Rheinmetal Automotive AG
International group of companies relies on executable processes in the QMS
Creating innovative solutions while always maintaining a decisive advantage over competitors – automotive companies face new challenges every day. Coupled with this are changes in the organization and in the environment of the entire management system. A reorganization of the management system and the targeted automation of important processes cannot be managed without a dynamic and efficient management system.
As part of the Rheinmetall Group technology group, Rheinmetall Automotive AG is a global automotive supplier and specialist in the areas of air supply, pollutant reduction and pumps. In close cooperation with renowned automobile manufacturers, it develops, manufactures and supplies pistons, engine blocks and plain bearings.
Highly dynamic business area with over 40 production sites and 13,000 employees In its strategic orientation, the company is divided into the three divisions Mechatronics, Hardparts and Aftermarket with the premium brands Pierburg, Kolbenschmidtg and Motorservice and employs almost 13,000 people at more than 40 production sites in Europe, North and South America as well as in Japan, India and China.
In a widely distributed group of companies, bringing together the individual management systems and focusing them is a major challenge due to the wide variety of requirements, processes and systems. The maintenance effort for the individual management systems, different understanding of processes, many Excel-based auxiliary solutions, and the implementation of software updates are resource-intensive. In addition, the management systems are too slow to be able to implement joint action quickly in many companies. In order to be able to use the potential of a modern QMS software solution, the project to replace the previous software solutions was started in 2017.
Challenging project goals
During the evaluation project, several software solutions were tested over a period of several months. The focus was on company-wide process harmonization and standardization and the transfer of over 1,000 documents from the software solutions to be replaced (MEGA, Lotus Notes, Visio). At the same time, the management system had to be adapted to the IATF 16949 standard and the group had to be recertified. The decision was made in favor of the IMS PREMIUM software solution. The optimal mapping of group structures of (international) large corporations including the desired standardization and the simple administration of internal and external specifications (IATF 16949, ISO 14001, customer requirements) gave IMS PREMIUM the edge.
This includes the crucial functionality of not only being able to model processes and forms, but also to make their use automated and executable. Various form-based processes can be accelerated in this way and the overview of their processing optimized. The management system therefore does not simply serve for static documentation and maintaining certifications, but enables the digitization of important processes. This is a clear advantage, especially in the rapidly changing automotive environment, for promoting innovation and quality across the company. In addition, the modular structure offers the possibility of using the same software to replace other existing systems in a subsequent project phase and to implement group-wide risk and audit management.
9 months, 90 business processes, over 1,000 documents, IATF 16949 recertification
With the involvement of various locations, business processes worldwide were merged and standardized within a record time of nine months. The transfer of all documents and information from the previous systems and the desired recertification of IATF 16949 also succeeded without any problems. The project to implement the new management system with IMS PREMIUM started in March 2018 and included the complete replacement in one division until the successful rollout in December. It is planned to have further divisions follow suit.
New software solution for dynamic information management Thanks to the introduction of IMS PREMIUM, various boundaries could be bridged and locations worldwide could be brought to a common denominator with regard to management systems.
Thanks to the software change, employees benefit from additional advantages in addition to the new, simplified operation:
Key to success: automation with executable process execution
Modeling and mapping information and processes in an international company with multiple locations on different continents is a challenge. Rheinmetall Automotive AG has mastered this task and at the same time taken a decisive step further. It is aware that automation through dynamic, executable and executable processes is essential for a smoothly running and functioning company engine. Thanks to the choice of the right software solution, multi-stage workflows (which initiate new processes and measures at the push of a button), rule-controlled approval steps and flexible form design are now possible. Together with role-based user management, simplified, responsibility-related task management can be implemented that goes further than static process and document management.
"With process execution, we can make the leap from a static, documented model to a living, executable management system," says Alexander Radmacher, overall project manager at Pierburg. "This means that the potential of digitalization can be fully exploited for the first time and cumbersome media disruptions (such as paper lists) can finally be avoided."
Prepared for future challenges
After the planned rollout of the first project phase in the other divisions, the second project phase is planned to integrate risk management into IMS PREMIUM. In addition, group-wide audit management is being sought to ensure efficient processing of over 800 audits per year. Rheinmetall Automotive is in a position to respond agilely to future challenges and market changes. This new dynamic software solution also supports this.