Patria Aerostructures

The challenge: When manufacture of a new, demanding and high-volume product is launched, production needs to be modernized

The paper documentation originally employed resulted in folderfuls of materials for archiving. Processing of the documentation involved a lot of manual work. With the new product, the paperwork would have multiplied, and so the processes had to be digitalized.

The solution: Pinja implemented for Patria a MES solution integrable into ERP

Patria Aerostructures chose Pinja as its implementation partner owing to Pinja’s ability to provide a complete solution for the modernization of both production digitalization and production planning and control and to implement these simultaneously.

– In the design phase, we examined several different alternatives, and found that Pinja’s development work is the most advanced, for example in the field of automation and calculation, says Veli-Erkki Ruotsalainen, Production Manager.

In the business of Patria Aerostructures, Ruotsalainen is responsible for the production of aircraft structures and components. The package includes, among others, production planning, control, quality, and storage.

The development project was titled Paperless Production – in Patria’s field of activity, this is something remarkable.

– According to regulations, each component manufactured by us must be accompanied by comprehensive documentation regarding all production stages, including batch numbers, measured values, ​​and certificates. The documentation of a single component could mean a folderful of papers. Considering that a single project can include ten thousand individual parts, you can imagine the huge amounts of paper we had to cope with, Ruotsalainen says.

An important precondition for the MES project was that the regulations had to be fully taken into account and the quality of the documentation could not be compromised. After the development project, the materials are still all-inclusive in content, but they are transferred electronically instead of on paper. The change has improved production efficiency and significantly reduced the need for manual labor.

– In the past, 1-2 employees were tasked with printing, filing, and archiving documents. This work no longer exists; the workers have been entrusted tasks that are more productive. In addition, the workload of the Production Manager has been alleviated, since he no longer needs to deliver physical materials to production supervisors, Ruotsalainen says.

Demanding new product rendered digitalization inevitable

Patria Aerostructures has a long history in composite production. The product range is diverse and volumes impressive. Up to 90% of the production is exported. By 2016, Patria had established that manufacture of a demanding, high-volume product requiring modernization of the production process was soon to begin. Instead of tailoring Digia’s ERP, it was decided to implement a MES solution integrable into ERP, since it was considered more agile as an implementation model.

– Admittedly, we took on quite a challenge by deciding to implement both the digitalization of production and the modernization of production planning and control at the same time. The project was burning up, and you could smell the smoke, Veli-Erkki Ruotsalainen, Production Manager, admits with a smile.

Patria hoped for a wide range of benefits in production digitalization, but among the strongest motivators for implementing the ambitious development project was its inevitability from the viewpoint of future operations.

– Because of the large volume of the new project, we would have drowned in papers. With the old system, the production planning would also have been very slow. In addition, we wanted tools to support purchases, since the tools at the time were not functional enough for the calculation of material needs, Ruotsalainen says.

The results of MES introduction are visible in everyone’s work

From Patria, a project manager, IT management personnel, production supervisors, a purchasing specialist, production coordinators, the production control manager, and the production manager participated in the project. The results of MES introduction completed in 2018 are visible in the work of all these staff groups. For example, in Ruotsalainen’s own domain, the change is reflected in more visual production planning and control, and production plans can be made at a more precise level.

– Everything that used to be written down with a ballpoint pen – for example, measurement data – is now stored in the databases electronically. We have also managed to get rid of manual verification and spinning data through Excel. Owing to this, production monitoring and adjustment, for example, have been sped up and streamlined.

The use of resources at Patria has improved as well. The production plans are better in quality and visually handier.

– At our production run meetings, we go through different perspectives of PES, using them for checking the current status of materials and resources with consideration of the objectives, for example. At the meetings, the plans for the coming weeks are reviewed in an anticipatory manner, Ruotsalainen says.

It is hoped that modern tools and operating models will also help attract future professionals to Patria.

– Today’s job seekers are accustomed to using visual and easy-to-use applications in their free time, and they know how to demand the same from systems intended for work-related purposes. We hope that our innovations and continuous development work will also help in this matter. As an employer, we are reliable and fair, and our employees are expected to really do their best – there are no shortcuts in our work. State-of-the-art tools support our goal of finding and hiring the best experts in the field.

Towards expanding automation/h2>

Patria has a long history and solid expertise in its product groups. The personnel is skilled and experienced. Naturally, leaving the traditional operation method behind takes some time and effort.

– I have to admit this – in some cases, it would be faster and more flexible to use a paper and a pen. However, we are already looking even further into the future. Consistent input and digital processing of data serves our next objective – automatic data collection and automated entries.

Patria will remain in the state of constant change, because of new projects and legislative amendments. Besides Patria’s business objectives, the planned expanding utilization of automation in the various stages of production serves genuine customer demand. Each automated step of data collection and processing related to the documentation to be delivered with the products manufactured facilitates the workload of the personnel, as well as the development and monitoring of processes.

– Without the digital solution we implemented with Pinja, the next development stage aimed at increasingly wider utilization of automation would be impossible, Ruotsalainen says.