- What is the difference of modern production from the factory of the past?
- In its maximum customization. By this we mean maximum flexibility in meeting customer needs. Now the consumer wants the products he buys to correspond to his request as much as possible and the time between the request and the receipt of the finished product tends to zero. Therefore, production requires maximum flexibility. What we call digitalization is one of the conditions and the most important tool for ensuring this flexibility. Simply put, the depth of “going digital” becomes an indicator of enterprise competitiveness.
If we are talking about global competition, then just the “figure” provides the advantage of production in a rapidly changing world. Technology and service have reached such a level that they are easier to use than to avoid. Let us give an example: one of the leaders of a large industrial holding company told employees, including those working remotely: “Tomorrow at the 9.00 meeting is on Skype.” There were confessions from the regions that they did not know how to use Skype. “Well,” the manager replied, “who will not connect tomorrow, can write a letter of resignation.” The most amazing thing was that the next morning everyone was on the web. An example is partly funny, but the question is really important. For digitalization, motivation is needed. There is a huge amount of various information technologies on the market, the only question is the desire to use them, this is the first. The second is the art of using them in order to obtain a qualitative result with an acceptable budget.
“But in many domestic factories, whole parks of CNC machines are not the introduction of digital technologies into production?
- The question is not how much and what level of equipment is there, but how to manage the life cycles of the product, production facility, enterprise. The main requirement of the current technological structure is paperless production. Information exchange in digital form guarantees the absence of losses and distortions in the transmission of information and its instantaneous distribution among the participants in the process.
If we look at the problem on the basis of this, we will understand that expensive high-performance CNC machines are in fact only the final devices in the digitalization system, which provide instant information to the system of reliable information from production. A machine that is not included in the system essentially turns into an ax without a handle - it is more inconvenient for it than good.
The fact is that efficient use of high-tech equipment with CNC is possible only when an effective electronic digital system of design and technological preparation of production is created, including writing control programs, selecting cutting modes, selecting tools and equipment, working with a warehouse, etc. .
- What is the first step to be taken in the company, approaching the "figure"?
- The product life cycle consists of certain stages and the very first is the development, respectively, all the products that are going to be produced must initially appear in the digital environment.
- Well, where is the company Finval?
- First of all, we determine the exact grounded motion vectors - we develop the concept. If we are talking about creating the concept of a new production, then our place in the design and implementation of a corporate information system (EIS), which in the enterprise must accompany the product from the moment of its creation to disposal. An important stage in the creation of a modern production system is the justification of external cooperation (the principle of make-or-buy). Refusal of own underutilized and low-profitable productions allows to reduce investment expenses several times. But it is almost impossible to justify external cooperation and, moreover, to manage it in “paper” production. When planning changes and development of the production system, it is necessary to consider the possibility of managing the cooperation. When designing we create a corporate system taking into account cooperation.
A modern enterprise - not only and not even so many machines - is a complex that includes design and technological work, production, marketing and subsequent services, sales, in short, all that is called the product life cycle. And since the information system is an integral part of this set, it actually links everything together.
One of the most important attributes of a modern, efficient, competitive enterprise is the creation of a model (architecture) of a corporate information system. The functioning of a modern production enterprise is accompanied by a huge amount of heterogeneous information. An information system should provide for the movement of necessary information between enterprise systems in a timely manner and without distortion. This "web" should precisely connect the nodes of the formation and consumption of information, not have breaks and dead-end routes when the received information does not have a consumer. “Finval” with partners acts as a system integrator. That is, when shaping the concept of the future or redesigning and reengineering an existing enterprise, we set the image of the information system as a whole, describe its properties. In fact, this is a technical task.
Often, customers invest funds for the purchase of basic equipment, construction or reconstruction of a workshop, and do not provide resources for the creation of a corporate information system and its infrastructure. By resources we mean money and time. If the investment costs of the CIS in the overall budget of the project for reconstruction (new construction) are insignificant, the terms of creation and implementation go beyond the launch of production. In this case, investments in equipment and construction will not yield the expected return, the overall effectiveness of the project may become negative. We attach great importance to the creation of CIS, as one of the most important tools of the production system. At the design stage, together with our partners, we formulate terms of reference for the corporate system and, accordingly, the budget that the customer should spend on creating modern production. We help him to understand that this is really necessary, because we have a clear vision of the subject and possess the necessary competencies.
- Tell us more about it ...
- Our specialists have experience, competencies and, it should be added, also contacts developed over the years. Finval has reliable western partners, we often visit modern production facilities, we see the level of their digitalization and automation. Based on this, we understand what should be in the enterprise so that it can be considered modern, efficient and competitive. There is also a circle of experts and subcontractors within Russia. In essence, an ICC consists of a large number of elements, and we have an idea which partners can be involved in creating these blocks. Most of our enterprises have purchased arrays of licenses and software products, so now we have a huge quilt in front of us, from which we need to sew a working corporate network. And here the Finval company does the work of an integrator.
