inteos® in Ethiopia: 2,000 workstations for Calzedonia

We have been working for a long time with the well-known Italian company Calzedonia, a leading supplier of swimwear and lingerie. Together we have already completed three garment manufacturing projects in Serbia. Because of the improvements in capacity utilization and transparency achieved in these projects, some of which surprised even Calzedonia, the company also approached us to implement a reference project in Ethiopia.

FACTBOX

• Fully symbol-based software
• Simple, intuitive operation
• All production processes seamlessly integrated
• Full transparency and data availability
• 100 % availability and stability 
  (in Ethiopia)

Goals and requirements

A total of 2,000 workstations, each with a sewing machine, were to be equipped with tablets and single-user licences and integrated into our MES for garment manufacturing, specially adapted to Calzedonia’s requirements. The connection to the existing ERP system was realized via an interface. All work steps were to be documented in real time, and real-time fault messages were to be sent to the mechanics stationed on site. The aim was to optimize capacity utilization and transparency in order to provide the best possible overview of all operational activities. Disruptions to production, which was already running and still managed “manually”, naturally had to be avoided.

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Implementation & challenges

This was a special project, and not only because of its geographical location. Both we and our client also faced a unique socio-economic and cultural situation. 
Calzedonia accompanied the project at the facility called ITACA in Mek’ele (500 km north of Addis Ababa) with various humanitarian initiatives: among other things, a drinking water well was built in the neighbouring village, and employees were recruited and trained directly on site. Since the literacy rate in Ethiopia, despite rapid progress, is still below the international average, intuitive and symbol-based operation of the software was essential.

In the final phase of the project, two of our employees, Stefano Sampietro (project manager) and Michael Böhler (application developer), spent two weeks on site to support the roll-out and ensure that everything ran smoothly. The various production lines were already in operation under manual management. It was therefore all the more important to ensure a seamless transition from manual management to the automated MES. Like the connection to the existing ERP system, this was achieved smoothly within the agreed time and budget, certainly thanks in part to the weeks Stefano and Michael spent on site, which were an unusual and enriching experience, technically as well as personally.

Benefits

The responsible project manager at Calzedonia describes the advantages of using inteos^®: the real-time data acquisition of our monitoring solution supports senior and middle management in monitoring efficiency and productivity. It makes it possible to focus specifically on less productive workstations and thus improve the output of the entire production line. The performance of our historical database receives particular praise: “The database, which grows every day, is literally a treasure chest full of information. It allows us to create and evaluate a wide range of BI (business intelligence) reports,” says Calzedonia.

Based on the data prepared with inteos^®, Calzedonia has established a merit-based pay model that allows each individual workstation to be evaluated. Particularly productive performance is rewarded with additional pay and bonuses, creating a fair incentive system.