Case Study:

Mobile PLM in Dry Dock

Becker Marine Systems Optimizes Quality Management via App

The Challenge

For the market leader in marine manoeuvering technology, an efficient quality management system is essential. Paper-based checklists for quality inspections between global manufacturers are being digitized to more effectively monitor international quality standards and manage data directly within the Product Lifecycle Management PLM system.

The Outcome

For many years, Becker Marine Systems has been using PRO.FILE as a comprehensive PLM solution for managing product-related information flows throughout the product lifecycle. The implementation of the PRO.FILE mobile application has significantly improved the quality management system at Becker Marine Systems.

The central quality assurance department at Becker Marine Systems, a market leader in high-performance rudders and energy-saving solutions for manoeuvering technology, requires up-to-date insight into the progress of production at all times—even at external production sites worldwide. This has been made possible by providing PLM functionality via the PRO.FILE mobile app.

Website

https://becker-marine-systems.com/

Headquarters

Hamburg

Founded

1946

Industry

Maritime

Paper-Based Quality Inspections Delay Global Manufacturing

During regular on-site visits, experts from Becker‘s subsidiaries inspect manufacturers at various stages of production. They tick off extensive checklists, which were previously done exclusively in paper form. The completed checklists were then scanned and sent to Hamburg, where the documents were manually entered into PRO.FILE. At the same time, an email was sent to the central dispatch department stating that the check had been “successfully completed“. As a result, it always took some time before the next production step could be initiated from the PLM system.

Paper Form Replicated Electronically via App

The company supplies its manoeuvring and energy-saving systems to external manufacturers around the world, including facilities in South Korea and China, as well as Spain, Slovenia, and Germany. These manufacturers then deliver the products to the shipyard for the end customer, where they are installed on the vessels. This process requires quality inspections, which were previously carried out using paper-based checklists. This slowed down this global manufacturing process.

The quality management team wanted to be able to check off these checklists directly on a tablet. With the PRO.FILE mobile application, this was easily achieved using checklist document types. These serve as both templates and search criteria and can be customized within PRO.FILE, allowing users to add or remove existing fields as required. This makes the previous paper form obsolete, as it can be replicated electronically via the app. Filling out a PDF on the tablet would have meant simply replacing one input method —paper —with another —digital. But Becker wanted to add value and access the metadata.

We are subject to strict international quality standards and must constantly monitor compliance. Running checklists on paper forms is disruptive to the production process. That is why we have replaced them with the PRO.FILE mobile application.”

Sven Hendrik Vorwerk,
Head of IT at Becker Marine Systems GmbH

Accelerate Production Factors, Quickly Identify Trends

The PRO.FILE mobile app sends the completed inspection data back to the PLM platform, along with the photos taken in the field. This gives the quality assurance team in Hamburg immediate insight into the progress of the work. Just as importantly, if enough reports are available, the company can identify significant trends and take proactive action. For example, “Manufacturer A is having recurring problems with welds at production stage XY“

Using the app, all the real-time data from the inspection is quickly available in the PLM system. This allows the process to move forward more quickly as there are no media breaks or waiting times. At a later stage, the PLM system also sends its status information (‘Production complete/ accepted‘) to NAV. In this way, the shipping department is immediately informed that they can place the transport order, rather than waiting for an external quality manager to notify them by email.

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Key Outcomes

Uninterrupted efficiency: The PRO.FILE FLEX app‘s offline functionality allows teams to work seamlessly in environments with unreliable Internet access, such as factories or docks, increasing productivity and reducing downtime.
Accelerated workflow: Instant access to real-time inspection data in the PLM system enables faster decision-making and smoother processes, which can lead to shorter project cycle times.
Proactive insights: The application identifies key trends, enabling the team to take proactive measures to mitigate risk and improve overall operational efficiency.
Streamlined quality management: Automated defect reporting helps maintain manufacturing standards by ensuring that issues are documented and resolved promptly, improving product quality and regulatory compliance.

Improved Quality Management Through Digital Checklists

It is foreseeable that the use of the app will provide us with a significant advantage in managing technical processes.“

Henning Kuhlmann,
Managing Director at Becker Marine Systems GmbH

Expansion Planned in Additional Departments

Becker Marine Systems is investigating the possibility of extending the system to other departments, such as Sales or Service & Conversion, where complex repairs and modifications are organized. Checklists are also used in these areas. In addition, the sales team could use a mobile app to create visit reports while on the move. In this way, the company is driving digitalization with PLM via app. And the quality management app will certainly not be the last of its kind.