It’s about added value and partnership

Florian Bauer, Head of Global Services, Siemens Dematic Electronics Assembly Systems

As an introduction to this subject, we need to discuss a bit of the origin of this support offer to better distinguish the Siplace Services concept and its development. Because as we all know in the manufacturing arena, every equipment vendor is inevitably talking about his individual equipment and technology, customer or after-sales support and its value. This is simply business as usual, otherwise: which potential customer would have trust in such a partnership? So, following this more rhetorical sidestep, we will have a look into the facts explaining clearly what’s special or unique in our global service program. Currently, we have installed more than 10,000 pieces of Siplace machine modules, have numerous installations where company-wide only our machines are in use, and we serve the global electronics manufacturing industry in all regions of the world.

All these must have very good reasons, because what really counts at every line on the shop floor is usability, reliability, uptime, good manufacturing practice and cost of ownership –just to name a few key arguments of high efficiency and excellent quality. And all these virtues can only be attained when there is a good partnership between customer and supplier, since profound technology-based consultancy is needed in many situations. Such a demand is not only apparent before equipment installation for process design or financing and many more targets, but also during the line or machine lifetime, as well as for support with spare parts, upgrade kits, immediate service actions and instant availability of technical advice. All in all: a quality-conscious supplier needs to offer a wealth of different and comprehensive services to fulfill many possible requirements. And we have to keep in mind that service solutions are not an easy product. They are difficult to „manufacture“ as they are originated during execution and require a clear view to performance and result to pay off, for both the vendor and the buyer or customer, respectively. But the impact of those solutions on manufacturing results can be dramatic in every respect such as quality, throughput, process technology and many more factors.

Based on our experience and the vigilance that the best proof for successful business is always highly satisfied customers, we began to establish a worldwide support network in time. Therefore, regardless from local time zone, in our worldwide headquarters in the US, Asia and Europe our experts can answer any question from our customers‘ manufacturing specialists encountering difficulties around the clock. For this first advice, a customer’s full history of installations with all details, such as hard and software, updates and revisions, maintenance, etc. are available to our personnel at a keyboard click, in order to provide the appropriate answer and solution to a probable problem as fast as possible. Within this framework of Siplace Global Solutions, as an essential part we positioned our Smartware concept to help customers obtaining maximum returns from their manufacturing investments. In the production of electronics products, just one-third of the total cost is made from capital investments. The other expenses, no doubt the lion’s share, derive from many factors such as technology, installation, user training, ramp-up, maintenance, common overhead matters (floor space, energy, etc.), process and machine capability – all in a continually developing environment with many possible changes, sometimes on a short-term scale. Therefore, the question is: how do we resolve all these issues quickly and successfully for our customers?

The even more refined concept of Global Services is evolved from the proven and established Smartware service standard, positioned around the Siplace hard and software and designed for all stages of customer life cycle. It does not only cover all the needed service matters, but isalso able to offer versatile and individual solutions for any customer or application-specific business case. It provides even more tailoredand application-specific opportunities for optimized solutions in many manufacturing environments.

The best way of explaining our unique Global Services strategy with all its variations is a look at a value-based model in which all possible linkages, solutions and their advantages can be demonstrated (see graph). This service concept is apparently the necessary glue between all the single parts of our Global Solutions package. Take, for example, a manufacturing solution needed by a new customer who is starting with the selection of equipment (needs consultancy). After the first steps, ramping up of this equipment will follow, and during the production run improved utilization, yield and time-to-market, and sometimes a kind of technology transfer is also suitable. And later, when high-volume manufacturing is eventually established, improvements in margins and line-maintenance routines seem highly necessary, to reach the lowest possible cost of ownership (COO).

