From the paper “warp sheet” to digital production

LECO-Werke Lechtreck GmbH & Co. KG, a manufacturer of technical textiles, wall coverings and textiles for garden and leisure applications based in Emsdetten, Germany, has relied on Halo’s textile know-how since 2012. LECO is a renowned company with a long tradition: over more than 100 years of corporate development, forward-looking investments and the great commitment of its employees have led to international success.

In our project for LECO, the challenge was to replace an existing shop floor data collection system and to integrate it seamlessly and end to end into the existing ERP system via an interface.

FACTBOX

• Integration of all production processes
• End-to-end planning of capacities and yarn requirements
• Digitalization of all master and process data
• Quality management
• Interaction ERP <-> MES

Goals and requirements

LECO was looking for a solution for production planning and scheduling. 70 weaving machines and 6 weaving preparation machines had to be integrated into shop floor data collection, and the data obtained had to be presented as transparently and clearly as possible.

The aim was completely paperless management of the warp sheets and warping data sheets, LECO’s internal name for the technical master data of its woven articles. LECO also required a master data overview, the creation of production documents, a simple overview of yarn requirements, the creation of piece tickets and a completely seamless connection to the ERP system.

The project was particularly challenging because, owing to staff changes in the company, there was no longer any programming know-how for the existing, in-house developed shop floor data system, and this sophisticated system was not documented in detail. Some creativity and “reverse engineering” were therefore needed.

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Implementation & challenges

Our MES solution inteos^® enables LECO to plan all production processes efficiently and purposefully and to present them in a fully consistent and transparent way. Thanks to Halo’s flexible way of working, tailored to each project, we can respond to requests for changes and adjustments at any time. This was essential in this project in particular, where the special structure of the existing MES meant that unexpected challenges could arise at any moment.

Among the new functions we implemented, the new planning of weaving preparation stands out: thanks to an intuitive and clear shop floor data display, 70 weaving machines and 6 weaving preparation machines can be managed optimally, ensuring consistent and efficient machine loading.

The technical master data of the woven articles, which LECO internally calls the “warp sheet” and which manages the parameters for machine and article settings, is normally maintained with proprietary CAD programs. This intermediate layer, with its separate costs, was avoided by connecting an Excel solution programmed in-house by LECO interactively to inteos^® via an interface. All data from warp sheets and warping data sheets can thus be transferred into the system automatically. Duplicate data maintenance is no longer necessary, and the process becomes more efficient and, being paperless, more environmentally friendly. This was not possible with the previous shop floor data system.

The other functions LECO requested also work smoothly: from the very clear presentation of yarn requirements and the comprehensive master data overview to the 100 % end-to-end connection to the existing ERP system. These requirements were implemented without LECO noticing the particularly challenging starting situation in any way, neither in time nor in quality, without delays and without technical compromises.

Benefits

Because LECO had already been using shop floor data collection software tailored specifically to its needs before switching to inteos^®, it was a demanding customer with precise ideas and extensive knowledge of the functionality and the potential strengths and weaknesses of such a program.

We see this kind of prior knowledge on the customer’s side as a challenge, but above all as an asset: the better customers know their own needs and requirements, the more closely we can address them in project planning.

An inteos^® project is never really “finished”: the software is continuously developed further and extended with new functions as the collaboration continues.