“Catch me if you can”

Citation

(2006), "“Catch me if you can”", Circuit World, Vol. 32 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2006.21732bab.003

“Catch me if you can”

“Catch me if you can”

Steve Meyer of Aceri Distribution looks at how electrical design software holds one of the keys to improving the performance of UK manufacturing

Few would argue that, in recent years, there has been a general migration of manufacturing from Europe to lower cost economies in the Far East. In the UK in particular, a number of engineering-based industries have all but disappeared, with earlier global dominance a fast-fading memory.

Yet there are exceptions to this rule, with some countries doing a much better job than others in holding on to their manufacturing base. Notably, Germany appears to have been more successful in resisting this shift and is still recognisably a major force, for example, in car production and such heavy engineering sectors as lathe and printing press manufacture.

Why should this be? In large part this is because, at both an individual and corporate purchasing level, German products are seen to have an inherent level of quality which can command a premium in the international marketplace.

So how have German companies managed to hold onto this quality perception? The answer can be summed up in one word: automation. Unlike many other European manufacturers, they have recognised that it is unrealistic to attempt to compete directly with lower cost producers by cutting individual labour costs.

By contrast, they have taken the longer-term view of investing in manufacturing and electrical design software. As a result, it is not unusual for such companies dramatically to improve productivity, with the number of man-hours required to produce a car, say, cut to as little as half that of many of their European counterparts.

And it is no coincidence that these companies are often headed up by ex- engineers, unlike more directly finance- driven companies who are likely to take a narrower, more immediate view of the return required for any investment.

Quality first

The key to success in facing lower unit- cost producers is to recognise that it is unrealistic to compete head-on on price. Though the price gap cannot be excessive, in most markets customers will pay extra for perceived quality – where they feel they are getting superior value for money.

Autodesk's AutoCAD Electrical software provides a striking illustration of how automation can directly support the consistently high-level build quality required to engender such customer confidence.

For example, used in conjunction with Autodesk Inventor 3D modelling software, it guarantees a consistency and reliability of build in the key area of electrical circuitry. Done manually, the electrical or mechanical engineer will receive a schematic and decide at manufacturing stage the best route for each of the many hundreds or more wires.

This is hugely time-inefficient: more importantly perhaps, the next time the engineer has the same task to complete, they will almost certainly select a different route, introducing an element of inconsistency into the production process.

This has a number of important knock-on effects for the end-user. Firstly, if a manufacturer has an electrical fault occur on a machine supporting one of three similar production lines, they would reasonably expect to be able to look at a supposedly identical machine on another line to see how to correct the problem. This will not be possible if the machines are wired differently, making it more difficult to pinpoint the fault.

Worse still, by introducing such anomalies into the manufacturing process, there is a greater risk of breakdown: having wires of differing lengths in identical machines, for example, may cause the wires to run hot or result in a voltage drop, causing problems specific to an individual machine rather than the range.

By automating the process by contrast, the engineer can import files which immediately find the optimal wiring route foe each cable, making the creation of harnesses both quick and consistent. Put simply, if you would expect the wiring on your washing machine to be the same as in another identical model, why should this be any different in the case of expensive pieces of heavy engineering equipment?

Similarly, in the context of labelling wires, manufacturing gains significantly as automatic label production makes the process up to five times quicker than with the manual production of individual ferrules. Yet at least as important is the fact that, once again, automation removes room for error, thus guaranteeing a common, high quality outcome.

A further level of quality assurance is provided by the German KKS numbering system, which includes essential “from to” connection information, a process which, in the absence of a CAD system, would simply be too complex and labour-intensive to do manually.

Buyer pressure

These are just two of many areas in which automating electrical and other elements of design can improve the competitiveness of UK plc, yet many manufacturers have yet to recognise the quantum leap in performance and consistency of delivery such solutions can bring.

However, as the above examples show, such consistency delivers significant benefits to the end-user of the equipment as well as to the original manufacturer. It is essential therefore that specifiers play their part in driving increased automation, by insisting that all suppliers of similar equipment all use the same design software, numbering conventions and symbols library.

By demanding that equipment is built to an exactly similar formula, irrespective of where it is manufactured, this will ensure both a consistently higher build quality overall and slash maintenance costs and machine down-time.

Strategic purchase

Companies in the UK are, of course, buying such software but too many are arguably implementing it as part of too narrow a vision. Electrical engineers see the benefits purely in terms of their day to day role, whereas the company should adopt it as part of a broader strategic vision to enhance the quality of the product at a lower cost – and so improve market competitiveness.

By having all manufacturers' databases on AutoCAD Electrical, for example, it is possible to source equivalent components from any supplier in a matter of minutes, whereas a manual search can easily take days. By rapidly getting e-mail quotes and establishing availability, this ensures that the business is always buying competitively. Similarly, by not being tied to one supplier, it avoids the risk of component shortages which can lead to production delays and penalty clauses for late delivery.

In conclusion, the adoption of specialist electrical automation software means that electrical engineers can, for the first time, play a full role in designing better products, by reducing errors, freeing up time for greater creativity and linking to the rest of the business. The individual designer may benefit from a more rewarding job, but the real winner is the overall business which becomes measurably more competitive.

And this is especially important in a global marketplace in which the UK lags behind its European counterparts, who are well-used to using such automation tools in their fight to preserve their manufacturing base. One thing is certain in such dynamic competitive environment: standing still is not an option, for if we are not moving ahead, we will fall further behind.

Steve Meyer is Sales Director of Autodesk Partner, Aceri Distribution Ltd. For further information, please visit the web site at: www.aceri.co.uk