How do you make sure that our 30,000 different finished products contain exactly the right parts and get to the right place in the factory? We asked Bob, Manufacturing Engineer/ Work Planner, who has been taking care of the right parts lists and routings for more than 15 years now.
"I have already had quite a career within Vostermans. In 1991 I started in the shipping department as an All-round Employee. Gradually I got to know our products and parts and came into contact with incoming goods. After about 7 years it was a small step to work in the quality control department. I also worked in that department for several years before I started as a Manufactering Engineer/ Work Planner. And here I have been working for more than 15 years now.
What exactly am I doing? When we produce a fan in the factory, someone has to tell what bolts, nuts, washers, as well as stators, impellers, etc. go into the fan. But since we produce almost the entire fan in Venlo, someone also has to tell what copper wire, tin, thermal protection etc. go into a stator. And in addition, someone has to tell exactly where that stuff has to go in the factory. And that someone is me. Together with my colleague Hans, and of course in close consultation with the R&D engineers among others, I manage the parts lists of all products and parts and determine the most efficient routing together with the engineers in the factory.
With some 30,000 different end products, this is quite a task. But by occasionally visiting the factory, you get a picture of how the products are built and how and where they are produced. And that makes you an indispensable spider in the web. Because if a parts list is incorrect, sooner or later problems arise in the factory. As an additional challenge, you have foreign subsidiaries that buy parts (such as loose motors) from Venlo, and then assemble them into a complete fan themselves. So that means they need a different bill of materials for the same product assembled in Venlo.
When I look back at the past 15 years, a lot has changed. The organization has grown and become more professional. There are clear processes and we record much more in systems. Of course, that makes everything a lot less error-prone.