In the graphical representation of the concept, we have the value propositions, divided into three main groups: these are the SMT machine level, the line level and finally the factory level. At machine level our service offers are designed to give customers clear value in terms of fitness to produce, increase of uptime, ensured compliance (e.g. with solutions for highly topical technology trends like 0201 or advanced packaging), all leading to reduced cost of ownership. Directly corresponding to this value proposition is a complete offering of various service packages. Here, the key elements are financial services, followed by product training and initial phase support, and then spare part supply, maintenance and repair, refurbishment and upgrades and finally by access to operational accessories. Interesting is also the question, at which particular point in time a customer needs such service packages, therefore a linear time scale representing the customer life cycle that covers all three levels has been integrated. This means, our customers normally go from exploration to development, to ramp-up, over to high volume manufacturing and later on eventually to phasing-out of a product.

At the line level (first stage of integration), users are normally confronted with tasks such as issues for reduced time-to-market and improving of utilization and production yield. Mastering these demanding concerns, highly efficient system-integration work as well as line and process training and performance consulting provide the answers.

When we look at the factory level (second stage of integration), we will see that because of ongoing cost pressures, the overall profit needs to be constantly improved, and besides, outsourcing of support services can be useful. As a remedy to these demands, factory consulting as well asfactory and OEM training may be applied, and line equipment-maintenance support can be acquired from Siplace.

Consulting projects in such a partnership between customer and supplier are very important and can be extensiv e. The customer, especially the first-time user of these service offerings, cannot usually estimate what the outcome will be. As a helpful method, Siplace Consulting has therefore divided large consulting projects into clear-cut and individual packages, which a customer can tailor according to his actual requirements. Over a short period of time (two or three days), a compact consulting team will analyze selected sections on the customer’s shop floor such as new product introduction, manufacturing planning and optimization, setup, changeover, throughput or potential machine obstacles. This way, we can help in efficient line layout, line optimization, or we provide a package called Turbo Analysis. This kind of consulting is based on extensive acquisition of manufacturing data, evaluation of the process chain, verification of the improvement potential, and is followed then by concepts and advice for optimal solutions.

For a long time, users have run their lines focused on highest speed or reduced time-to-changeover, respectively. In those cases, if the manufacturing result was no longer sufficient, regardless of whatever reason, new machinesor lines were installed without any further objection or doubt. Since shortest possible time to reach higher throughput or to use a machine providing enabling technology was imperative. In the past, often it was regarded much easier to exchange the equipment completely instead of thinking of retrofits or upgrades. In today’s manufacturing environments, the cost-efficient idea of offering advantages in terms of costs, training and other machine-related issues catches on. Depending on the date of manufacturing of such machines, electronic manufacturer are operating with slightly different hard and software, provided they stem from the same vendor. For Siplace equipment, it’s relatively easy and cost-efficient to upgrade a machine to the latest functionality of the new generation – with full assurance of all performance figures. In many situations, raising the output doesn’t require a brand-new placement machine. Often, the same results can be attained by optimization in the form of expert maintenance and operation, changeover modifications or upgrades in the field – at remarkably lower investment costs.

And not to be forgotten: training courses in all shades help to use capital equipment to its utmost performance. The modular Siplace training concept can be configured to meet every customer’s particular demands. From a logical point of view, they begin with basic courses for programming, operation steps, feeder handling, preventive maintenance, etc. Consequently, there will then be standard courses with different advanced levels for various machine types, vision system and so on. Line training is possible for operators, technical users and also for preventive maintenance. Process training will be provided in the form of basic and special SMT courses, in order to find a great solution for all technologies, be they advanced, through-hole or whatever technique may come up. Moreover, we can also train the in-house trainers. We can offer packages for intensive training of special target groups, and training with test and certification as well as evaluation and knowledge-gap analysis. All packages are, of course, available worldwide. Therefore, a global player receives practically the same service at every manufacturing site, and in the language desired. We will provide support even in the case a company needs a kind of region-specific service or their demands may lie out-side the current service offerings. Siplace invites its customers to ask for customized solutions – meeting a company’s requirements totally.

