.          the right partners for us." We say good-
Timmerije plans to introduce further HY-          bye and as Pim Peeters and Emile van
DRA applications to increase planning re-         Wijk return to the factory, the bright
liability for staff, e.g. labor time collection   green shop floor terminals, numerous
in combination with access control and            screens showing HYDRA evaluations and
time management. These applications               quite an interesting company linger on in
should then also be connected to the              our memory.
payroll system.
About Timmerije

Timmerije started as a forge more than 85 years
ago. Now, the company has become an innovative
plastic injection molding company manufacturing
high-quality plastic products. Apart from its mo-
dern injection molding production, Timmerije also
has its own engineering design department, tool
shop and assembly department. With the slogan
"Your ambition. Our Passion", the company has set
itself the goal of being the most popular plastics
processor in the Netherlands.
22 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

Talking to Bernd Berres

The Story of HYDRA
"HYDRA had already been around when I started at MPDV and I vividly remember my job interview," Bernd Berres
says. He has been with the company for almost 30 years and is currently responsible for product strategy and product
marketing as Principal Product Manager. At the end of an all-day coordination workshop, we sit comfortably with a
glass of wine and talk about the good old days.

"Back then, in 1991, we were still in the     hardly anyone knows today. The connec-         HYDRA. “Even the terminals were now
industrial park in Mosbach, Germany, and      tion was made via field bus - a simple         partly operated by Windows. However, at
during my first visit I saw a picture with    two-wire line - LAN did not yet exist in       that time the multitude of server system
three columns in the lobby: BDE, MDE          production. With version 6.1 came the          was absolutely chaotic. Numerous Unix
and PZE", Berres continues. “These were       first Windows client but initially nobody      derivatives were more or less equally dis-
the three products we were involved           believed in this new, yet highly playful       tributed on the market. This meant that
with. At the time I thought, what do we       looking technology. However, our boss          we had to keep all systems available and
do when the three products are up and         already had a clearer idea back then." By      also incorporate them during develop-
running? Nevertheless, we came up with        the boss we mean Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen         ment and testing. With the advent of Li-
more ideas about what we could do, and        Kletti, who founded MPDV in 1977 and           nux, everything became easier and today
when I look at our company and our pro-       has played a major role in the company's       we only support Linux and Windows for
ducts today, my fears about a lack of         success story to this day. "At the time we     the server. How we were able to master
work have proven to be unfounded." He         implemented customizations directly in         this complexity back then is hardly con-
gives me a mischievous look. At this time     the source code," explains Berres and sips     ceivable today." Berres continues to talk
HYDRA consisted of the products Shop          on his wine.                                   for a while about technical details that I
Floor Data Collection (BDE), Machine                                                         find difficult to understand totally. Mean-
Data Collection (MDC) and Personnel           "Next came HYDRA 7 and with it a big step      while I take a swig of wine. However, he
Time Recording (PZE) in version 5.5. "Af-     towards flexibility.                           returns to the history of HYDRA: "We
ter that came further versions of five, all                                                  have done a great deal of work on HYDRA
of which were still based on a DOS client."   The so-called MES Weaver enabled us for        7, also with regard to customizability. We
For the younger generations: DOS stands       the first time to jointly operate individual   moved away from the customizations in
for Disk Operating System and was the         modules of different versions and thus to      the source code to user exits, user fields
command line based predecessor of Mi-         further develop them independently. In         and configuration option". At that time,
crosoft Windows. Command line means           doing so, we also achieved true horizon-       MPDV already had several hundred cus-
that there was no graphic.                    tal integration as required by the VDI Gui-    tomers and the quality demands on the
                                              deline 5600 some years later. We were          HYDRA standard were significantly high-
The computer was really an electronic         ahead of times even then. The first            er than in the early days. For example,
typewriter with a monitor.                    sheets of the VDI guideline 5600 were          the outsourcing of customizations in the
                                              published in 2006 and are still relevant in    form of user exits helped to make sure
"Some of the terminals were even pro-         newer versions for the tasks of a Manu-        that changes did not have a negative im-
grammed in proprietary languages that         facturing Execution System (MES) like          pact on the standard.
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 23

