Location: 88161 Lindenberg im Allgäu, Germany · Industry: Aerospace, aviation suppliers, component manufacturing, metalworking · Products: Landing gear, flight control and actuation systems, gearboxes, electronics and components for aviation · ERP: Infor:LN · Website: https://www.liebherr.com/ · S4P modules: FELIOS|BDE powered by 4BDE
Initial situation
The manufacture of safety-critical aerospace components is subject to the highest quality and documentation requirements. Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH, with around 3,000 employees, required end-to-end shop-floor data collection to make production processes fully traceable and to complement its existing Infor:LN environment with real-time data from the shop floor. Landing gear, flight control and actuation systems as well as gearbox and electronic components must be documented to a standard that meets the stringent requirements of aviation authorities.
Challenge
In aerospace manufacturing, every process step must be precisely captured and documented. The goal was to record operating data in real time, increase transparency over manufacturing progress and create a reliable data basis for traceability and evidence requirements. Operating over 900 BDE terminals and 150 order cockpits demanded a scalable, stable architecture that runs smoothly alongside the Infor:LN ERP environment and the existing subsystems for personnel time and logistics. In addition, different roles — from shop-floor level to manufacturing management — needed to be equipped with appropriate user interfaces and access rights.
Solution
FELIOS|BDE powered by 4BDE is deployed for end-to-end shop-floor data collection. More than 900 BDE terminals and 150 order cockpits are in operation. The solution integrates seamlessly into the existing Infor:LN ERP environment alongside GECOSOFT for personnel time recording and WAMAS for logistics. Order and feedback data are exchanged bidirectionally between all systems, so that scheduling, shift supervisors and manufacturing management always have a current overview of order progress, times and quantities. The terminals guide operators securely through booking processes, support documentation obligations and reduce manual recording to a minimum.
Results and benefits
With the S4P solution, Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg GmbH achieves gap-free capture of production data, improved traceability and a reliable data basis for the continuous optimisation of manufacturing processes. Real-time transparency over order and operating states supports shop-floor management in making rapid decisions. Manual data-entry effort has been significantly reduced, documentation quality has improved and the requirements for traceability and evidence management in the regulated aerospace environment are reliably met.