Large and small companies benefit from using Twiserion Design Manager software
Since its foundation, Asseco CEIT has worked on research and development activities in the field of designing, optimising and digitising production, logistics and warehousing processes. One of the results of our long years of experience and mapping out market needs is our own software known as Twiserion Design Manager; Milan Magdech, the head of our Design System Development department, was present at its birth. We talked to Milan about concept planning and optimising production and logistics processes, where his department uses this software.
As a product owner and also an expert on the Twiserion Design Manager software, how would you present it to our readers?
Twiserion Design Manager is a software which enables the design and planning of production and logistics systems and their processes, all in the environment of a parametrical digital model. The latter allows you to evaluate the current state of the production and logistics system as well as design corrective measures. Its advantage is that you can verify all the proposed solutions even before implementing them in order to ensure they meet all the required technical and economic parameters without the need for additional modifications in the implementation phase.
In addition, the software can be used in all phases of the planning process, from designing a “greenfield” plant through redesigning existing premises to optimising processes. I am convinced that this software fully meets the requirements placed today on the design process, such as a fast and systematic approach, spatial visualisation and presentation of output, interactivity connected to an evaluation of key indicators, a Top-Down approach or a variant approach to solving the problem.
Who is this software for, and who can find a use for this software in their everyday work?
In the design or planning phases, it is essential to use a multidisciplinary approach, not only a knowledge of design but also knowledge from other fields. Twiserion Design Manager takes all this into account and uses it, rendering it of great benefit to many professions. However, it is mainly useful for industrial engineers, production technologists, planners, specialists responsible for layout as well as logistics employees, logistics process planners or operative logistics and ergonomics staff.
Which specific processes or projects can Twiserion Design Manager be applied to? Where does it bring benefits to production?
The design and planning process goes through several phases. Dependent on the area of use, or project phase, different methods are used for which this software plays a key role. This can be, for example, collecting and preparing data important for analysing the current situation, or methods for analysing, measuring and standardising work using MTM and MOST. Further examples include design methodology and methods for defining production capacity, the analysis and creation of material flows, solving production layout from its conceptual design to the detailed workplace design or methods for defining the number of operators.
And what about logistics? Asseco CEIT is a one-stop shop for all logistics processes. What logistics processes does this software deal with and optimise?
The Twiserion Design Manager contains several modules and functions ideal for designing and planning logistics systems. It has an extensive library of logistics technology from hand-operated trolleys through fork-lifts or supply trains to fully automated AMR logistics systems. From the perspective of logistics planning, the software use can model, describe and check the capacity of any logistics process (discharge, preparation and transfer to the site of use). It can even suggest what will happen to the given item, how the goods will be packaged, for example, what type and quantity of goods will go directly to the production line or whether the goods will then be sequenced, repackaged etc.
Twiserion Design Manager is able to work with data obtained from RTLS monitoring systems. It is thanks to this data that the user is able to discover bottlenecks in the logistics process, the intensity of movement of the logistics technology and the efficiency of the logistics processes.
As its third area of application, you mentioned warehousing processes. How are they unique in terms of concept design and how does Twiserion Design Manager help out there?
For warehousing, the software offers several functions which help create a digital copy of the warehouse. The system has parametric models of shelving which the user can model in just a few minutes. These parts can be allocated to the shelves to follow the capacity utilization of the warehouse, either in numbers or visually in a digital overview.
The storage of parts on the floor works on a similar principle. The layout of pallets is based on set rules, for example forming rows or blocks of pallets. It is also possible to visualize each pallet slot and thus react immediately to any occupation of the pallet slots, by objects such as columns, energy crossovers, or height restrictions. Once the conditions are updated, the system automatically distributes the pallets and calculates the indicators in the warehouse space.
Can the software be used only for the initial planning or does it have its place in everyday use? If so, how does it affect the everyday work of people who use it?
The software is designed to help during the whole lifecycle of the production plant, from its concept design all the way to the various changes in the production space which occur every day in order to make the best use of all the opportunities which the factory provides.
What is the best benefit you can remember the Twiserion Design Manager bringing a large and a small company? What are the most significant projects it has been involved with?
As far as large companies are concerned, I can mention a project where the transformation of the plant concerned approximately 51,000 m2, including 700 machines and 580 employees. Using the software we showed how a digital transformation could work on such a large area. During the project we combined several sources of information in a single place; we created an efficient production layout and any potential changes, calculating key indicators such as the capacity needs of the machines, the capacity load of production operators; all this in a 3D environment. We led the workshops for the customer’s employees in the most effective manner possible, beginning with an analysis of the current situation, and successfully taking a team of specialists through into the phase of optimisation and the introduction of changes into the plant itself.
As “small” companies we include all our clients with fewer than 250 employees. The software works with basic data such as drawings of the production layout, packaging regulations for individual parts and products, as well as work instructions for the operator’s activity on their shift. Based on the data obtained, the user can draw up in the software environment the current state of the production or logistics process, and together with specialists can look for area of optimisation during a joint workshop.
Thank you for explaining the benefits of the Twiserion Design Manager software in production, logistics and in warehousing. However, I would be interested in knowing what the output from the software looks like and what data it includes.
There can be several outputs from the software. One can be the parametric model of the production and logistics system which evaluates in time key indicators depending on their type of use. The output itself can also be many different exports, depending on the nature of the model which the user creates. However, some of the most commonly used exports include information on the production system in pptx or xlsx formats. This is a complex document containing an overview of information on the capacity utilization of the machines and staff to produce a certain amount of the product.
The output can also be a document in pptx, xls or pdf format which describes the planned routes of the handling equipment. In one compact document it describes the route of the equipment, its virtual overview of where the equipment came from and where it is going, what is the frequency of transport of the set number of components and the subsequent capacity utilization of the handling equipment.