"Around ten years ago, HYDRA                                                                                              But the diffe-
8 allowed us to switch to the                                                                         rence is that we now have a
office client MOC that we                                                                              standardized connecting link -
know today. Today's shop                                                                               the MIP integration platform.”
floor client AIP was already                                                                            We talk a little bit more about
available for HYDRA 7, but                                                                              this and that. Eventually we
became standard with HYD-                                                                                are back in the past and in
RA 8." MOC stands for MES                                                                                the development of MPDV
Operation Center and AIP                                                                                  as a company. Berres pon-
for Acquisition & Informati-                                                                               ders: "When I started, we
on Panel. At that time, the                                                                                 were just 18 employees.
technological innovation                                                                                     At the turn of the mill-
was so important that                                                                                          ennium we moved into
each of the clients                                                                                             our first building in
even had their own                                                                                                Mosbach, Germany
product logos. "By                                                                                                 - at that time we
introducing HYD-                                                                                                     already had two
RA 8, we have                                                                                                          floors.   Today,
further develo-                                                                                                          we have two
ped the under-                                                                                                            further office
lying principle                                                                                                            towers.
of the MES Wea-
ver and have since expanded the              Some of our HYDRA 8 users have already        We have subsidiaries worldwide and around
product range enormously - even beyond       upgraded to the latest MES-Weaver             500 employees - nothing to do with the
the tasks of VDI 5600. That's why we are     4.0pe and therefore have the opportunity      engineering office of yesterday.
talking today about HYDRA being more         to benefit from the MIP ecosystem. This
than just an MES - in other words, Bey-      means that HYDRA users can use third-         This fact is also reflected in our product
ond MES!” Berres leans back and sips on      party applications that are compatible        HYDRA. Back then, everyone was more or
his wine. "Thanks to the configurability     with HYDRA. "However, by taking the           less in the loop and decisions were made
developed back then, we can still handle     step towards the platform, we have also       practically across three desks. Today we
many special cases today without chan-       heralded another important change - ap-       have quite a few specialists focusing on a
ging the source code.                        pification. FEDRA is a good example to        variety of issues. Looking back, a lot has
                                             explain this.” The Advanced Planning and      happened in what felt like a short time.”
We are proud of this, because we have a      Scheduling System (APS) FEDRA is              And with these wise words we finish our
standard software that can be used           MPDV's new planning solution. He conti-       wine. Tomorrow is another exciting day at
throughout industry.                         nues taking some peanuts from the bowl:        MPDV.
                                             "Here we have launched a new product in
However, the trend is now shifting away      the form of mApps for the MIP." mApp
from this. In the future, we will talk in-   stands for Manufacturing App - this can
creasingly about modeling - but more on      be any type of application that communi-
that later." Bernd Berres pauses for a       cates with the MIP via specified services.
moment and then picks up the thread          "As an mApp, FEDRA can therefore be
again: "Now we are in the present and        used independent of HYDRA. It seems a
sometimes it also affects tomorrow. The      bit like closing the gap with the past.” He
new MES Weaver 4.0pe brings HYDRA            smiles. "We used to have individual appli-
closer to the Manufacturing Integration      cations in form of isolated applications
Platform and turns it into a multi-app”.     and now we have individual apps again.
24 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

HYDRA X is Coming in Spring 2021

Generation Change –
also in the Software
There is nothing more constant than change, and that is why both the MPDV management board and the products are
changing. However, major development steps are routinely called for allowing new market requirements to be identi-
fied in good time or even anticipated. Prof. Jürgen Kletti, Managing Partner of MPDV, points out: "With HYDRA X, such
a substantial innovation stage is now coming – and for this reason we are speaking of a generation change also in this
context."

