Here is the original excerpt from the Holzkurier - by Günther Jauck in the Holzkurier in CLT Special 7/21.
ERP for CLT
To ensure that every component is on the construction site at the right time, meticulous planning is required, which at best keeps an eye on all production areas, but also on the entire merchandise management, order preparation and all other relevant resources. However, this is only one of many reasons why Theurl Austrian Premium Timber once again opted for a holistic software solution from TimberTec in the new CLT plant.
Three years have passed since Theurl switched its entire operation - from log purchasing to fully automated glulam picking - to a uniform ERP system from TimberTec, Eutin/DE. In one fell swoop, they replaced almost all existing stand-alone solutions and merged all data in TiCom ERP (Timber Commerce). "Due to the good experiences, especially in the interaction of TiCom, work preparation and plant control of the glulam order picking crane, we contacted TimberTec again for the planning of our CLT plant," reports IT expert Roland Theurl and adds: "TimberTec already had numerous suitable solutions ready - in addition, some new developments, such as the production simulation or the interface to the Hundegger software Cambium, were implemented according to our ideas." Especially for cross-laminated timber production, TimberTec already expanded its TiCom with a CLT module a few years ago. "This allows us to control the entire production process from order entry to shipping, which results in significantly faster and more efficient order processing," explains TimberTec Managing Director Andreas Boll.
Fully automatic warehouse
The released joinery files in BVX format serve as the basis for the entire production planning. With the help of this information, each order is completely read into the ERP system and reaches the production database after work preparation. At Theurl, this was encapsulated from the ERP system for the first time and works largely autonomously. "At the latest when the Internet line failed for several hours shortly after the startup and nothing was noticeable in production, we knew that this extra effort was worth it," says Theurl. The Steinfeld production site is over 50 km away from the parent plant. Once a production batch is transferred from TiCom, the operator can start the order via a web-based client. "At this moment, our system delivers the data to the Microtec master computer and production starts," Florian Weidinger from TimberTec explains the process.
Raw material loading as well as the entire warehouse management are fully automated with the help of a Voith overhead crane. Controlled by TiCom, this loads and empties a chaotic stanchion storage system according to the raw material required in the production orders that have been started. "Via a visualization of the warehouse developed by us, it is possible to check the stocks at any time, but generally it is never necessary to intervene in the warehouse management and loading," informs Weidinger, and Theurl adds, "Due to the many interfaces to different PLC controls, the data exchange here must be 100% suitable. I was positively surprised that this part of the commissioning also worked out despite the adverse circumstances."
Due to the Corona situation, TimberTec carried out most of the plant control remotely - the work preparation modules in the ERP were even commissioned exclusively remotely.
Visualization optimizes production flow
As a further special feature of the project, Theurl mentions the visualization of the entire production - starting from the already mentioned stock levels to the laying of the single-layer boards to the storage towers of the finished elements. "With this information generated from the ERP,
calculates and simulates an optimized production flow - according to the specifications of the plants - fully automatically, whereupon the work preparation department can optimally plan and feed the production. This allows us to optimize the production flow further and further, and via a flexible lamella selection and subsequent lamella calculation, it is easy to plan according to raw material availability, while also additionally reducing waste," explains Theurl.
All know everything
"Each of our responsible employees knows where the plates are currently on their way. This saves us a lot of time and makes it easier for us to communicate with customers."
Roland Theurl - Project Manager
Behind the panel press, another Voith crane controlled by TimberTec takes over the elements by means of a vacuum lifter and transports them to storage towers up to 5m high in a free area storage or to the patching station. There, the employee has the possibility to retrieve all data on the panel in front of him via the TimberTec web client and to take them into account during his processing. "Via the nesting carried out using TiCom, the employee can see exactly what is being cut from each board and can adjust his repairs and sampling accordingly," Weidinger knows. Thanks to the close link between the production database and the ERP system, the
sales employee knows the production status of each individual component at all times and can thus coordinate deliveries with the customer. "Each of our responsible employees knows where the boards are currently on their way. This saves us a lot of time and makes it easier for us to communicate with customers," says Theurl, explaining the advantages of the web database implemented by TimberTec for the first time on this scale.
Successful project
From the surface warehouse, a joinery employee orders the individual panels at the click of a mouse, whereby these can also be sanded in advance. Thanks to the newly programmed interface to Hundegger's Cambium software, the elements to be processed can be called up, revised again if necessary, and it is possible to see at a glance what needs to be done and what the finished elements should look like. After joinery, the panels are clearly identified by means of printed labels and provided with all the necessary information, whereupon the finished order appears in TiCom.
Roland Theurl, who is responsible for the project on behalf of Theurl, draws a positive balance one year after commissioning: "Despite the numerous special solutions and the corona-related difficulties, everything went very well. TimberTec has put in a lot of effort." Praise that Weidinger can only return: "The more the customer helps, the faster it goes - that was a dream with Theurl."
In Theurl's new CLT plant, TimberTec supplied not only the entire ERP system but also the control system for the master boards and the automated raw material warehouse
Roland Theurl appreciates the good cooperation with TimberTec
The TimberTec software controls and manages the chaotic raw material warehouse fully automatically: A gantry crane takes over the packages from the goods sorting, stores them and feeds the production line with them