On August 12th, Efacec celebrated its 75th anniversary. It is a unique Portuguese industrial group, with eight business units and a presence in more than 65 countries, which develops solutions in the areas of energy, mobility and the environment, with digital connectivity always present. One of the company's most important production lines is transformers, an area in which Efacec is a benchmark manufacturer, focusing on technological evolution and continuous product development.
In the current context, in which information technologies are accelerating the creation of smarter factories, Efacec is "investing in the development of digital tools that centralize all planning, operation, quality and logistics information and make it available in real time," says Helder Almeida, Operations Director of Efacec's Transformers Unit.
This development "is taking place in line with transformation projects in industrial operations, with a view to creating more optimised layouts and integrating the entire value chain," explains the director.
Digital powers optimisation
It was within this strategy that, in order to respond to the continuous increase in demand for transformers, Efacec moved forward "to reOrganise the physical production line, with the aim of optimising production," explains Helder Almeida. And it was in the context of this rationalization that the idea was put forward of "developing a digital twin of the production line that would allow information flows to be optimised and the resulting data to be exploited, with the aim of continuing to improve productivity and operational efficiency," says Helder Almeida.
Digital and intelligent twin
At the time, MEO Empresas was present at Efacec mainly with communications solutions. According to the head of operations, "when they found out about this project, MEO Empresas presented a solution they were launching: Digital Twin 3D, powered by 5G".
This solution, which was then tailored to Efacec's specific requirements, "consists of a digital replica of the factory floor and a management portal, in 3D format, animated in real time, with real information on the entire production process (operators, machines and materials), obtained from sensors and digital cameras, with a global view of the industrial unit," explains Helder Almeida.
This solution "allows all the information collected on the shop floor to be transmitted, processed and integrated in real time on a virtual platform (digital twin), transforming a traditional factory into a digital and intelligent factory," explains the operations director. In this way, according to Helder Almeida, "we can provide production planning with a more realistic TV Guide of the factories".
And as a result, "improving the level of service and delivery to customers, by synchronizing the various operational entities, reducing lead times and consequently delivery times, with a strong impact on reducing working capital," he explains.
Increased productivity
In this context, digitalisation should make it possible, according to Helder Almeida, to "synchronize the supply chain with real planning and production needs, reducing stock levels and operating costs". Other developments underway are "the creation of advanced information models - Big Data - transforming information into knowledge. And the simulation of production processes that are more optimised, faster and in line with product design," he says.
The overall outlook for Efacec, according to Helder Almeida, "is that these benefits will translate into an increase in productivity of around 25% and a consequent increase in production capacity and response to the market".
Digitalization will continue to drive the evolution of the operation and production of transformers at Efacec, "meeting the needs of the energy market, where demand is at very demanding levels, in terms of quantity and quality," says Helder Almeida. This evolution will be aimed at reducing waste and accurately mapping all the flows on the production lines, linked to orders from customer in real time.
Other issues that will be worked on in an innovative way will be the workstation and production sequences, simulations of the introduction of adjustments and new products, training in a virtual environment and the digitalisation of quality processes. Training employees in a virtual environment and correcting postures in manual tasks are features of the solution that contribute to the well-being of our employees and also make it possible to produce more in less time.
Betting on digital will continue
This commitment doesn't end here and innovation and the use of technology will continue to be important and differentiating factors for Efacec. According to the operations director, "In the case of industry, one of the main advantages of 'digital twins' is that they allow teams to propose optimised solutions and put them into operation with production data."
In this way, "it will also be possible to anticipate and model the lifespan and maintenance of products in a predictive way, in collaboration with suppliers and customers," he said.
For Helder Almeida, the future integration of customers and suppliers with the digital solution is the way forward: "we intend to extend the concept to the entire supply chain, to customers and suppliers, to integrate them into an optimised system for everyone involved."
As a result, "sustainable innovation is boosted, simplifying the creation, at scale, of more responsible value chains and more circular economic environments with significantly less impact on nature," he concludes.