"China Economic Weekly" depth! China's intelligent manufacturing standards set sail!

On October 31, the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the pilot demonstration list of the integrated development of a new generation of information technology and manufacturing industry in 2022.

In the same October, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released a new list of 11 lighthouse factories in the global manufacturing field, and 5 factories including Changsha No. 18 factory of Sany Heavy Industry in China were on the list, among them, Sany Changsha No. 18 factory is the second certified lighthouse factory in the global heavy industry industry after Sany Heavy Industry Beijing Pile Driver Factory.

Jointly selected by the World Economic Forum in Davos and McKinsey & Company, the "Lighthouse Factory" is known as the "world's most advanced factory" and a demonstrator of "Digital Manufacturing" and "Globalization 4.0", representing the highest level of intelligent manufacturing and digitalization in the global manufacturing sector today.

The industry believes that the completion of the No. 18 lighthouse factory marks that Sany Heavy Industry has won the opportunity in the fourth industrial revolution, moved towards a "lighthouse enterprise", and is expected to lead China's construction machinery industry to become a "lighthouse industry" to the world.

Hou Wenhao, a global managing partner at McKinsey & Company, said that this is not the first time that the five Chinese lighthouse companies have been selected. In these factories, the best practices of their predecessors, the "sister" lighthouses, can be seen more or less. The re-selection of these companies shows that they have formed a set of standardized transformation organizational mechanisms and continue to promote "lighthouse" best practices in iterative optimization.

Liang Wengen, chairman of Sany Group, said that the company will continue to deepen the advanced equipment manufacturing industry, fully implement the strategy of digital intelligence, internationalization and electrification, and make every effort to build the "second curve" of the new energy industry.

How to make the "smartest factory"?

On March 13, 2018, Liang Wengen proposed to promote Sany's digital transformation with the determination of "either turn over or overturn".

In the same year, Sany Heavy Industry Changsha No. 18 Factory took the lead in starting the construction of the lighthouse factory, taking the first step to explore the transformation of intelligent manufacturing. Covering an area of 100,000 square meters, the Changsha No. 18 factory is one of the first batch of intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration factories of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and has been praised by the Wall Street Journal as "the blueprint for China's future industry is hidden here".

At the beginning of November, the reporter walked into the No. 18 factory in Changsha: the huge workshop is quiet, the ground is spotless, and the workers are skillfully operating the robot on the operating platform, deducing the perfect combination of strength and beauty. There are only a small number of workers in the factory, replaced by more computer screens and robots of various trades.

Sany Heavy Industry Changsha No. 18 Factory, which has obtained the lighthouse factory certification, has another label - "the smartest factory", which is the largest intelligent manufacturing workshop in Asia. In July this year, Sany Heavy Industry was selected as one of the "50 Smart Companies" by MIT Technology Review, becoming the only company on the list in China's construction machinery industry.

How do you define "smartest factory"? Yi Xiaogang, director, executive president and chief engineer of Sany Group, said, "Whatever a computer can do, no one will be allowed to do."

Wen Wei, director of the Intelligent Manufacturing Technology Institute of Sany Heavy Industry Pump Division, gave an example to the reporter of China Economic Weekly, taking the unmanned blanking link of Changsha No. 18 factory as an example, because the production of construction machinery is a large structural part, a structural part is several tons in weight, and it is unimaginable to realize automatic transfer in the past. In the past, this process could only be completed by manual "hanging gantry", which was not only labor-intensive, but also relatively inefficient. In particular, robotic automatic welding of large structural parts needs to be accurate to within 0.5 mm, which is quite challenging. In the process of promoting the intellectualization of Changsha No. 18 Factory, the team has achieved breakthroughs in various technologies such as automatic loading and unloading, sorting, assembly, and welding through continuous exploration and little by little attempts.

Yi Xiaogang introduced that compared with before the transformation, the overall automation rate of Changsha No. 18 factory has increased by 76%, and it can produce as many as 263 models. In 2021, the per capita output value of Factory 18 will be 14.7113 million yuan, and the benefit per square meter will be 154,000 yuan.

In addition to the intelligent and digital process, Sany Heavy Industry is also unifying the digital "language" internally.

Peng Congcong, the leader of the turntable welding squad of Sany Heavy Industry, said in an interview with a reporter from China Economic Weekly that a large number of welders used to be engaged in welding work on the front line, but now they have learned to work with robots, and some people can also program simply. The work intensity has been reduced a lot, and the safety risks in the work have also been eliminated, "our grassroots technicians have achieved a multi-skilled, and they have a sense of value realization, and every time they communicate with their peers, they are envious of our positions."