Before evaluating how revolutionary a new      MES tasks. Among these applications are         the first Beyond MES system based on the
product is, one should first understand        functions to control intralogistic processes    MIP that will lay the foundation for a fu-
what characterizes this product and what       or a step-by-step operator guidance for         ture-proof manufacturing IT. Production
added value it brings to the users. A Manu-    assembly processes. "The new application        companies without an MES should embark
facturing Execution System (MES) like HY-      often reaches a depth in process control        on this journey as soon as possible or they
DRA always seeks to increase transparency      that goes far beyond the scope originally       will be left behind by the rest of the mar-
of production workflows and to thus pave       intended for a classic MES," says Thorsten      ket." The use of a forward-looking manu-
the way for the Smart Factory. At the same     Strebel, Chief Technical Officer at MPDV,       facturing IT is essential if only to integrate
time, an MES helps to improve machine          "HYDRA X is therefore heralding the new         the often complex requirements of product
utilization, optimize personnel deployment,    Beyond MES era."                                variety and process quality. Companies
shorten lead times, reduce production          Another advantage is that HYDRA X is not a      with existing systems can use the new
costs or even secure traceability and          monolithic system like many other MES           platform strategy to innovate and gradually
support the internal logistics. The VDI gui-   systems. It is much more a collection of        introduce state-of-the-art applications.
deline 5600 describes ten MES tasks: order     user-oriented applications, which can be        "With HYDRA X, manufacturing companies
management, detailed scheduling and con-       flexibly combined in a platform, in this case   are well-prepared for the future," says Nat-
trol, resource management, material ma-        the Manufacturing Integration Platform          halie Kletti, Chief Executive Officer at
nagement, human resources management,          (MIP) by MPDV. The Advanced Planning and        MPDV, "and MPDV is the right partner on
data collection, performance analysis,         Scheduling System (APS) FEDRA by MPDV           the way to the Smart Factory." The proven
quality management, information manage-        has already implemented this approach.          combination of user proximity and a special
ment       and      energy    management.      The result is an ecosystem of interoperable     feel for beneficial innovations will again be
These tasks have long been the measure of      applications, even applications of different    evident in the next product generation
all things for the functional scope of an      suppliers.                                      HYDRA X.
MES system like HYDRA.                         This kind of interoperability based on a        Thorsten Strebel summarizes: "Stay tuned
                                               platform is what the Smart Factory of the       and look forward with us to more flexibility,
Beyond MES – HYDRA of the future               future needs. Today, all companies partici-     more interoperability and more productivi-
HYDRA X, the innovative successor of the       pating in the ecosystem benefit from the        ty with HYDRA X."
HYDRA family, offers a broad spectrum of       advantages provided by interoperability.
supporting applications for modern pro-        Jürgen Petzel, Chief Sales Officer at MPDV,
duction reaching clearly beyond the classic    adds: "With HYDRA X, we will soon have
26 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

Koziol

Running like
Clockwork
Special times require special measures. This is why Koziol, a company from Erbach, Germany, has been producing
respiratory masks since April. Employees at Koziol use MPDV's Manufacturing Execution System (MES) HYDRA to plan
and control production orders and thus guarantee a smooth production process.
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 27

Koziol normally manufactures drinking            The engine for production                     "Thanks to MES HYDRA by MPDV,
cups, mixing bowls or cutlery from 100           32 injection molding machines are con-        we have managed to convert our
percent recyclable plastic. Following the        nected to the MES HYDRA. Heidorn can
                                                                                               production to respiratory mask wi-
corona crisis, the company has recently          see on the monitor in his office exactly
changed its production and now manu-             how many parts are being produced by          thout any problems and to coordi-
factures reusable respiratory masks              which system or are currently at a stand-     nate all processes optimally. Now
made of thermoplastic elastomer. This is         still. "This overview is great. HYDRA has     we can produce as many respirato-
a special plastic that is particularly flexib-   increased the transparency in the shop
                                                                                               ry masks as required in the shor-
le and can be cleaned with soap and wa-          floor enormously. The MES has also ena-
ter.                                             bled us to smoothly convert our produc-       test possible time".
                                                 tion to protective masks and to perfectly
Koziol produces more than 3500 respira-          coordinate all processes. Now we can          Thomas Heidorn, responsible for
tory masks daily in addition to its actual       produce as many respiratory masks as          production planning
business. Goes without saying that every         possible in the shortest possible time.
cog in the works must mesh perfectly.            Without HYDRA this would certainly not
"We have no time for production downti-          have been possible", says Heidorn with        we keep an eye on all areas of our pro-
mes." says Thomas Heidorn is responsib-          great delight.                                duction and avoid idle times."
le for order planning at Koziol.
                                                 Koziol uses HYDRA for all areas. Their in-    Plans for the future include the use of
Getting the most out of it                       ternal printing press is also connected to    other MES HYDRA functions, for example
MPDV's MES HYDRA monitors the entire             HYDRA. This allows Heidorn to see early       monitoring temperatures during the pro-
production process. For example, HYDRA           on order gaps in the print shop and how       cessing of raw materials. After all, wor-
shows exactly how many respiratory               he can use them effectively for other pro-    king with plastic is all about precision.
masks have already been produced in              ductions. The external installation service   Heidorn knows that very well. He has
pink and when the next color change is           of Koziol will be connected to the MES        been working for Koziol for more than 21
due. With HYDRA Thomas Heidorn also              HYDRA in the near future. "With HYDRA         years.
knows when tools require maintenance.
"This is a great advantage as the system
enables us to plan in advance and use
this time to service machines in parallel.”

