Despite its success in the metal-mechanical market, the company faced a series of challenges in managing the production of its extensive portfolio, made up of more than 13,000 products and over 18,000 SKUs. The manufacturing complexity of these items is enormous, with some routings containing more than 15 processes distributed across the foundry, stamping, machining, heat treatment, polishing, electroplating, painting, assembly, and packaging centers. This scenario results in a high volume of industrial operations that must be sequenced efficiently and strategically across roughly 500 resources, many of which share the same tools and/or labor.

Prior to the implementation of Siemens' software for digitalizing the production scheduling process, Opcenter APS, PADO generated production sequencing manually, by cross-referencing several Excel spreadsheets, which made it difficult to visualize the long-term horizon. In addition, with a hybrid production environment—with products manufactured to order and for stock replenishment—and considering the high industrial complexity of the process, the effort expended by the PPCP team to build a scenario or perform any simulation was extremely high, consuming hours of the schedulers' time to generate a schedule for a horizon of, at most, one day. Rescheduling was constant, mainly due to the high dynamism of the order book and stock replenishments, and to the lack of a holistic view of the production scenario.

Materials control also presented itself as a critical challenge, due to the need to synchronize various components and raw materials for multiple production lines. The delicate synchronization of certain processes, such as electroplating, required precise coordination to avoid bottlenecks and ensure the final quality of the products, adding an extra layer of complexity to production management.

Moreover, the company did not have a manufacturing culture based on Production Orders, since sequencing was practically all driven by the orders in the book and by PADO's daily revenue target. As a result, setups were frequent and often complex, increasing machine downtime as well as the factory's operational costs, directly impacting production efficiency.

Aware of the difficulties and needs of its production scenario, PADO sought a solution in the market that would automate and optimize its production scheduling process, choosing Siemens' Opcenter APS software as the solution, and NEO as the partner consultancy to help them overcome these challenges.

"The decision to choose NEO as the implementation partner for Opcenter APS was made after we carried out a benchmarking exercise with one of their clients and realized the tool's potential for customization and adaptation to our reality. In addition, their ability to diagnose our processes was something that conveyed credibility and increased our confidence in entering into this partnership." — Gleice de Alcântara, Senior PPCP Analyst

Due to the quantity and complexity of the operations, the project was divided into three stages: Initial Processes (M1), Finishing Processes (M2), and Assembly and Packaging Processes (M3). Based on this division, the solution was designed jointly by the NEO and PADO teams and implemented fully integrated with the FOCCO ERP. In addition, the solution uses data from the MES, allowing Opcenter APS to recalculate process rates based on current efficiency.

In this way, the Opcenter APS software collects all transactional information (production orders, routings, orders, among others), generates the production schedule following the business rules developed, and, finally, exports the updated data to the factory through analysis reports. It is also worth noting that the data compiled by the software is also used for technical and managerial analyses through customized reports, such as the materials management report, sequencing scenario analysis, and tool inefficiency control.

Additionally, during the specification stage, the need for a materials control module was mapped, given the difficulties faced in executing the MRP process in the company's ERP. Thus, this module was developed within the solution, allowing the allocation of materials to orders to go through a complex series of steps, in order to ensure that the delivery date calculation for each level of the chain is passed precisely to the sequencing. The MRP module also defines the priority of each Production Order, considering, above all, the final fulfillment (orders, stock, or sales forecast) and the ABC curve of the items produced. This information made it possible to build sequencing rules more aligned with the company's objectives.

For the solution to be fully adapted to PADO's scenario, it was also necessary to create customized setup rules for each operation center, configure the production calendars, and provide a detailed specification of the various processes and their particularities. As a result, it was possible to deliver rules highly adapted to the factory's reality, such as: changing process rates based on the suggested casting mold; grouping orders executed in the same production cycle; the possibility of registering alternative routings; consideration of supplier lead time in the event of a supply shortage; the end date of the previous operation as a prioritization criterion; updating stock coverage at sequencing time as a prioritization criterion; work in progress reporting; and restriction on the allocation of materials in stock or coming from firm production orders.

All the business rules specified and fully developed, thanks to the deep technical and business knowledge of PADO's PPCP team, were of paramount importance for the strong adherence of the final solution.