For illustration of the practical purpose of our service strategy, we can show here an example from our currently provided offerings. A manufacturer of automotive electronics wanted to raise productivity and to minimize production costs. The analysis of the line revealed that about 50 % of the standstill derives from change-over/ set-up, shift change, missing staff at the line, no components in the machines, cleaning of paste printer and splicing errors. With those six lines, a real performance of only 60 % was attained, but potential machine availability was in the range of 95 %, and at least 80 % performance was the aim in the long-term. According to analysis, to overcome the problem, higher maintenance quality was the key.

The solution for this case was presented as a tailored services bundle, consisting of special product training, performance consulting and line equipment maintenance. Starting with a profound operator/user training and certification, the complete maintenance area as well as process knowledge and material/consumables/spare parts have to be optimized. This ongoing process can be extended or again initialized in case of further demand. Then this bundling also covers process consulting and certification, including set-up procedures of the current product mix. The targets are to verify the characteristicsof manufacturing and quality in this environment, and to continually define its position on an international benchmark scale. Finally, a sustained process expertise has to be reached as the essential base for ongoing process improvements.

In a nutshell: there are many situations in which profound and competent service offers can help to maintain a company’s outstanding role in the global manufacturing scenario. Even if the machine suppliers make their business with equipment in the first place, services of all kinds provide the all-encompassing bonding medium between all the different process-related demands. There is of course a very long list of possible services and support packages that need to be supplied in order to provide high-performance solutions to numerous globally distributed customers. From the very first contact between a potential client and the phasing-out of a piece of equipment or a complete line, there are many years in which a successful and trustful partnership will pay-off for both the partners. Under these aspects, service isn’t an easy job or just quick business. Instead, it’s the long-term proof that a customer-focused equipment vendor sees the whole process chain with all its requirements (also sometimes changing), and understands his offerings as the very important contribution to his clients‘ business to keep them profitable and successful, as far as it is in his power.

Die Elektronikindustrie vollbringt derzeit bei sehr ungünstigen wirtschaftlichen Randbedingungen den Spagat zwischen Erhöhung der Produktivität bei gleichzeitig minimierten Fertigungskosten. Im Grunde haben praktisch alle Hersteller Überkapa-zitäten in ihrer Produktion, werden somit nur ausnahmsweise in Maschinen investieren dürfen, die für Advanced-Technologies besser geeignet sind. Doch mit ausgefeilten Service-Paketen von kundenorientierten Equipmentlieferanten kann man vielfältige Optimierungen vornehmen: Training und Wartung verbessern, Maschinen gezielt upgraden oder Prozeß- und Technologiekenntnisse transferien usw. Das Global Services Konzept für Siplace Equipment steht hier als Paradebeispiel.

L’industrie électronique accomplit actuellement, dans des conditions économiques très désavantageuses, le grand écart entre accroissement de la productivité et réduction des coûts de fabrication. Comme pratiquement tous les fabricants ont des surcapacités de production, ils ne vont probablement investir qu’à titre exceptionnel dans des machines mieux adaptées aux technologies avancées. Mais les packs de services sophistiqués proposés par des fournisseurs d’équipements orientés clients permettent d’effectuer de nombreuses optimisations : améliorer la formation et l’entretien, mettre à jour les machines de manière ciblée ou transférer les connaissances en matière de process et de technologies, etc. Le concept Global Services pour Siplace Equipment en est un parfait exemple.

L’industria elettronica nelle attuali condizioni economiche molto sfavorevoli si trova nel mezzo di una fase tra aumento della produttività e allo stesso tempo minimizzazione dei costi di produzione. In fin dei conti quasi tutti i produttori hanno capacità eccessive nella loro produzione e con ciò si prevede che potranno investire solamente in via eccezionale in nuovi macchinari più adatti alle tecnologie avanzate. Ma con gamme di servizio perfezionate con fornitori di equipaggiamenti orientati al cliente si possono realizzare molte ottimizzazioni: migliorare le misure di addestramento e manutenzione, realizzare mirati upgrades per i macchinari o trasferire le nozioni di processi e tecnologie, ecc. Il concetto del servizio globale per Siplace Equipment qui è un esempio paradigmatico.