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    • The family company has 500 employees and is the European market leader in tippers and self-unloaders for agro, recycling and construction industries. STAS invested heavily in automation and Industry 4.0 concepts. Step by step, end-to-end digitisation was thus introduced, with the help of Squadron's experts. STAS emerged as an agile organisation with high-tech production facilities, delivering products of the highest quality.

      Project

      To win the 'Factory of the Future' trophy, a manufacturing company has to score well in seven transformations, ranging from state-of-the art machines and digital technologies, over ecological manufacturing to a people-centred organisation. To take a structured approach to that process, STAS set up a specialised project team internally in 2016, bringing together engineers, business analysts and software developers.

      This formed the basis of Squadron, which has since become an independent company. The team set to work analysing and optimising production processes, working closely with line managers and operators. That exercise led to a modified and improved layout of the shop floor, the introduction of new machines such as automated welding lines and a robotised paint line, as well as digitised processes, supported by apps tailored to the employees.  

  • KDS Squadron Waregem 290923 7

    • To increase factory productivity and agility, STAS partnered with Squadron on end-to-end digitisation. The production of a tipper or self-unloader can now be smoothly handled digitally, from the quotation discussion with the customer to the delivery of the final product. To this end, a Configure Price Quote (CPQ) system was implemented via custom software development. It was linked to an in-house ERP system and a digital flow all the way to the shop floor. Administration and paperwork were maximally replaced by software and online applications. This benefits quality, traceability and efficiency. 

    • Less paper equals fewer errors and less wasted time. The quality management system was transformed into a smartphone app used by all line managers. All problems that crop up in production can thus be registered and passed on immediately. Communication with the support department was improved and interventions can be carried out much faster and more targeted.

      Through Microsoft Power Apps, STAS can also work in a more data-driven way. A concrete example of this is the 5S Audit app, which allows efforts around lean manufacturing to be easily recorded and monitored. The data is sent to a PowerBI application so that comparative analyses can be done at headquarters between the results of different teams, supporting continuous improvement. 

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    • Conclusion

    • For STAS, in tandem with Squadron, this project yielded a sterling result. The efficiency of the factories, where 1,000 tippers and self-unloaders for the agro, recycling and construction industries come off the conveyor belt each year, was increased. The organisation became more agile and can respond more easily to changing customer demands. Operator comfort was improved and communication was made more transparent. The implementation of end-to-end digitisation supports the pursuit of the highest quality and thus leads to even higher customer satisfaction. And as icing on the cake, the Tournai and Waregem plants were named Factory of the Future.

      Find out more about about our services we rolled out at STAS! We started with an Analysis to arrive at a complete Digital Factory with both Custom Development and a CPQ.

      • LOOKING FOR A PARTNER IN DIGITALISATION? CLICK HERE!