- Build a system of what is?
- Yes, we sew this quilt.
- How profitable is such a job?
- If we talk about design, this is a costly thing.
- For whom?
- For us. Because there are great specialists with a fairly high salary. Experts are attracted in those areas where we do not have enough competences, and this also costs money.
- But this is a job for the future ...
- Of course. And it should be done. And the market will be formed.
- How big will he be?
- In the future, it should cover all production enterprises in the country. In our opinion, today the IT market for an industrial enterprise is very large - sales of software products and licenses are calculated in huge amounts. And the integration market is still being formed. As a result, in sales of licenses, the bill goes to billions, and the number of effectively functioning corporate information systems that work with production data online is small. After all, in order to order the development and implementation of a production system, a manager must have a sufficiently high competence, understand that it is needed, and that it is more profitable to create a KIS based on a set of licenses.
Another problem is that all that relates to the sphere of IT, managers of enterprises often hand over the IT director. What is an IT director? His expertise in production and product life cycle is limited. Most often, these areas are the director of IT and do not care. That is, we need a certain maturity of the customer in order to make the right decisions.
By and large, now the problem is beginning to be realized by the leadership of corporations that have a zoo in their hands ”of enterprises: everything seems to be there, but there is nothing at the same time. Obtaining elementary reports in a single decision format turns into a long and complicated procedure.
In holdings, which included defense enterprises, there is often no uniform information policy. But it is vitally necessary for them to build a KIC, which forms an inseparable common information field, which will allow to effectively manage modern and competitive industrial giants.
Take the specific task of cooperation. For example, there is a good electroplating in a holding or geographically nearby. Then why buy your own if you can use your neighbor's equipment. But one thing is when the information on the loading of this equipment comes by phone, and quite another when it is given by a system that reflects the loading of equipment in real time, when you can track the execution of your orders online. This is a very good tool for intra-holding or territorial cooperation.
So, the need has matured, but the market as such is not there yet, and we act as skirmishers, because we combine both technological, and organizational, and informational competences.
- Thus, the activity of the enterprise becomes open.
- To a certain extent. Here, the role of the customer is very important, which needs specific and online information about what happens at each enterprise, how much it is loaded and how it copes with production plans, whether the equipment is idle and whether it can be involved in a cooperation scheme. Such a customer may be the structure - the main consumer, which needs specific information in real time.
- It turns out that digitalization is feasible only if there is a big task and a large company undertakes to solve it?
- Not. Digitalization is possible in any conditions, it already exists, it is a competitive factor, an objective reality. Simply, its successful implementation is possible only when there is a competent customer. If it is not, there will be a large number of patches, but the blanket will not be sewn. If there is one, we sit down, clarify and describe the result that he wants to achieve, and talk about IT solutions, but in terms of a common vision of production. And when we consider a corporation as a unified production system, there are immediately requirements for the information system, for the programs in which it will work, for each particular plant - in what form and what should be there to “spin”, what products to produce.
In essence, digitalization is the embodiment and modern application of the achievements of cybernetics, the science of control and communication in machines and living organisms. Its founder, Norbert Wiener, back in the 50s of the last century predicted the advent of what we call today “4.0 Industry” or general robotization based on information technologies. The development of science and technology at the end of the Second World War reached the stage when it became possible to automate the anti-aircraft fire control system with the defeat of high-speed fighters. And this means that even then humanity acquired the ability to start automating any production processes, which predetermined the inevitable approach of the era of automatic plants.
- And the “figure” is the inevitable reality?
- Yes, it has come because the achievements in the field of communications, the speed of processing digital information have reached such a level that automation of various kinds has become available economically and expediently. Therefore, society, every production company must meet this challenge and this level. Otherwise, we will fly out of global competition.
- In one interview I came across a statement that automated factories can exist only in a socialist society, since they are unprofitable for capitalism.
– Actually it is not. Who developed the Industry 4.0 program? Government and business of Germany. This is a government program aimed at reducing dependence on the cost of labor. The Germans were concerned about the fact that their production facilities in Germany are being closed, transferred to China, where labor is cheap. Something had to be done to counter this. In Germany, as you know, not communists and not fools are in power, so they began to fight for independence from the cost of the labor force. Robot no matter where you stand, it can work 24 hours a day, and its cost is the same in Germany and in China. This is where logistics plays an important role. If, relatively speaking, raw materials are brought to China, and goods from there, then the production time increases, and with them its cost. If you put such a plant next to the consumer, both the production period and the cost are respectively reduced. Thus, in Germany they proposed to automate production to the maximum. And not only is the dependence on cheap labor being reduced, but the need for highly qualified employees who are able to design these factories, computers, maintain them, and provide services is growing.
