Interim Manager Production Planning/Control Optimization

Industry: Mechanical engineering – products: mobile road construction plants (jaw and cone crushers, crushing and screening plants) Sales Wirtgen Group approx. €4 billion - employees 9,000 / Local main plant Göppingen approx. €150 million sales – employees 700

• Coordination of production control and support for the position holder
• Order throughput analysis (current situation) in collaboration with the relevant departments, especially assembly, preassembly, purchasing, and central order control
• Support in identifying optimization potential in collaboration with production
• Optimization of production control for on-time completion of manufacturing orders
• Further development of SAP-based scheduling processes and identification of optimization potential
• Maintenance of master data and further development of the necessary systems
• Optimization of existing scheduling tools
• Kanban, minimum stock control, safety stocks
• Participation in the launch of new development projects
• Review of capacity situation and implementation of necessary measures if required
• Development of the team
• Optimization of consumption-driven planning and Kanban processes as well as sizing of Kanban parts and maintenance of their control loops
• Processing of the COGI list in SAP EWM – incorrect goods movements
• Checking all articles and assemblies for necessary safety stocks for smooth production and assembly

Achievements:

• Successfully optimized in collaboration with the responsible employees of around 4,000 Kanban items / initiated SAP-based programming of an evaluation option for Kanban items on sizing, consumption, and display of deviations in the event of control loop errors / successful coordination and settings in the SAP master data of plan- and consumption-driven planning items and assemblies to ensure supply to in-house production and assembly / active support of the production control supervisor in all matters and active support of the production controller in day-to-day business

Skills: Process optimization · Production planning & control · Capacity management · Capacity planning · Master data management · Master data · SAP MM · SAP PP · SAP WM · SAP ERP

Industry: Automotive – product: brake pads (metal) – sales €736 million – employees 5,000 (group)

Area: Production planning and control of fully automated mixing plant:

• Planning and control of the fully automated mixing plant with 38 silos + connected ASRS with manual weighing
• Determining order volumes to cover all brake pad production orders
• Scheduling requirements as well as releasing and providing orders and campaigns with SAP EWM
• Sequencing planning (Trace-IT platform) to prepare transfer of mixing orders to the MES control system
• Uploading the FE-AUFs into the ProLeiT MES control system of the mixing plant
• Controlling the ASRS refill process with raw materials
• Planning of the hot mixing line, as well as the kneader, and controlling raw materials and pre-mixes
• Campaign planning considering storage capacities vs. number of big bag racks vs. supply to production and expiration dates
• Planning of backing plates for coating to meet the needs of brake pad production
• Vacation cover for mixing plant planning and backing plate planning
• Bottleneck management and capacity planning

Area: Procurement of raw materials, backing plates, packaging & accessories:

• Communicating with suppliers to schedule upcoming deliveries
• Creating and updating delivery schedules and orders regarding quantity, date, etc. (279 raw materials)
• Sending revised delivery schedules to suppliers and aligning on new dates and quantities
• Reducing backlog by sending open order lists
• Entering open order lists provided by suppliers and resolving exceptions
• Supporting suppliers with time slot bookings by introducing the new Cargoclix for deliveries
• Drawing change management for all suppliers
• Organizing special transports
• Vacation cover for procurement in all three areas
• Backlog management and inventory management

Skills: Negotiation · Teamwork · Team management · SCM · MRP · Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) · Consulting · SAP ERP · SAP Procurement · SAP Production Planning (SAP PP) · SAP MM · Production planning · Logistics

Industry: Building materials – product: EPDM membranes made of synthetic rubber – sales €94 million – employees 229

