Leading the smart factories of the new industrial age and playing a role in the development of the industry, ProManage guides the digitalization journeys of the sectors with the program series "Experience Sharing of the Digitalized Industrialists", implemented in cooperation with ST Industry Radio. The program, in which company officials who stand out in their sectors by managing distinctive digitalization investments, share their experiences, sheds light on the roadmap and gains of digitalization for manufacturers from many different sectors, especially SMEs. In the program, which also brings the automotive sector, which is the backbone of the industry, to its agenda; Murat Ayabakan, President of Aisin Automotive Turkey, within the body of Toyoto Group, shared inspiring information for the companies in the sector by explaining their success with digital transformation.
Bringing together the industrialists who want to integrate factories into digital infrastructures but faced with many question marks, with the experiences of sector representatives who have personally experienced these investments, ProManage aims to ensure that the synergy created by the "Experience Sharing of Digitalizing Industrialists" program series will dominate the Turkish industry. Every Thursday between 09.00-10.00 in the morning and 20.00-21.00 in the evening, the program hosts professionals from different sectors, moderated by Doruk Board Member and ProManage Corporation General Manager Aylin Tülay Özden and ProManage Customer Success Manager Murat Urus. The recordings of the program are available as podcasts on ST Industry Radio's website and as video by ProManage. YouTube available through the channel.
“We wanted to be more competitive and achieve higher efficiency”
Saying that the need to reach the most accurate data was effective in taking the first digitization steps, Aisin Automotive Turkey President Murat Ayabakan shared the reasons for their investment decision as follows: “The Japanese system is a system based entirely on automation and speed under human control. There are certain sub-breakdowns of this system. In addition, these breakdowns need to be continuously improved and developed. In production organizations built on the Japanese system, the system is designed to be self-sufficient. Just collecting data with some basic software and processing it on a daily basis is considered useful. We have experienced that saving data manually brings with it errors. While we thought that we were working with real data as a business, we saw that we were actually working with manipulated data. E.g; According to the incoming data, we realized that while the productivity looked very good, we could not reach the expected figures when looking at the profitability. Therefore, data had to be obtained directly from the source, in real time and online, not by human hands. In addition to the need for accurate data, we decided to prefer information technologies instead of manual methods, due to both the increasing customer and production potential over time and the fact that the automotive industry is much more demanding with Industry 4.0. Here again, we preferred the 'step-by-step improvement' method introduced by Japanese culture. Our goal was to bring and install our own system, a turnkey ERP system combined with MES. We compared companies with each other for a long time, made analyzes and finally we decided to set out with the ProManage system in 2013. This system was put into use in our factory in 2014.”
“It is necessary to explain the necessity of digitalization to the employees well”
Pointing out that the collection and processing of data is very critical in every sector where there is competition, Murat Ayabakan touched upon the problems they have faced in the digitalization process and the obstacles they have overcome. Emphasizing that no change or transformation is easy and that digitalization actually means a change in the way of doing business in factories, Ayabakan said; “Employees manage business processes as they know it, in a comfort zone. When the decision of digitalization is taken, change itself turns into a problem for employees who are used to the current system. Some are open to change and lead the change; Others remain indifferent and act neutral. Some employees, on the other hand, approach change completely negatively. At this point, it is necessary to explain the necessity of digitalization to the employees well. When we look at the process from our own perspective, we can say that for Aisin Turkey, the change took place more easily than expected. A spirit of openness to progress and innovation, called the Kaizen mentality, prevails in our team. Since we work with a workforce that adopts an innovation culture, we have adapted to the system easily and have achieved its benefits quickly. While we were waiting for the end of the month to see the costs before, now we can access all the data with a single click whenever we want, and analyze the maintenance costs, product costs and profitability.”
“ProManage brought a proactive approach to our work culture”
Murat Ayabakan talked about the gains they achieved with the Production Management System MES; “When we set out with ProManage, we were shown a table showing that we would achieve very effective and efficient results. The first results we achieved with the system were more surprising and impressive than we expected. Even with the smallest move, it has become much easier for us to reach our desired goal. E.g; we no longer have to wait for monthly meetings to analyze any productivity data, see information about die life or the number of prints. In this way, we gained an increasingly proactive perspective. This showed us that we were not at the level of profitability and efficiency we wanted in some of our products. Since ProManage provides instant and transparent information, we had the chance to intervene in the process quickly. As a result, our partnership with ProManage has given Aisin Turkey a competence that differentiates it from other Aisin factories. Today, when Aisin Global announced that they will use digital infrastructures such as MES until 2030, we are proud of taking such a step much earlier.”
“Since 2014, we have achieved great gains from turnover increase to new businesses”
Murat Ayabakan, who answered the question of what kind of gains were achieved when looking at the work done from the perspective of the customer, continued his words as follows: “As Aisin Turkey, we have been increasing our turnover since 2014 and adding new works to our portfolio. This result actually means that we make our customers happy. The fact that we are deemed worthy of the awards given by two top-level OEMs in the world by subjecting them to very stringent criteria also shows that we are appreciated by our customers. Finally, we received an award given by one of the best automotive suppliers despite the pandemic. Other industrialists and automotive suppliers focusing on digital transformation follow the same path and maximize customer satisfaction. It is very pleasing that our industry is properly adapting to digital transformation…”
MES provides competitive advantage by increasing quality and efficiency in lean manufacturing
Stating that the tools used make great contributions to cost reduction in lean production techniques, Ayabakan said; “We used to record data manually by on-site monitoring. As we do this, MES has started to provide materials that will allow us to validate the data. System; It gives us the chance to take longer-term data and compare the points that fit and don't fit our own observations and detail the problems in more detail. We can catch errors and detect problems. The MES system helps us collect data by building on the data it provides and also using other digitalization channels. This allows us to see the smallest detail in a production process and to construct our production strategy more effectively. It makes us more competitive, prevents us from losing business, on the contrary, it is decisive for us to get new business. The transparency of the system also increases efficiency and standardizes the quality. Thanks to the data we obtained with the system, 'Why does this machine stop for 30 seconds every 3 seconds?' We can find the answer to the question and immediately intervene in lost postures. The same goes for die changes. For example, if a mold is changed in 20 minutes in one machine, and 3 hours in another machine with the same feature, we can question why this is so and see the reasons. MES tells the industrialists exactly where to look and provides the necessary data to take the right steps” and drew attention to the advantages of the system in lean production.
With MES, the rate of giving Kaizen in Aisin Turkey increased by 19 percent
Ayabakan also touched upon what has changed in the business life of white and blue-collar employees with digitalization investments; “When we first started, some of our colleagues said that they felt the pressure to be constantly measured, but we explained the benefits of this system to our employees correctly. We provided feedback by showing them both the personal and general benefits of this. As a result, since the establishment of the MES system, the rate of giving Kaizen in Aisin Turkey has increased by 19 percent, that is, the employees have adopted the system and started to give more Kaizen. Because they also saw the benefits of the system," he said.
Reasonable time return and maximum gain possible
Aisin Automotive Turkey President Murat Ayabakan said that thanks to accurate calculations, accurate needs assessments, very well-designed processes and convincing employees, digital investments can be returned in a reasonable time; “It is a fact that SMEs in particular need information systems. In digital transformation, future gains should be considered rather than investment costs… For example, when a press is needed, other parameters should be considered as well as cost, and if necessary steps are taken in this direction, the same determination should be made for information systems. Otherwise; The budgets made or the data to compare the budgets, the efficiency of the machines and the maintenance costs cannot be measured correctly. In order for the industry to develop, rational digital transformation steps should be taken with the right business partners instead of such an obscurity.”
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