- If we are talking about the digitalization of our industry, then we face about the same task?
- Digitalization is only a step towards computerized production; it should remove barriers and obstacles in the way of information transfer throughout the product life cycle.
- That is, it is necessary to solve the problem of the quality and speed of decisions made?
- In terms of management? Yes, digitalization improves the speed and quality of decisions. But not only that. The probability of an error, loss or incorrect transfer of information decreases. When the decision to produce a product is made and a model is made in 3D, it is produced, packaged, labeled and given to the consumer without any additional approval. We reduce not only decision-making time, but also their number. The flexibility of the system is increased, the time required for production is reduced, the customer receives the product much faster and much better.
There is another aspect. We often face the fact that customers say: “We don’t need a CNC machine, we don’t have a series”. So the machine with numerical control and created as an alternative to the universal and aggregate, configured only for a very large circulation of one piece. Just a CNC machine quickly reconfigured in a large range. At the same time, however, it must comply with the infrastructure of engineering and technological preparation and production planning, which would allow to quickly write control programs for this process in an automated mode, select the equipment and tools.
If this is not the case, then it approaches the universal machine and then the time costs associated with readjustment and the writing of control programs greatly increase, the effectiveness of its use decreases.
That is, a CNC machine is a high-performance tool, but should be used in high-performance production.
- What about the import substitution of software products?
- This is an interesting question. It should be borne in mind that the leading Western products were created at the cost of billions of man-hours of programmers. It is clear that developing new ones is not an easy task for domestic companies; therefore, the question arises of competent and reasonable import substitution.
- That is to say, down with all the imported software is not worth it?
- Of course, not all replace, but only what you need.
- And how will it really look like?
- Here you need to understand. That is, figuratively speaking, to replace software not for the sake of a tick, but only to eliminate risks. It’s not just a call to buy domestic machines, but because it is supposed: in import machines you can find a certain kind of bookmarks, there is the possibility of their remote shutdown and removal of data. There are problems with cloud services - it seems to be convenient, everything is in the cloud and easily accessible, but at the same time specially laid "holes" allow anyone to go in and remove all the information.
Therefore, import substitution is a correct and reasonable measure. But if there are cloud solutions, then you should not think about how to avoid them, but how to correctly use them. Everything is connected here, because the elements of digitalization are both machines and computers, and if we want to ensure secrecy and security, everything must be approached comprehensively and seriously. You should always involve specialists in each question.
- Who are in Finvale?
- Yes. In Finval there is the main thing - understanding of the problem and a wide range of partners, serious experts in manufacturing, IT-sphere, in specific areas, such as casting or heat treatment, and others are extremely difficult.
A large number of specialists are concentrated in the company and around it who can meet modern challenges, but in order to form a team for a project, the project itself and the order for it are necessary, and this is not all easy, because our valued customers often aim at procurement of equipment or licenses, not a complex project.
Recently, we discussed: a private enterprise is planning an integrated technical re-equipment of thermal production, but the technical project is putting it on equipment. In our opinion, if we are talking about a comprehensive technical re-equipment, then first of all everything should start with an organizational and technological project. On the basis of the initial data and the promising production program, you must first determine the technologies that production should possess. Then, based on them, select the types of equipment and determine the requirements for the information system of the site. Accordingly, when requirements are written to it, additional requirements arise for the equipment: what interfaces it must have in order to connect to the system, and requirements for the enterprise's ICS, because if the site is “digitized” and the enterprise does not exist, then there will not be a single information field .
- Engineering in the transition to the "figure" - is it work for the future?
- Of course. The basis of all engineering activity is the increase of competences. Engineering is essentially the work at the turn of modern achievements. Our mission is to increase the competitiveness of domestic enterprises, but this cannot be done without digitalization.
We are already working in the field of digital technologies, not only creating corporate strategies and systems, but also using digital production technologies. Here is the simplest, but the most important part - when we deliver machines with CNC, there is a large area associated with the writing of control programs. And we fully own these technologies, we even conduct training courses. In “Finval” there is a Center for Mechanical Engineering Technologies, where they teach the programming of CNC machines.
We have a direction of simulation modeling of production processes - in a pure form, the use of information technology, which allows us to simulate production, identify and eliminate narrow places at the design stage. In a number of projects we became integrators in the field of industrial production dispatching. But the most important thing is that we see the whole system as a whole.
- What will the company present at the Army-2017 exhibition?
- The Finval Group of Companies regularly takes part in the business program of the exhibition. This year's round table is scheduled for a presentation by the company's employees on the subject of “Technology transfer in the interests of the diversification of the Russian military-industrial complex enterprises”.