Aksa Jeneratör

How AKSA Generator is Realizing the "Smart Factory" Vision for Its New Production Facility?

The leader of the Turkish generator market, Aksa, had set the goal of making its new facility, to be established before moving to the 60,000 m² area in Çerkezköy, a fully smart factory right from the start. The first step in this was to intelligently design the facility layout using the right methods. The aim was to design a modern production facility with high operational efficiency and low material transportation costs.

Expressing this perspective, İbrahim Yıldırım, Global Production Director of AKSA Generator, continues: "We did not want to design a modular and scalable factory. To have a facility layout that supports our growth plans for the coming years, we needed to evaluate numerous parameters such as the product models we will produce today and in the future, as well as the machinery, equipment, and storage needs."

AKSA Generator Decides That the Top Priority for Its New Factory Is Optimum Facility Layout Planning...

As Aksa Generator planned its production area for the new factory, it was looking for ways to both increase efficiency and effectively adapt to changing needs. Aksa aimed to achieve a design that would allow it to maximize its capacity in line with new requirements, using simulation studies based on mathematical modeling.

Describing their needs at this stage, İbrahim Yıldırım, Global Production Director of AKSA Generator, says:

"If your product diversity includes complex product networks, with very variable sizes and different production times, it is extremely beneficial to conduct simulation studies with a mathematical infrastructure in a digital environment, whether you are establishing a new facility or conducting modernization work in an existing one. When conducting these studies, the most important criteria are knowing what you want, providing data, and being patient."

Factors Influencing Aksa Generator's Choice of Dijitalis for Facility Planning Consultancy...

Aksa Generator decided to seek external support for a facility layout planning project that would address many aspects, including annual production capacity, machinery park, number of assembly lines, intermediate stock levels, buffer station quantities, shelf capacities, and equipment preferences. After a detailed evaluation, Aksa Generator's managers summarized their reasons for choosing to work with Dijitalis as follows: "While discussing with domestic and foreign consultancy firms providing facility planning services, Dijitalis' comprehensive approach, professional questions, and approach to the job gave us confidence. Dijitalis did not view our facility planning project as a mere calculation job to be done at a computer; they also focused on what other benefits could be obtained while designing the new facility according to intralogistics and lean manufacturing principles. The data we needed to provide was clearly identified right from the start. Emphasizing the need for collaboration between both parties and detailed design, we were able to meet our expectations. During our meetings, we saw that the Dijitalis team had a realistic approach and could meet our needs with the demos they provided."

Combining Well-Planned Factory with Industry 4.0 Technologies...

To create a layout plan that would serve all of Aksa Generator's needs and accommodate different product groups for the next 5 years, modern simulation modeling methods were used. With the goal of establishing a smart factory with Industry 4.0 capabilities as the strategic foundation of the new facility in Çerkezköy, the first step in this modernization route pursued by Aksa Generator was to design an optimum facility layout. All analyses of the optimum facility design phase were completed by blending the meticulous and professional working style of Dijitalis' expert team and simulation software with field observations, method, and ergonomics studies.

Aksa Generator's project engineer, Metin Sadıkoğlu, explains why simulation modeling was needed in facility planning projects: "We needed simulation modeling to determine the optimum factory size and calculate the optimum capacity to manage the complexity brought by product diversity."

"Among the generator models we produce, there are significant differences in production time, size, and production frequencies, so we needed to measure the size of the investment very precisely. We wanted to know exactly how many square meters we would allocate for production and storage areas beforehand. It is essential to answer questions such as how many pieces of processing machinery and assembly lines should be purchased in the initial investment phase, how many new machines will be needed in the coming years according to growth plans, and what the capacity of the factory will be each year," he adds.

Detailed simulation analyses were supported by field observations, method, and ergonomics studies. By taking into account various parameters such as different routes followed by a wide variety of product groups and variable processing times, the simulation model generated results that provided answers to all of Aksa Generator's needs until 2025. Analyzing the needs for stock area, machinery, operator, conveyor, AGV, and robot, Aksa Generator could predict the feasibility of its investments until 2025. Thus, Aksa Generator could take the most accurate steps in all investment phases and support its growth with healthy moves.

Numerical Data on the Benefits Obtained from Dijitalis' Facility Planning Project for Aksa Generator...

The new factory in Çerkezköy increases its production capacity by 50% compared to the old factory, thanks to its larger area and new machinery park. However, even more production can be achieved with lower costs and higher efficiency compared to the old one. Thanks to an optimum factory layout plan, AKSA Generator achieves the following gains:

• A 70% increase in equivalent product production per day,
• A 20% increase in production per operator,
• A 20% reduction in indirect labor costs,
• A 45% decrease in the distance materials are transported on-site,
• A 24% reduction in the number of touches for material handling and processing purposes,
• A 30% reduction in Work In Process (WIP) stocks thanks to optimized layout for lean manufacturing and single-piece flow,
• A decrease in human factor in material management with the use of modern intralogistics systems,
• Enhanced workplace safety, and minimized error and loss risks through spacious and efficient layout enabling visual guidance.

Speaking about the completed facility planning project, project engineer of Dijitalis, Aytaç Karaduman, says: "We managed to create an optimal kanban loop that could easily be managed in the new factory by scrutinizing all production processes and semi-finished control strategies of AKSA Generator. Through simulation technology, we created an effective layout in factory logistics and achieved significant improvements."

The project team started the next phase after obtaining an optimized layout plan that resized all production processes and stock areas and designed a layout suitable for lean flow: selecting among today's automation technologies such as robotic automation, AGV, and conveyor systems according to the factory's goals and structure. When this stage was completed, Şeref Bulut, the production projects manager at Dijitalis, describes the result reached:

Finally, İbrahim Yıldırım, Global Production Director of Aksa Generator, adds: "With high concentration, top management support, and the high level of compatibility in addition to Dijitalis' similar project experiences, a project was realized where everyone was happy. I thank the valuable team of Dijitalis and my colleagues at Aksa Generator for their contributions."