For an organization with ambitions and increasing demand from an international customer base, it is essential to be ahead of the curve in fully automating your production floor. Bostik, a manufacturer of sealants and adhesives for the building & construction market as well as for industry, realizes this better than anyone else.
Bostik Europe wanted to further optimize its production process, but the various MES solutions used on the shop floor made this impossible. They wanted one system to support all production processes. Both with direct machine links and Operator Dashboards. QMES will support the Bostik team to even better serve their customers. To achieve this, they worked with Quinso to provide a fully automated production process through the implementation of QMES.
Transparency in the production process is essential
Bostik is a leading global adhesive and sealant specialist in the construction, industrial and consumer markets. For more than a century, we have been developing innovative adhesives and sealants that are smarter and more responsive to the forces we face in our daily lives. From the cradle to the grave and from home to the office; Bostik’s smart adhesives can be found everywhere.
Ruud Hopmans, Operations Director Benelux at Bostik: “The current MES system was outdated and consisted of 5-6 systems which we wanted to replace with one integrated system with SAP ERP. For that reason, we started looking for a new system.
In the selection process, two main criteria formed the starting point. The solution had to be quick to implement (integrated with SAP) for both the operator and the links to the PLCs. And it had to be able to replace all other MES systems.
On Quinso’s advice, Bostik chose QMES (based on the SAP MII platform) QMES realizes a direct connection between machines on the shop floor and the SAP ERP system. In addition, it enables real-time reporting. QMES was developed by Quinso based on their experience and knowledge specifically for the Process and Discrete Industry.
The fact that QMES creates a good connection between shop and top floor and also connects optimally with the current SAP ECC, Bostik experienced as an additional argument to further expand the SAP MII platform with QMES.
Implementation from partnership
Mark Visser: ‘From the beginning, the contact with Quinso felt equal and familiar. Bostik and Quinso have a similar hands-on culture, and Quinso is noticeably constantly looking for and delivering the best solution for Bostik.
Says Jurgen de Jong, QMES project manager at Quinso, “The most special thing about this project is that Bostik breathes Industrie 4.0. We took up and implemented this project as partners
Implementation of QMES began at the Oosterhout plant, with Giessen to follow at a later stage. Currently with from the group is looking at applicability as a standard solution for the shopfloor. For a quick and smooth implementation, one dedicated team with people from Bostik and Quinso was formed. A team that focused entirely on implementation. Bostik focused primarily on change management and PLC programming. Quinso created the implementation plan, was responsible for supervising the entire process and the installation and commissioning of the software, including integration to SAP ECC.
The project began by expanding SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (MII) to serve QMES. In workshops afterwards, the specific requirements, were determined. What do we have now and what would we want to have in the ideal future situation. Priorities were set through the MoSCoW method. This is a mode of prioritization often used in software engineering.
The requirements for the outcome of a project are thus categorized into: ‘Must haves’, ‘Should haves’, ‘Could haves’ and ‘Won’t haves’. Based on these requirements and priorities, the development process began. This was done using the SCRUM methodology. Working software was delivered in short sprints that could be tested, evaluated and modified immediately. This limited the risk that users could only see and try out the result at the end of the project and that it would not be developed according to their needs.
Mark Visser, Plant Manager Bostik Oosterhout: ‘Without shutting down the plant, we implemented QMES without the operators noticing anything. The fact that we completed such a large project on time and on budget is also noteworthy
Quinso’s added value is mainly in figuring out how to maximize the result from the specific Bostik situation.
Ready in 9 months with a completely paperless shopfloor
With the commissioning of QMES, Bostik is ready for the next step so that they can continue to be successful in the future and meet the wants and needs of their international customer base
Mark Visser, Plant Manager Bostik Oosterhout: ‘This success is mainly due to the mutual trust between Bostik and Quinso. Together we managed to achieve this great implementation in just 9 months!’