Special tools are used to manufacture the
masks and only a limited number of them
is available. After all, Koziol designed the
masks within three weeks and at the
same time built the tools themselves.
Heidorn's task is to ensure that each tool
is in the right place at the right time and
that production does not come to a
standstill. “Thanks to HYDRA we have a
complete overview and the system al-
lows us to make the most of our resour-
ces."
28 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

AI Suite

Artificial Intelligence
on the Move towards
Standard Software
So far, only few companies use artificial intelligence (AI) in production and if they do, they are usually large
groups. This is due to the fact that AI projects are costly and the benefits of standardization cannot be used.
This will change with the AI Suite of MPDV.

The dream of an all-encompassing artificial     necessary with the AI Suite. Instead, the      AI Suite includes different mApps that can
intelligence will certainly not come true       integrated data model of the Manufactu-        be used as you like. The only condition is
with the new MPDV solution. However, this       ring Integration Platform (MIP) ensures        that the MIP must be used as shared data
product group includes innovative applica-      that data can immediately be used. We re-      basis – which is already a standard if you
tions facilitating production routines signi-   member: the MIP is the central basis of all    use the latest MES HYDRA version.
ficantly. The AI Suite focuses on the supply    MPDV applications; be it the Manufacturing     When the AI Suite was presented at the
of standard software that can be used by        Execution System (MES) HYDRA, the new          HYDRA Users Group conference in Septem-
small and medium-sized companies wit-           planning solution APS FEDRA or one of the      ber 2020, two applications were introdu-
hout the need for data scientists. Contrary     new applications of the AI Suite. In the MIP   ced: the Setup Time Prediction and the Uti-
to the classical approach of AI projects ac-    environment, these applications are called     lization Analysis for Shifts. A third, already
cording to CRISP-DM, data mining is not         manufacturing apps or in short mApps. The
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 29
30 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

AI Suite

                                                                                                 order at a workplace or machine. The setup
                                                                                                 time is one of these values, which is usually
                                                                                                 measured manually with the stopwatch. AI
                                                                                                 can support setup time predictions to cope
                                                                                                 with the growing number of possible com-
                                                                                                 binations of tools, material, personnel and
                                                                                                 other factors. For this purpose, Setup Time
                                                 ately whether the article currently being       Prediction creates a model, which is based
                                                 produced will be scrap or pass the inspec-      on historical data from an MES (e.g. HYD-
                                                 tion. Predictive Quality also calculates the    RA). The model integrates all factors, such
                                                 probability of occurrence. Employees, ma-       as the duration of the setup time in relation
                                                 chines, systems or other actors can there-      to the different combinations of article, ma-
                                                 fore quickly decide whether it is worthwhile    chine and tool. A conventional setup change
known application is also part of the AI Sui-    to continue investing in a part or whether to   matrix quickly reaches its limits, as there
te: Predictive Quality. Let us briefly outline   remelt it directly. This saves time and redu-   are simply too many possible combinations.
the different applications in the following:     ces costs, as potentially defective parts can   However, the real highlight is the use of the
                                                 be rejected at an early stage. Predictive       generated model and, as a result, the pre-
Predictive Quality                               Quality rests on the execution of a model       diction of the setup time. For instance, if an
Let us recall: Predictive Quality assumes        that is created using machine learning or in    operation at a machine is scheduled to run
that scrap or rework can occur even if all       other words artificial intelligence; this mo-   at a specific time with a specific tool, this
process parameters are within the valid to-      del processes recorded process data in real     and other data is used to predict the proba-
lerances. Complex correlations and interac-      time.                                           ble setup time based on the previously
tions can cause these failures and very of-      Setup Time Prediction                           created model. Using similarities, setup
ten the actual production technology is res-     In production planning, a number of stan-       times can also be estimated for new combi-
ponsible. Predictive Quality addresses the-      dard values are used to predict the proces-     nations. AI mainly operates in the same
se correlations and gives employees in           sing time of an operation and also the inte-    way as manual maintenance would work: A
production the opportunity to see immedi-        rim times between two operations of an          technical expert draws conclusions about
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 31

