AGCO GmbH / Fendt

Using a scrum-based approach, the company built a framework to achive a sustainable digital transformation in the organisation – and combined this with the successful establishment of digital shop floor management.

One of the central elements of the Fendt Industry 4.0 project is a complete digital factory planning and simulation. This is based on 3D models of plants, equipment and products and uses a sophisticated VR application for the simulation of work processes. In addition, a comprehensive MES backbone serves as a Single Source of Truth (SSOT). This means that all employees in the plant have access to one source of information – thus avoiding redundant data storage and enabling cross-departmental cooperation.

A further highlight is the digital and decentralised quality management in the plant, which has completely replaced forms with an easy-to-use smartphone app. If an employee discovers an error, he/she photographs and documents it with the smartphone. A stored fault tree is used to categorise the fault and to forward it directly to the area responsible for the fault.

Fendt also implemented consistent digitalisation at the workstations of the employees in the AGCO Cab Center. Work instructions are carried out digitally, among other things according to a qualification-dependent level of detail. The highlights: complete PLM integration, thanks to which changes in the production process are transferred directly to the workplace. In the event of technical changes, the workstations are equipped with tool integration, which is used, among other things, to specify and monitor torque and angle in screwdriving processes.

Pick-by-light order picking and complete supplier integration open up further efficiency potential. In addition, a specially developed app ensures greater safety at work by allowing employees to photograph and report potential sources of danger so that these can be eliminated directly.

For all elements, the consistently introduced solution is characterised by a high degree of maturity. The company thus created the appropriate framework for further increasing the efficiency, quality and speed of the Asbach-Bäumenheim plant in the future. A trend-setting approach is to focus not only on the processes and structures within the factory. Rather, it complements this by further developing management approaches and involving employees in the transformation process.