Robert Bosch GmbH Bamberg

Bosch Bamberg is not only the largest manufacturing location in Germany within the Bosch Group, but also the lead plant for diesel technology in the global production network. The company is investing in both the expansion of fuel cell production and in the further development of internal-combustion engine components. As part of the Industry 4.0 project, the lines for the production of fuel injectors for gasoline, gas and diesel engines are to be fully automated and digitized at four locations.

The first fully automated production line has already been set up in Bamberg. All recorded data is stored in a data warehouse that can be accessed via a web interface. In the future, here the process and machine data from the individual, globally distributed lines as well as the material data from the ERP will stream together to map the status of the material flow as transparently and precisely as possible.

A key objective was to simplify the provision of information to employees. From the amount of data collected, it shall be possible to derive the information quickly and understandably, which should lead to further improvements despite an already high degree of automation. An uncomplicated access without contacting the IT department as well as a visualization of the data could already be achieved as important objectives.

The company uses an MES (Manufacturing Execution System) to control, monitor and automate processes and to record production data. The project team developed standardized requirements for machine integration – this made it possible to use new technologies in a more targeted manner and avoid costly retrofitting of the systems.

In addition, Borsch linked the MES with the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) – and can now use, among other things, automatic good/bad part postings and material reorders, but also continuously improve inventory transparency and quality assurance.

In the new production line, all machines are connected with standardized IT products/platforms: The MES collects process and quality data, and a data warehouse system makes it possible to gain new insights from this data using data mining, visualization, and AI support, among other things. Deviation management and an anomaly detection engine also allow deviations in the production process to be detected at an early stage and countermeasures to be initiated immediately.

Smart watches inform the workers about malfunctions/anomalies in the production process. In addition, the team uses smart glasses for remote support and for other purposes such as a quick ramp-up, for more efficient maintenance or for an easier transfer of the collected experience in the plant network.