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What were the challenges to be solved and what specific benefits were achieved?

Changing customer requirements and a growing proportion of special produc-tion meant that HABA used tools in Industrie 4.0 to create options for furniture manufacture, so that operations were more flexible.

HABA furniture production employees receive transparent real-time infor-mation about the components and furniture to be processed, and do so on a user-friendly and modern user interface. As well as this, the HABA MES is a tool that is capable of short-term development regarding export of data and control of the processes.

"The HABA family of companies looks back on almost 80 years of tradition. We are combining tradition with innovation and are looking boldly to the future. That is why it is important for us to preserve value and to go new ways, especially in the technical field. Our HABA-MES is an important future building block for innovative production control. We are hence well prepared for the wishes and requirements of our customers”, explains Harald Grosch, Managing Director of the HABA-family of companies.

How can the Industrie 4.0 approach be described?

The core of the HABA Industrie 4.0 solution is a specially developed CPS (MES), which is based on the tried and tested PPS. The HABA MES prepares the required manufacture, customer and master data, enriches it, and channels it to employees in a targeted and efficient manner.

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What could be achieved?

The processes of HABA furniture manufacturing are flexible and transparent to the needs of an efficient value creation and thus aligned to the customer. A steadily increasing variety of variants as well as the demand for individual customer solutions are thus just as manageable as standard furniture.

By synchronizing a wide range of manufacturing processes with regard to the customer appointment, the flow of goods is streamlined, interim storage is eliminated and logistics is relieved.

The continuous improvement process is optimally supported by the fact that the self-programmed HABA-MES is developed in-house at short notice and cost-effectively. Measurable improvements were achieved throughout the entire production process: The throughput times of the furniture production as well as the storage costs of the semi-finished parts and finished furniture could be significantly reduced. The on-time delivery of logistics has also improved significantly.

What measures have been taken to achieve the solution?

Through an active process management, concepts have been developed that place new demands on production control and thus on internal information management. Based on this, as a tool of Industrie 4.0, a CPS (MES) was developed, which meets these requirements.

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At all workstations, an exchange takes place between the workpiece, HABA-MES and the machine, which makes it possible to provide the employees with the required information and specifications in real time. In addition, all subsequent employees will receive feedback on the current processing progress and the whereabouts of the semi-finished parts. The value-adding activities are thus centralized.

What can others learn from it?

The successful introduction of a new system requires the constant comparison of theory and practice. The proximity between the strategic development and the value-adding implementation was achieved by a present group of multipliers. The latter has the necessary knowledge: on the one hand, for the practical operationalization of the goals and, on the other hand, for the transfer of knowledge and guidance to colleagues in production. Through this, a continuous improvement of both the processes as well as the HABA-MES is made possible. This ensures that Industrie 4.0 brings real added value.