In this interview conducted by Global Industry, Alberto Docampo, Technological Manager of the Industry area of inycom, talks about the digitalisation project carried out for the Marsan Group.
Few companies combine technological know-how and industrial experience at the service of the customer as successfully as Inycom, an exhibitor at Mindtech 2023. The company, a benchmark in digital transformation and innovation, carried out the digitalisation of the management of the production process at Grupo Marsan in Vigo and now its solution, MES, will be implemented in the rest of the company’s plants in Spain and Mexico. The project was a technological challenge and also a demonstration of how technology can – and should – work in the service of people and not the other way around. This is explained by Alberto do Campo, head of technology in Inycom’s Industry area.
What does a project like the one for Marsan Group mean for Inycom?
Tackling an integral digitalisation process like the one carried out for Marsan means offering what we do best, combining technological know-how and industrial experience at the service of the customer. We analyse the operation from different prisms to optimise, re-evaluate and design the best digital process model.
In reality, it is a two-part exercise – supplier and customer – where users are also involved in the pursuit of operational excellence. In the case of Marsan we saw it very clearly from the very first moment: we had to focus on the “human centric”, one of the pillars of Industry 5.0 where technology works at the service of people and not the other way round, but this has to be translated into concrete actions and that is what we do in our company.
What was the solution?
Marsan needed to incorporate a solution that would allow total control of the operation for its two surface treatment lines at the Vigo plant. When analysing the case, Inycom recommends a MES system integrated with the rest of the client’s digital solutions (ERP, Robots, PLC’s…). We position ourselves at the process level by optimising the operation as a key information and control tool for all levels of the company: production, quality, management, etc.
And what are the main advantages of this process?
Undoubtedly, one of the most important benefits of this project is worker assistance. The system offers and requests data to the user as an intelligent assistant. We have prevented more than 250,000 operations per year.. According to Marsan’s data, their productivity has increased by 60% since using this solution and they have been able to detect problems and defects ten times faster. At the management level, it allows full control of the operation and its indicators, as well as data-driven decision making independent of the workplace. It’s like having an open window to the factory.
MES monitors the operation and is responsible for notifying and escalating alarms and requests for attention only to the appropriate area or user, in what is known as the management by exception (MBE) model. In relation to the data, we provide information under three time scenarios: What is happening now (reaching the second level), what happened and what caused it, and what will happen in order to anticipate and avoid it. In this way, process, product and inputs are fully controlled under unit traceability and observability. MES monitors every part, analyses downtime, controls batches and self-monitors more than 2,000 operating conditions.
Have the results been as expected?
Thanks to these actions Marsan has reached a new level of control and quality. The Vigo plant has been the model and the solution will now be scaled up at corporate level to the rest of the group’s plants.
Can the system be implemented in any sector?
Of course, the MES system is suitable for all industries and can improve performance in all industries. A good example of this are the implementations for food, automotive, pharmaceuticals, plastics, metal-mechanics, among others. It is the same platform, but with a different integration process, which is where Inycom provides its differential value.
What are MES’s forecasts for the financial year 2024?
The forecasts for this solution for 2024 are good, with several similar MES projects at national and regional level. Companies are becoming more and more aware of the need for MES, just as ERP was in the past. On the other hand, it is an ideal moment for all the lines of support that exist and a necessary situation to ensure competitiveness on the part of companies.
And for the other business lines?
Areas such as process digitalisation, cyber security, infrastructure services, energy and analytics continue to trend upwards despite the market situation, partly due to the trust of our customers and references. However, we must be cautious and continue to act with a steady hand.
We have been in Galicia for more than 20 years and every day we grow more and more in this community, which makes us think that things are being done in the right way. In 2023 we have also grown as a company by joining the Nunsys Group, growing from 950 to 2,700 employees in 24 national and international offices, serving more than 7,000 customers. We are very excited about the new 2024 portfolio that will allow us to offer even more solutions in Galicia and we are already preparing the new developments with the team.