- COMPANY
Steerprop (https://steerprop.com/ )
- SEMINAR’s focus
Reflect upon how to increase the efficiency and safety with IT technologies in an assembly factory
3. DESCRIPTION
Steerprop is the leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance propulsion systems for the most demanding applications and toughest conditions.Steerprop azimuthing thrusters provide ships high efficiency and maneuverability in the range from 900 kW to 15000 kW. Steerprop focuses on the cases where standard solutions are not enough. The basis to solve demanding special needs is customer centricity, recognizing and delivering on the customer’s true needs. The products are modular, flexible and scalable to fulfill customer needs and specific conditions.
- CHALLENGE:
Currently, manufacturing is directly affected by global competition and increasingly dynamic and incalculable markets. To be competitive, enterprises require to produce their products in a shorter period of time and with increasing quality. Simultaneously, there is insufficient qualified personnel to produce the products under these sophisticated conditions. The combination of the aforementioned factors might often lead to growing failure rates and extra costs. Therefore, manufacturing plans should increase their vision and infrastructure to reduce production risks. By utilizing modern technologies, manufacturing plants can support and increase the reliability and flexibility of their production lines. Diverse technologies (e.g. automatization, co-robots, optimization) can be knitted in different processes to increase resilience in their planning and operation during production.
As Steerprop is building their new manufacturing plant, they want to open a dialogue with future graduates who are interested in manufacturing to talk about where digital technology might make a difference in ther production line. To make this dialogue more meaningful, we will visit Steerprop “old” facility and we will analyze it. Furthermore, with the knowledge you are acquiring as a future graduate, and your pre-work for this session should offer you certain insights to make a more significant conversation. We will explore and detect where new technologies can offer a clear benefit to the particular production plant.
- Day and tentative schedule
Visit takes place on Friday September 16th, 2022
Tentative shedule:
8:00 Departure from University of Turku, Agora building
9:20 Arrival Steerprop manufacturing plant
9:35 Introductions and presentation of steerprop
10:10 Factory tour
11:40 Lunch
12:20 Wok time in teams
14:00 Presentations of work
15:00 Departure to University of Turku
16:20 Arrival to University of Turku
- SEMINAR LOCATION:
At Steerprop manufacturing plant in Rauma, Finland.
- ENROLLMENT:
Please enroll to the session following this link: https://link.webropol.com/ep/steerprop
Enrollment closes on Tuesday September 13th at 4pm.
- PRE-ASSIGNMENT
To analyze a manufacturing plant is a rich experience and opportunity, simultaneously it is not a trivial task. We must learn to observe the context of a manufacturing plant, to gain an understanding of manufacturing processes and be able to detect problems that can be addressed in short and medium time with the use of existing or new technologies and with clever ideas.
Areas we suggest you can pay attention to in our visit are:
- How to increase efficiency,
- How materials (raw, components, etc) are traced and tracked during the production line.
- How to balance inventories,
- How to diminish many “work in process”, leaving things on hold.
- Pay attention to manufacturing methods and level of digital technologies.
- All while assure quality,
- Increase safety record for employees
- Increase employee engagement and common understanding of the vision of the plant
The pre-assignment of this session includes three tasks:
Task 1) From the 8 suggested areas mentioned earlier, select 3 of them that match your interest and academic background. You will prepare further in the three areas you select for this visit. In the report of this task indicate what areas you select, what previous knowledge you have about them if any and the reason why you think the area is important to be selected.
Task 2)
From each of the three areas you selected to prepare yourself on the previous task, as an expert for this visit, research through scientific literature according to your academic background:
- what problems are often presented on the areas you select?
- what solutions are offered?
In the report of this task, you need to indicate with reference the problems you detected in each of the particular areas you are researching and the solutions that are being presented.
Task 3) On Task 2 you gained knowledge on three specific areas that will support you in your analysis of Steerprop manufacturing plant. In this task you should prepare two to three questions per each area that you researched. The preparation of these questions should help you to think in advance what aspects to pay attention to when visiting the plant. Probably the answer to this question might emerge when Steerprop presents us with their facilities, or you can ask those questions to them when the time is right.
The report of this task is to enlist two to three questions per each of the specific areas you prepare yourself for this visit. Thus in total are between 6 to 9 questions. Furthermore, for each question you should state why the question is relevant.
SUBMISSION
Submit your report, preferably a PDF file by Wednesday September 14th at 4pm to Carolina Islas caisse [@] utu.fi with the subject line: STEERPROP pre-assignment.
Your file name should be labeled: STEERPROP_pre-assignment_YOUR-NAME
If you have any questions please consult me.