• Processing SAP booking material, posting business transactions
• Supporting production planning processes using SAP and its related systems
• Ensuring consumption- and demand-driven planning and scheduling
• Interface to production control, purchasing, and warehouse logistics
• Ensuring material flow as well as on-time delivery and availability of finished products
• Checking inventory levels and turnover in semi-finished goods and work in progress
• Ensuring the interface between customer, production, and planning of customer orders
• Resource-oriented scheduling of production orders for semi-finished and finished products
• Continuous monitoring & optimization of the product mix
• Capacity planning and scheduling of the extended workbench
• Representing production management as well as production control
• Creating training materials for SAP master data, production planning, and posting processes
• Supporting regression tests of new / enhanced components and models in SAP S/4Hana areas MM / PP and EWM as well as support for plant separation in SAP – setting up a new plant

Skills: Teamwork · Team management · MRP · Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) · SAP EWM · Consulting · SAP ERP · SAP Production Planning (SAP PP) · SAP Materials Management (SAP MM) · Project management · Process management

Industry: Industrial – Product: stainless steel sinks – Revenue: €2,310 million – Employees: 8,500 (group)

• Stabilized and optimized production planning and scheduling
• Determined requirements for an advanced planning and scheduling system based on SAP
• Assessed the automation potential of the planning process
• Identified areas for action and defined measures
• Ensured high delivery readiness with optimized inventory
• Secured on-time production planning of customer requirements and forecast data
• Analyzed results and derived further improvement opportunities
• Capacity planning and bottleneck management
• Proactively communicated plan changes with production management, scheduling teams, and customer service
• Ensured availability of components, semi-finished goods, and long lead items (e.g., steel)
• Took over all tasks of the suddenly unavailable national/international planning manager
• Ensured delivery readiness and availability of all national and international customer demands
• Documented current planning processes to identify possibilities for automated planning

Skills: Teamwork · Team management · MRP · Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) · Process management · Consulting · SAP ERP · Production control · SAP Production Planning (SAP PP) · SAP Materials Management (SAP MM) · Production planning

Industry: Automotive – Product: water and oil pumps for cars – Revenue: €350 million – Employees: 1,230

• Consulted on manufacturing process planning and series launch/pre-launch
• Planned and coordinated process improvements
• Conducted and created lead time studies, value stream analyses, FMEAs, and capability analyses
• Supported target vs. actual comparisons, studies, investment calculations, and cost estimates
• Advised and supported the implementation of changes
• Standardized tools and equipment
• Advised on preparation and updating of equipment regulations
• Advised on meeting key performance indicators
• Ensured compliance with quality standards and environmental protection requirements
• Analyzed and evaluated improvement opportunities at workstations
• Trained and coached employees on the shopfloor
• Implemented and commissioned 3 fully automatic lines for assembling and producing water and oil pumps from customer DAIMLER at the Hungarian plant
• Oversaw the ramp-up and launch of the lines
• Successfully prepared for and supported the customer product audit DAIMLER
• Analyzed production issues and implemented corrective actions

Skills: Negotiation · Teamwork · Team management · Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) · Process optimization · Manufacturing technology · Industrial engineering · Project management · Quality management

Industry Automotive – Products plastic and metal composite parts for passenger cars – Revenue €10M – Employees 95

• Preparation, planning and execution of projects
• Coordination of technical project work to meet customer requirements
• Liaison with all project-related departments at the client
• Represented company interests with the client
• Design, planning and implementation of technical projects for the development and production of plastic and metal composite parts with focus on manufacturability, quality, cost and deadlines
• Oversight of tool creation
• Determination of manufacturing methods and production processes
• Handling of tool and fixture modifications
• Preparation of specifications for equipment, fixtures, special machines, acceptance tests and commissioning
• Cost calculation for tools and parts
• Responsible for consistent compliance with applicable safety regulations
• Responsible for order and cleanliness in the area under my responsibility
• Planning and implementation of production facilities for plastic and metal composite parts
• Initiating the use of new machining methods
• Implementation of major projects through to series production readiness (2 complete lines)
• Completion of all tooling projects until plant closure (€3M revenue / 23 tooling projects) Skills: Teamwork · Team Management · Industrial Engineering · Production Planning · Project Management · Quality Management · Cleanroom · Process and Data Management

