Process-wide solutions for panel building

The unwavering truth is that “the customer does not want products, he wants solutions”. It is particularly interesting when automation or cloud solutions offer further potential for seemingly sophisticated manual tasks. A great example of this is panel building, which still requires the hands and eyes of experts, both at the workstations and on the installation site. It has been proven that even wiring and marking contact points – tasks that have been carried out for decades – can be improved, thereby not only speeding up the work, but also making it more comfortable and less prone to errors. It's a win-win situation for the customers and the panel builders. With its Workplace Solutions, Weidmüller has examined and optimised every work step.“

The science of panel building

Methodical inspections for work organisation have been around since the start of industrialisation. One prominent example is the Toyota production system, which resulted in the development of the 5S workplace organisation method and the Lean principles. A current study by the Institute for Control Engineering of Machine Tools and Manufacturing Units (ISW) at the University of Stuttgart is focused upon panel building. The exact title of the study is “Panel building 4.0 – A study of automation and digitalisation potential in the production of panels and switchgears in classic machinery and plant engineering.” It is based on a field study of 12 German panel builders. In doing so, the Stuttgart-based scientists not only examine the actual status but also look at specific recommendations for action.
The outcome of the study is that those who took part see considerable potential for improvement and savings in panel building, both in terms of general standardisation and also the standardisation of workstations. The project planning and circuit diagram design work steps tie up more than 50 per cent of the working time during the planning stage. The reason for this is inconsistent engineering processes and increasingly complex requirements as a result of the growing project business.
The many manual tasks for mechanical assembly and wiring during the installation stage account for more than 70 per cent of the working time. This is where the process-wide solutions from Weidmüller are advantageous.