Bekaert's Journey to Manufacturing Digitalization with TCS
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Electrical Grids
- Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions
- Maintenance
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Additive Manufacturing
- Inventory Management
Services
- System Integration
- Testing & Certification
The Customer
N.V. Bekaert S.A
About The Customer
Bekaert is a global leader in the steel wire industry, with a reputation for quality and innovation. The company's operations are extensive and complex, involving multiple manufacturing plants around the world. Bekaert's commitment to continuous improvement and operational efficiency led them to seek a modern data platform that could handle large volumes of data and provide actionable insights. The company's goal was to enhance decision-making, improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and increase plant productivity. Bekaert's partnership with TCS was a strategic move to leverage technology and data to achieve these objectives.
The Challenge
Bekaert, a major player in the steel wire industry, was facing significant challenges in its manufacturing operations due to outdated data platforms. The company was unable to trace genealogy beyond a week's data and lacked diagnostic analysis of plant operations, which severely hampered decision-making. The absence of automation in benchmarking operations and extensive reporting on plant management further complicated the situation. To enhance efficiency and effectiveness in multiple focus areas, Bekaert needed a modern data platform capable of managing large volumes of data and generating actionable insights. The company aimed to drive quality, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), and plant productivity based on these insights.
The Solution
TCS, using a design thinking-led approach, implemented an enterprise-wide data lake and data warehouse platform for Bekaert. The solution was built on the Microsoft Azure platform-as-a-service, Python, and Power BI, and was infused with accurate data from eight manufacturing execution system (MES) plants globally. A generic data ingestion solution was also created for easy configuration of a relational database management system (RDBMS). The entire solution was deployed in five different sprints, delivering around 60 user stories, which were consolidated in Power BI dashboards for end-user consumption. The deployment also involved implementing business objectives, including ideation and brainstorming, to identify key performance indicators (KPI) and collaboration between business and IT for feasibility analysis. This comprehensive solution enabled Bekaert to drive near real-time insights on material flow, utilization, and quality parameters.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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