Forestry Equipment Maker STIHL Optimizes Planning With Dassault Systèmes’ DELMIA

Standardization of Planning Processes within Central Environment Simplifies Early Product Development

Vélizy Villacoublay, France – November 17, 2009 – Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that global power tools provider ANDREAS STIHL AG & Co. KG has selected Dassault Systèmes DELMIA Process Engineer to optimize complex planning processes for product development.

The implementation of DELMIA Process Engineer (DPE) at STIHL includes PPR Navigator, Process Resource Planning, Product Evaluation, Standard Time Measurement, and Automatic Line Balancing modules. Several workplaces were equipped with these solutions in the process planning department as well as in the assembly equipment planning.

"The objective was to integrate depiction of standardized planning processes within a centralized planning tool," said Dr. Jörg Schlossarczyk, director of central planning at STIHL. The Manufacturing Hub as a centralized data source for all planning information is of particular importance. A list of SAP-generated variants is imported into the system through an interface and forms the basis for planning. Software-supported balancing of assembly lines is achieved based on process planning, equipment, and time management data, which are generated using DELMIA Process Engineer and stored. Now, all planners and designers involved can quickly and easily make changes to processes and development schedules. Anyone involved in the manufacture of the product can access planning documentation at the touch of a button.

 "These changes provided us with significantly more efficient and transparent processes in the early stages of development and manufacture of our products," emphasizes Dr. Schlossarczyk. With DELMIA Process Engineer, planning information regarding assembly processes and assembly equipment can be easily standardized.

In the past, processes used in planning were primarily associated with individual planners. Additionally, the standard productivity/time management tools being used in planning were difficult to access and insufficiently transparent for external employees and other company divisions involved in processing. With DELMIA Process engineer Stihl can ensure full transparency through simple assessments by all the departments involved in the product planning process.

Only a few months have passed since the initial solution deployment, but each of STIHL’s planners now works according to predefined standards. All planning information is stored at a central location and is reusable. Also, with precise assembly time calculations for primarily manual assembly activities, STIHL can now accurately gauge personnel requirements.

“STIHL has an expansive network of operations worldwide. Efficient, reliable and real-time communication to all locations within their network is clearly a priority,” said Patrick Michel, vice president, industry solutions and marketing, DELMIA, Dassault Systèmes. “With DELMIA Process Engineer, they can develop standards, improve the efficiency of their processes and foster inter-departmental collaboration.”