Sesotec Life
27/02/2025 |
We are Sesotec: Work planning - A look behind the scenes
The AP team -
Standing from left: Andre Tolksdorf, Michael Köstlmeier, Markus Joachimsthaler,
Margit Roth, Georg Fuchs, Stefan Krause, Stefan Friedl
Kneeling from left:
Manuel Biller, Matthias Gell, Robert Gruber, Benjamin Selwitschka, Bettina
Richter (seated)
Work planning plays a central role in our company. It is the engine that keeps our processes efficient and ensures that we can deliver high-quality products to our customers in a short time. Today we take a look at the impressive achievements of work planning - and the colleagues behind it. In this interview, Benjamin Selwitschka, Team Leader Work Planning at Sesotec, talks about his work and the challenges his team faces.
Bensch, work planning has a major influence on efficiency and cost optimization at Sesotec. Can you give us a current example?
The conversion of the production of the separator housing of a metal separator to our welding robot was a super exciting project. The aim was to reduce manufacturing costs - with great success.
Machine setter Andreas Bergmann and Stefan Krause from the AP team have converted the production of the separator housing of a metal separator to the welding robot
What were the biggest challenges in this project?
Coordinating with the various departments - production, design and purchasing - was one of the key tasks. We had to ensure that the changeover went smoothly and without interrupting production. We also adapted the work plans and material master data. Stefan Krause was in charge of this and implemented it really well together with Andreas Bergmann.
How do you measure the success of your department?
Customer satisfaction is of course also our top priority in work planning.
Among other things, it is important for customers and their planning to receive information or confirmation about the delivery date of their order as soon as possible. In order to meet this customer requirement in the long term, there are two key figures in terms of order processing within work planning:
Firstly, On Time Delivery, or OTD for short. This refers to the percentage of customer orders that were processed within one day.
And secondly, lead time. This is the processing time of a customer order in work planning.
Another major goal of work planning is to reduce manufacturing costs and shorten delivery times through efficient and lean work processes.
As part of CIP Engineering - CIP stands for Continuous Improvement Process - we work together with our colleagues from the Design and Industrial Engineering departments to strive for and implement savings in manufacturing costs.
In addition to the major projects, there is certainly also a lot of background work that is not so visible. What makes work planning special here?
Absolutely! One activity that is often overlooked is changing parts lists. The colleagues - consisting of Stefan Friedl, Stefan Krause, Manuel Biller, Markus Joachimsthaler, Andre Tolksdorf, Michael Köstlmeier and Matthias Gell - adjust thousands of parts list items every year. This activity is essential in order to provide the production areas with the right components at the right time.
In this context, I would also like to point out other activities that ensure the smooth running of the production areas, among other things, on a daily basis.
For example, the pre-calculation of materials and the management of inquiries from our service department, which are implemented and managed by our colleagues Robert Gruber and Manuel Biller.
Time recording is an important component in ensuring realistic target times in the production areas. Georg Fuchs, with his decades of REFA experience, is an important employee here.
Correct order completion is also an essential part of order processing. Margit Roth and Bettina Richter do valuable work here.
The last point I would like to mention is the creation of work instructions for our production areas. Here, work planning in cooperation with development creates documents which, in combination with drawings and circuit diagrams, ensure smooth and high-quality appliance production.
That sounds like a lot of work. How do you make sure that you have all these tasks on your screen and can work through them in a structured way?
We work with our SAP software and the worklists and transactions it offers. We also use transparent checklists and action lists, which we check and update at regular intervals. These tools help us to maintain an overview and document everything in a comprehensible way.
What message would you like to pass on to your colleagues in the company?
Work planning is the backbone of many processes that are often not directly visible. But we work every day to ensure that our successes - such as the savings from the introduction of robots or the high delivery reliability - are visible. It is important to us to create transparency and show that there are dedicated people behind every success. Work planning focuses on strategic topics that strengthen our competitiveness and are crucial for the future.
Thank you, Bensch, for the exciting insights!
Interested in becoming part of our team? Work planning at Sesotec plays a central role in our efficiency and product quality - and we are always looking for motivated colleagues who want to shape the future with us.
A strong team