The implementation of Opcenter APS at PADO brought significant advances in production predictability, PPCP team efficiency, productivity, data reliability, and production costs. In addition, the analysis of the scenarios generated by the tool provided valuable insights for the company to improve its processes, providing robust support in decision-making. The ability to identify bottlenecks and idle capacity, as well as to better understand their causes, allowed PADO to implement corrective actions, improving productivity and reducing waste. Thus, the company began to operate with greater efficiency and in a way more aligned with market demands.

"Beyond the optimization of production scheduling, which is the main focus of the tool, the business rules developed specifically for PADO's reality provided a detailed view of operations and contributed to identifying opportunities for process improvement. As a result, other projects were made possible based on the scenarios revealed by Opcenter APS." — Gleice de Alcântara, Senior PPCP Analyst

One of the main gains was the significant 60% reduction in the time dedicated to the M1 production scheduling activity. This result represents not only operational relief for the PPCP team, which began to act in a more analytical and less reactive way, but also a direct gain in administrative efficiency. By eliminating much of the manual work previously required to generate a daily sequencing, a significant optimization of human resources was observed, allowing the team to focus on more strategic activities with greater return for the company.

In addition, with the support of APS, the scheduling horizon, which was previously limited to a single day, became two to five days, depending on the complexity of the production orders. This advance considerably increased the predictability of the production process, also ensuring the reliability of the deadlines communicated to the work centers downstream of M1—information that previously had to be gathered from the factory and/or calculated manually. The production queue became more stable and visible, reducing the occurrence of machine stoppages due to lack of scheduling and allowing more accurate planning of setups, shifts, and supply.

Another direct effect of the application of Opcenter APS was observed in the machine set assembly sector, where there was a statistically significant increase of 10.75% in the average monthly production volume. The greater organization of M1 sequencing, combined with the reduction in downtime and better synchronization of components, resulted in a more continuous and efficient flow. As a result, it was possible to fulfill more orders with the same number of available resources, raising the demand fulfillment rate without compromising quality.

Furthermore, Opcenter APS established itself as a strategic tool within PADO, raising internal procedures and data maturity to a new level. Through a detailed analysis of the data and review of the routings of the initial processes, the company was able to restructure some processes and improve the reliability of the information. These actions had a direct impact on operational costs, with a 10.54% reduction in manufacturing costs being observed. In other words, the implementation of APS not only improved operational performance but also strengthened PADO's ability to plan and execute its strategies with greater precision and confidence.

"Today we can see that the scheduling carried out through APS allows us to achieve greater control and reliability in the information, a broader view of demand, greater flexibility, and better organization of setups, in addition to providing more effective communication with the process." — Maria Heloísa Rodrigues, Senior PPCP Analyst

Through the determination and partnership between the NEO and PADO teams, it was possible to overcome the difficulties common to a software implementation, both from a cultural standpoint—stemming from a system without production order control—and a technical one, due to the complexity of the process. In addition, the solution is in line with the reality of production, covering the entire production process and contributing to robust and efficient management of the high volume of operations, resources, and orders.

The next steps regarding the Opcenter APS software focus mainly on consolidating the use of the solution throughout the factory, thus enabling global synchronization. There are still many challenges to be overcome, but through its commitment to innovation and efficiency, PADO has shown itself capable of facing adversity with determination and strategy.

It is worth noting that, in 2024, PADO took another important step in its digitalization journey, forging a new partnership with NEO for the implementation of Siemens Digital Logistics AX4, a logistics collaboration platform that connects suppliers, carriers, and distribution centers in real time. The possibility of integrating AX4 with Opcenter APS also makes it possible to synchronize delivery deadlines and the receipt of materials with production planning, react quickly to logistical or production contingencies, and reduce communication failures between supply chain, production, and transport.

PADO's initiative in acquiring AX4 reinforces the company's commitment to operational excellence and promises to integrate processes even further, providing end-to-end logistics management. This constant search by the company for new technologies is the hallmark of a true market leader.

"I am very happy to share the success of the APS tool implementation at PADO. It was a challenging process, but the results exceeded all our expectations. The integration of the tool not only optimized our internal processes but also significantly improved our operational efficiency. We are excited about the possibilities the tool offers us to keep growing and achieve our goals. Thank you to the NEO team for their hard work and dedication. Together, we are building an even more promising future for our company." — Guilherme Silva, PPCP and Logistics Manager