Strategic process planning for commissioning processes in mechanical engineering

Abstract

Planning in mechanical engineering is a key factor for a successful product development process. Especially, when it comes to producing machines, planning drastically reduces the risk of failures in either processes or parts. The commissioning process is mainly focusing on adjusting and testing. Thus, commissioning is the process where most of the failures are detected. On the one hand, in literature, the planning of processes has mainly focused on the optimisation of the planned duration of a production process. Durations of errors in processes and possible effects on other processes have not been considered in the literature. On the other hand, risk analyses mainly focus on the minimisation of errors in either processes or products. The goal of this paper is to develop an applicable methodology for the combination of an optimisation of the risk and the duration of a commissioning process in mechanical engineering. The focus is to analyse the planning of a commissioning process and combine it with a methodology to optimise risks and durations. Furthermore, the method is designed to be applicable in all areas of mechanical engineering. The method is validated at the commissioning of special machinery and during ramp-up processes and has shown a possible time reduction of about 40% without increasing the risks of failures.