the new combination from comparable ar-             intelligence analyzes a wide range of data       applications of the AI Suite, MPDV not only
ticles, tools, etc. But AI can integrate all fac-   and identifies patterns and correlations. For    shows the results, but also the way the re-
tors included in the data and use a signifi-        example, the application can find out that a     sults were achieved. In particular when st-
cantly larger data basis.                           low utilization of a specific shift does not     arting with AI, this is very important, be-
Several real production scenarios were              affect all machines. One machine stands          cause at some point, AI should suggest
analyzed to find out what Setup Time Pre-           out. But also at this machine, utilization va-   measures itself. The results and suggested
diction can achieve in comparison with the          ries when you have a closer look at the pro-     measures should not be questioned then,
conventional method. It turns out that AI-          duced articles. If you then add other influ-     but regarded as a real support for the work
based prediction is clearly superior to con-        encing factors, such as the material used,       in production.
ventional prediction mechanisms. This also          you can easily narrow down the causes of
means, that wasteful buffer times are eli-          low utilization. Such an analysis is quite im-
minated. First analyses show that the use           possible without AI.
of AI systems releases about 20 percent of          The application Utilization Analysis for
additional production capacity.                     Shifts displays all results in tables and gra-
                                                    phic charts. This way, the user can under-
Utilization Analysis for Shifts                     stand the outcome of a specific result. Via
Utilization Analysis for Shifts clearly identi-     drill-down, the user can trace back how an
fies shifts offering potential for optimizati-      analysis result was achieved, even down to
on. The application provides a transparent          the collected data basis.
overview of the resources that are respon-
sible for low utilization. This enables you to      Increase Confidence in AI
take targeted action and increase utilization       One should not only consider the innovative
within a very short time. The application           possibilities the use of AI offers in manu-
provides a tree view where users can                facturing IT, but also the confidence of
quickly identify which shift or resource re-        users in the results of AI. After all, what
sults in very high or low utilization rates.        good is an excellent standard software if
In the background, the integrated artificial        the users do not believe its results? In all
32 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 33

Software from
     the Cloud
   Smart Factory Cloud Services is the new service offered by MPDV, making
                      all products available as Software as a Service (SaaS).
                    The offer includes operation, maintenance and updating
                                        of the systems as is typical for SaaS.
34 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

Operating your own servers is time-consu-       run on your own server (on premise), but       will update the operating system and the
ming and distracts from the actual value        are accessed online. Deployment, mainte-       database or install new service packs for
creation of a manufacturing company. After      nance and updating of the programs is done     HYDRA, for example. The customer can
all, it takes some effort to keep the systems   by MPDV.                                       thus fully concentrate on the actual appli-
up to date. This involves, among other          Until now, users of the Manufacturing Exe-     cation of the manufacturing IT. The custo-
things, preventing system failures caused,      cution System (MES) HYDRA in an on-pre-        mer is only responsible for the operation of
for example, by an external attack. An at-      mise version were responsible for the          the clients in the company. This means, that
tack could in the worst case paralyze the       maintenance and updating of the system         they install shop floor clients such as the
entire production line for days on end and      themselves. Smart Factory Cloud Services       AIP or the office client MOC locally on their
result in considerable economic damage.         eliminate these tasks. "This allows the cus-   computers. MPDV is responsible for migra-
That's why it is all the more important to      tomer to concentrate on their production       tion, operation, maintenance, servicing and
keep the servers up to date at all times.       and work with the system in the shop floor.    the security of the server applications. This
More security, increased flexibility            We do the rest," says Matthias March, Di-      keeps the system always up to date and
MPDV's Smart Factory Cloud Services also        rector Product Management at MPDV.             meets the highest security requirements.
offer their own software products for the       And this is how the SaaS offer works: MPDV     Due to a deployment time of just five wor-
Smart Factory as SaaS solutions, thus mee-      provides the required system in the cloud      king days, the services can be used very
ting the market demand for more security        together with partners like Microsoft. For     quickly," explains March.
and flexibility. The applications no longer     the duration of the SaaS contract, MPDV
MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight 35

