In the first half of 2023, our institute was able to bring various projects in industry to a successful conclusion again. Besides projects in the field of factory planning, sustainability was once more relevant.
Greenfield Factory Planning for Unicor: higher productivity through lean principles
The Institute of Innovation and Industrial Management conducted a greenfield factory planning project with a new industrial partner located in Germany. The goal of the project was to develop an entire site location structure for Unicor, including production facility, administration building and the supply and delivery concept. The planned facility demonstrates how productivity in production environments can be increased through lean principles, product modularization and reduced logistics efforts. Additionally, the production system has been digitally represented using simulation modelling to identify further improvement possibilities.
Determination of Carbon footprints at Magna: saving potentials identified
The IIM analyzed the greenhouse gas emissions generated during the manufacturing of three different products of the automotive supplier Magna. These so-called product carbon footprints not only had to comply with international standards, but also must meet the strict specifications of the car manufacturers. The results were now presented to the management of several business units.
Although Magna already puts great emphasis on sustainability, reduction potentials could be found; the biggest lever is the sourcing of low-carbon materials and can reduce GHG emissions by up to 80% depending on the component. In addition, renewable energy and state-of-the-art manufacturing machines contribute to a more environmentally friendly production and reduce emissions once more (up to 15%).
Review and improvement of a clocked maintenance concept for rail vehicles and LEAN training at ÖBB-Technische Services-GmbH
A depot for passenger railroad cars with two clocked lines for maintenance was examined and further developed for ÖBB-TS. For this purpose, the current situation was analyzed on-site, and an existing concept to improve and stabilize the recently introduced clocked maintenance was reviewed. Moreover, short- and medium-term improvement measures were developed. At the beginning of the project 30 employees from five different departments were trained in the area of "Lean Production" at the LEAD Factory premises.
In addition to the already completed project, IIM is currently working on two other projects with ÖBB-TS. In a project (running since February), where a maintenance concept including a factory building for special vehicles is being planned, the IIM institute is using "Virtual Reality" as planning aid for the first time. In the second, just started, project IIM will support a strategic decision making combined with a comprehensive factory planning.