The challenge:
“Originally, we just wanted to reduce overtime. Again and again, we found overtime necessary in order to meet our delivery deadlines,” explained Torsten Völker, Manager for Trailer Production at Hüffermann. Toralf Pekrul, Head of the EWM Wittstock and Rathenow locations, and EWM field sales employee, Jeffrey Kube, were responsible for optimising production initially at just one workstation to reduce overtime to zero.
The solution:
As part of the ewm maXsolution holistic consultation solution, specialists at EWM looked at the entire process chain and closely examined every detail of production – from gas and wire feeding, through the welding process to the contact tip. EWM specialists optimised every single factor and streamlined all the steps of the system production chain at one workstation.
The success:
It saved an unbelievable amount of time, paying for itself within one year: By implementing the large number of individual measures recommended by EWM, the company was able to find a solution which satisfied both the worker and the growing demands of the market. Reducing work time by up to 15% while simultaneously boosting output by up to 10% and cutting gas consumption by a third, all with the same quality as before and backed up by company figures – these were the arguments that convinced the market leader in transport and recycling vehicles systems to switch its entire welding production – including 68 workstations – to EWM. Thanks to the time savings from putting the overall concept into practice, it was possible not only to maintain performance, but to increase it. The way Völker saw it, this was the decisive factor, because “you can buy everything except time!”