Reduce fixed costs                              Full interoperability for all products           Reliable implementation partner
Smart Factory Cloud Services also bring si-     Both MES HYDRA and the Advanced Plan-            Microsoft's Azure Cloud can be used to
gnificant advantages from a business per-       ning and Scheduling System (APS) FEDRA           serve as the basis for the Smart Factory
spective. For example, fixed costs for spe-     as well as MPDV's Manufacturing Integrati-       Cloud Services. Users can freely decide in
cial manpower to operate the servers can        on Platform (MIP) are available as SaaS so-      what region or in which countries the data
be saved. Studies have shown that IT costs      lutions. Even if the systems run in the cloud,   should be stored. Microsoft, the world's
can be reduced by up to 50 percent with         they can be quickly and flexibly connected       leading manufacturer of software solutions
SaaS solutions. Furthermore, companies no       to other applications via interfaces. "The       and modern services, MPDV has found a re-
longer have to make large one-off invest-       servers that we operate for the customer         liable partner for SaaS.
ments, but pay smaller amounts on a regu-       are clearly addressable. We can use the in-      "SaaS applications are the future. They of-
lar basis and can choose the term and pay-      terfaces to other systems as if they were        fer more flexibility for users and open up
ment frequency. "Software licenses were         installed on-premise," says March. Using         new opportunities to use existing resources
often too expensive, especially for smaller     MPDV's Cloud Connector, other cloud soft-        even more profitably," says Hartweg.
companies. New licensing alternatives pro-      ware systems such as an ERP can also be
vided by the Smart Factory Cloud Services       easily connected.
will result in more cost-effective models for
this target group as well," says Holger Hart-
weg, Director Sales at MPDV.

   Software as a Service

   SaaS is one of the most popular forms of cloud computing. The applications don’t run in your own computer
   center, but are accessed online via the Internet. Maintenance and updating of the programs is done by the pro-
   vider. SaaS applications are particularly interesting for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies that
   only have a small IT department.
   Companies are able to use IT services flexibly depending on their needs with SaaS and are thus well prepared
   for a rapidly changing market. Therefore, IT can react quickly and with great flexibility to new requirements in
   the corporate world. As a result, costs can be saved and resources used more effectively.
36 MPDV NEWS 2021 l Insight

Interview

Factory planning,
easy, dynamic,
realistic, adaptive
The requirements for a planning solution in production have increased. This poses a challenge for software com-
panies to develop suitable products and bring them to the market. MPDV's answer is the Advanced Planning and
Scheduling System (APS) FEDRA which is a new planning solution that allows both simple operations and complex
production orders to be planned quickly and flexibly. In this interview, Thorsten Strebel, CTO, and Jürgen Petzel,
CSO, explain why MPDV decided to develop an APS and what benefits the system offers.

Mr. Strebel, what was the motivation be-
hind the development of FEDRA?                   Plan automatically
Thorsten Strebel: Today, manufacturing
                                                 FEDRA has functions for automatic planning using rules, objectives or Re-
companies have much higher demands on a
                                                 inforcement Learning based on artificial intelligence (AI). These functions
planning software. It is no longer sufficient
to be able to simply plan operations in pro-     help to implement complex planning situations quickly and flexibly at the
duction. Instead, the system must be able        push of a button. FEDRA permits a large number of operations to be per-
to integrate the complete production pro-        fectly distributed among the available resources. The system can also be
cess, covering all divisions and plants. That    used to simulate and evaluate various planning scenarios.
is why we have developed many new func-
tions for the shop floor scheduling of our       • AI Planning takes your automatic production planning to a whole new
Manufacturing Execution System (MES)
                                                   level by using Artificial Intelligence (Reinforcement Learning). The system
HYDRA in the past years and expanded it
                                                   questions decisions made and, based on this information, gradually opti
step by step to an APS, which we are now
bringing to the market.                            mizes the planning result independently. Orders can therefore be pro
                                                   cessed on time and setup and throughput times can be reduced.
What functions does FEDRA have?                  • With Rule Designed Planning companies define the rules for automatic
                                                   planning or use predefined standard rules for planning. For example, you
Jürgen Petzel: FEDRA provides basic func-          can specify that the work orders with the shortest run time should be
tions to plan operations, personnel and ma-        processed first or the ones with the highest priority.
chines. If required, the system also incorpo-
                                                 • Target Designed Planning enables target-driven, automatic planning
rates consumption and newly produced
                                                   based on key figures.
parts in real time. As a result, users are al-
ways informed and have an overview of            • Use the Simulation function to compare different planning scenarios
where materials are missing or whether             during operation.
there are gaps the in personnel planning.
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