According to Peng Congcong, Sany encourages all employees to learn robot manipulation, and employees who learn this skill can be rewarded with 10,000 yuan, and their wages can be increased by one level, so employees are very enthusiastic about learning robots. Many key employees have also become senior robot operation instructors, the skills of workers have been greatly improved, and the overall operation level of Sany smart factory has also been greatly improved.

In the Pump Division of Sany Heavy Industry, Liu Wenlong, a post-80s generation, has books such as "Online", "Smart Business" and "DAMA" on his desk. At present, the group is focusing on data architecture, data mining and other aspects of the knowledge of learning requirements, requiring all employees to have a unified understanding of data processing, data architecture and other knowledge.

Yi Xiaogang said that from 2020 to organize all employees to learn robot operation skills, to this year's organization of data architecture learning, the original intention of Sany management to do these work is to adhere to the implementation of the strategy of "digital intelligence, electrification, and internationalization", unify the understanding of all employees, unify the digital language, lay out new tracks, and build Sany into a pioneer and data-driven company of intelligent manufacturing.

Sany digitalization has been integrated into all aspects of production management. Liu Wenlong showed reporters his "digital portrait" as the general manager of Changsha Company: through the intelligent control technology of independent production line, Liu Wenlong's pump division is responsible for the production of steel inventory, from cost control to final delivery, the whole process is displayed in a digital table.

Liu Wenlong told the China Economic Weekly reporter that these digital portraits are fed back from real-time data from more than 1,500 cameras and other data collection tools in the factory, which can fully reflect the progress and efficiency of the work at hand. "The digital system promotes the collaboration of production, scheduling, management, planning and supply chain, truly realizes the data-driven nature of the whole value chain, and realizes the intelligent management of the production process."

The "lighthouse factory" empowers and smoothly passes through the cycle

In the construction machinery industry, which is relatively cyclical, Liang Wengen said that digitalization is the magic weapon to go through the cycle.

According to industry experts, construction machinery is a typical discrete manufacturing, the industry needs a large number of personnel during the boom period, and the number of personnel is often controlled during the downturn. This leads to high manufacturing costs and slow market response. When the market demand rises, the production capacity cannot keep up; When the production capacity comes up, the market demand may pass.

After the initial completion of the intelligent manufacturing transformation, Sany Changsha No. 18 factory was quite calm before the market fluctuations. "After the completion of intelligent manufacturing transformation in the future, Sany can get rid of the shackles of the cycle." Yi Xiaogang said that in the face of the downturn in the construction machinery industry, factories do not need to lay off employees, but only need to optimize and improve logistics costs and efficiency, and cultivate their own internal strength; When the peak season of the industry comes, there is no need to recruit people, as long as the machine is started, the production capacity will come up.

Wen Wei said: "Through intelligent manufacturing, Sany's manufacturing cost can also be reduced by 20%, which makes our products more competitive." With the goal of extremely low cost, excellent quality, and extremely high human efficiency, practicing internal strength can allow us to smoothly pass the cycle and lay a solid foundation for the next upward cycle. ”

In addition, Liang Wengen mentioned many times in internal meetings: "Let our employees be more 'valuable' and richer." ”

Peng Congcong was particularly impressed by this sentence.

Peng Congcong told reporters that from a simple welder to learn new skills in robot programming, he initially beat the drum in his heart - can he adapt to the new position, can he successfully transform? "With the deepening of programming learning and familiarity with the operating equipment, the machines and equipment we operate are also constantly upgraded, and people are getting easier and easier. We are now not just a welder, but a generalist on the front lines of the business. ”

From the perspective of specific efficiency indicators, the cutting and sorting of Sany steel plates are completely handed over to AI robots with 3D vision, and the accuracy is improved to 1 mm, the cycle time is shortened by 60%, and the material waste is reduced by nearly half. The collaborative research of process engineers and skilled workers has greatly optimized the welding process of the turret robot, shortened the production cycle of a single set by about 75%, increased the overall production efficiency by 34%, and realized the production and stable production of the welding island.

Wen Wei said frankly that by building an intelligent manufacturing training system and offline training base, more than 60% of employees have been transformed into intelligent manufacturing talents, and through the application of robots and automation equipment, the role of workers has changed from operating equipment to command and care equipment. The value of employees has been enhanced, and Sany's production cycle and per capita output value have also been greatly improved. Taking pumping as an example, comparing the indicators before and after the completion of the lighthouse factory, it is found that the per capita output value has increased by 127%; The production lead time was shortened by 51.6%; The proportion of manufacturing expenses per unit of output value decreased by 43%.

Yi Xiaogang revealed that before and after the intelligent manufacturing transformation of the lighthouse factory, the number of production line workers in Changsha No. 18 factory was reduced by nearly 2/3, but the production capacity doubled, and the lighthouse factory originally produced more than 400 pieces of equipment per month to exceed 900 units per month, and the benefits brought by intelligent manufacturing were very obvious.