Industry Manufacturing – Product metal and stainless steel retaining rings – Revenue €66.7M – Employees 432

• Professional and disciplinary leadership responsibility for up to 100 employees
• Production and machine planning to meet deadlines, quantity and quality requirements
• Continuous improvement of production processes and ongoing monitoring
• Planning employee qualifications and maintaining qualification levels in the skills matrix
• Designing, collecting, analyzing and deriving measures to improve KPI-OEE
• Planning and implementation of relocation of equipment, machinery and production assets due to plant closure
• Weekly and monthly KPI reporting
• Developing and implementing measures to improve quality and productivity
• Introduced the OEE KPI and increased OEE by up to 30% through error reduction
• Further development of staff through planned, implemented and documented training in the skills matrix Skills: Negotiation · Teamwork · Team Management · Human Resources · MRP · Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) · Personnel Development · Production Control · Leadership Development · Production Planning · Quality Management · OEE KPI

Industry Automotive – Product interior composite buttons (Audi A8) – Revenue €74.8M – Employees 794

• Professional and disciplinary leadership responsibility for up to 64 employees
• Daily and summarized weekly reporting
• Production planning, control and machine scheduling
• Planning and monitoring of raw material requirements and deadlines
• Planning, controlling and monitoring of external subcontract manufacturing of A8 buttons
• Fine-tuning customer requirements in daily conference calls directly with the end customer, Audi (A8)
• Managing and planning tool modifications before production
• Expanded the department from 17 to 64 employees (150 candidates processed, including interviews)
• Expanded the button department from 2 to 6 machines, including relocating the department and adding peripheral equipment such as a sheet metal cutting machine, material containers for different granules, punching machine, etc.
• Introduced a 4-shift model Skills: Negotiation · Teamwork · Team Management · Human Resources (HR) · MRP · Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) · Production Supervision · Leadership Development · Organizational Development · Production Management · Production Planning

Industry Security services / guarding

• Functional and disciplinary management of in-house security specialists
• Client acquisition for event security, access control, personal protection, and dedicated guards
• Accounting for the company

Skills: Negotiation · Teamwork · Team Management · Human Resources (HR) · Personnel Management

Industry Automotive – product synchronizers for manual transmissions – revenue €135m – 238 employees

• Functional management of 4 employees
• Planning manufacturing processes
• Implementing new production technologies
• Performing hard-to-soft adjustments of machined synchronizer parts
• Working in multi-project management and on interdisciplinary and cross-departmental projects like measurement strategy, manufacturability and testability analyses, FMEAs
• Creating blank drawings, pre-machining drawings, and rework drawings
• Developing work plans, inspection plans, TQP/control plans, process flow diagrams, PFMEAs, manufacturability and testability analyses, etc.
• Awarding contracts for production aids and equipment
• Implementing development and test results for the respective construction stages
• Exchanging information with customers and suppliers regarding quality, cost, and optimization
• Achieved 30% cost reduction on a particular clutch housing type (conical) through supplier development and use of turning cycle idle time
• Created an Excel program for hard-soft component design
• Parallel production and development of 5 complete synchronizers, approx. 70 parts

Skills: Teamwork · Team Management · MRP · Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) · SAP ERP · Personnel Management · SAP Quality Management (QM) · Industrial Engineering · SAP Production Planning (SAP PP) · SAP Materials Management (SAP MM) · Project Management · Multi-project Management · Quality Management · Process and Data Management

Industry Automotive – product: semiconductor ICs/microchips for cars – revenue €235 million – 238 employees

• Operating and repairing high-end equipment for IC manufacturing in the cleanroom
• Performing SPC, sheet resistance measurements, etch rate measurements, etc.
• Floater for metallization, ZDE, diffusion, plasma chemistry, and wet chemistry
• Servicing various equipment
• Troubleshooting various equipment
• Supervising and supporting external equipment service

Skills: operating and servicing equipment for IC manufacturing in the cleanroom