At present, Sany's sales have reached 172 billion yuan, more than double the peak of the previous cycle; Many front-line workers have become robot operators, and they no longer have to be "disgraced", but only use a little screen command, and there are robots such as sorting, welding, and AGV to take over most of the dirty, tiring, and heavy work.

Yi Xiaogang said that Sany Group is accelerating the transformation of digital intelligence, and the company has put forward the "Three Three Strategies", hoping to use 3,000 workers and 30,000 engineers to achieve sales of 300 billion yuan in the future.

Yi Xiaogang, Director, Executive President and Chief Engineer of Sany Group

Sany intelligent manufacturing standard "sail to sea"

"Sany intelligent manufacturing experience can be imported into the European and American markets, which surprises many competitors. Some construction machinery giants came to Sany, and they were stunned when they saw our intelligent manufacturing level. At present, there are still high labor costs in the European and American markets, resulting in weak international competitiveness. Through the output of the 'lighthouse factory' intelligent manufacturing experience, we will use the advantages of low cost and high efficiency to build core competitiveness in the international market." Yi Xiaogang told the "China Economic Weekly" reporter.

On the morning of August 15, the first SY215CKD excavator produced by Sany Indonesia's "Lighthouse Factory" rolled off the assembly line, marking the completion and operation of the first overseas "Lighthouse Factory" in China's construction machinery industry, and opening the process of Sany's intelligent manufacturing standards going to sea.

Walking into the factory, the robot arm waved, the AGV trolley moved quickly between the production line and the warehouse, and the production area of nearly 10,000 square meters realized a high degree of human-machine collaboration. At present, this factory has initially realized the full network connection and unmanned production of 12 main processes such as assembly, logistics and commissioning, which is the first time in the overseas manufacturing of a Chinese enterprise.

"From the industrial software and every data, down to the production equipment and every screw, Indonesia's 'lighthouse factory' is fully implemented with reference to Chinese standards." Ding Shifeng, head of the Indonesian factory, told the reporter of China Economic Weekly, "This factory integrates the core achievements of more than 40 'lighthouse factories' of Sany in China, which is the first overseas systematic output of intelligent manufacturing in China's construction machinery industry." ”

The industrial big data collected by nearly 1,000 collection points of Indonesia's "Lighthouse Factory" spans more than 3,000 kilometers, and is interconnected with the real-time data of the domestic Sany Global Production Control Center and the "Root Cloud" platform of Tree Root Interconnection, matching the strongest computing power for each process, each model, and even each tool to optimize the production beat.

According to reports, Changsha No. 18 Lighthouse Factory has invested a total of 500 million yuan, broken through 55 key technologies, overcome thousands of problems, and formed practical experience in lighthouse factories; A number of its original technical solutions were quickly promoted in 45 other factories of Sany Group, and 4,062 delegations and 100,000 person-times of learning and exchange were supported, realizing the spillover of digital intelligence capabilities.

According to Xiang Wenbo, chairman of Sany Heavy Industry, at present, Sany 46 digital transformation factories are using the cutting-edge technology of the fourth industrial revolution to create a blueprint for smart factories and expand intelligent manufacturing to the upstream and downstream links of the industrial chain.

At present, Sany's "Lighthouse Factory" intelligent manufacturing standard has not only successfully reached the sea, but is also exporting to the upstream and downstream of the industry, providing partners and suppliers with data interconnection transformation experience, and providing intelligent manufacturing upgrade services for customers at the supply chain end.

Yi Xiaogang said: "Now there is an endless stream of institutions and enterprises that come to visit Changsha No. 18 Factory every day, and we are willing to export Sany's digital experience and concepts. We should take an open attitude, so that more partners and upstream and downstream suppliers can truly see the results of Sany in reducing costs and increasing efficiency through intelligent manufacturing, and encourage suppliers to join the trend of intelligent manufacturing. Sany cooperates with suppliers and other partners in digital transformation to help them improve efficiency, reduce costs, improve quality, and smoothly ride through the economic cycle of the industry, which also enhances its competitiveness. The picture we outline is to work with partners to open up the upstream and downstream of the supply chain and form an industrial ecosystem of intelligent manufacturing. ”

"We predict that in the future, the entire Chinese manufacturing industry may develop in the direction of scale, centralization and specialization." Yi Xiaogang said frankly that in the future, through the technology expansion and experience sharing of the global lighthouse factory network, Sany will be committed to the digital and intelligent transformation of intelligent products, intelligent manufacturing and intelligent operation, and strive to become a benchmark for intelligent manufacturing in the global construction machinery industry.

(This article was published in the 21st issue of China Economic Weekly in 2022, reporter Guo Zhiqiang of China Economic Weekly Hunan report)