SEAL OF APPROVAL “APPROVED BY MTM ASSOCIATION” FOR THE TAKTIQ ASSEMBLYSUITE™
AssemblySuite™, the planning software for balanced series production of TAKTIQ GmbH & Co. KG, uses EAWS® (Ergonomic Assessment Work Sheet) for the ergonomic assessment of manual work systems. With the seal of approval “approved by MTM ASSOCIATION e. V., the MTM ASSOCIATION e. V. has now confirmed the conformity of the ergonomic assessment in AssemblySuite™ with the requirements and standards defined in the test criteria. The technical evaluation was carried out by Fondazione Ergo-MTM Italia.
Italy also saw the first contact with MTM and the EAWS® ergonomics standard, as TAKTIQ Chief Executive Officer Dr. Simon Altemeier revealed in an interview.
How was that exactly?
One of our valued customers is Lamborghini. Two years ago, the Italian car manufacturer introduced our TAKTIQ AssemblySuite software. We then got to talking about the topic of ergonomics and how to take this point into account when line balancing. Lamborghini, in turn, had brought Fondazione Ergo-MTM Italia on board for ergonomics evaluation. So cooperation was the obvious thing to do.
When in the planning process with the AssemblySuite™ does the topic of ergonomics assessment come into play?
With the line balancing, I decide which activities a worker performs in the cycle – and thus also which ergonomic stresses he or she will have to deal with. With the AssemblySuite, in which EAWS is integrated, I can now maintain the ergonomic loads for the activities and the ergonomic conditions at the workstations directly during the initial planning of a line. I then always receive a live ergonomics assessment according to EAWS while the line is being planned out. If adjustments are made to the line layout, e.g. due to changes in the production mix or the integration of new models, the EAWS data is permanently updated and the EAWS assessment is revised almost automatically. From this point on, any optimization of the line takes into account not only capacity utilization and time spread, but also the ergonomic effects. As a planner, I can then generate proposals that, for example, improve the efficiency of the line but do not worsen the ergonomics in the line.
Is EAWS® available in both AssemblySuite™ modules?
The ergonomics assessment with EAWS is performed in the line balancing module. Order sequencing does not take ergonomics into account, but it implicitly ensures that there are fewer peak loads caused by certain product variants.
How do you make the topic of integrated ergonomics assessment palatable to customers?
The argumentation is quite simple: Our customers avoid interface efforts between assembly planning and ergonomics assessment and thus reduce the planning time. In addition, ergonomics is no longer considered as a “downstream” process, but is taken into account directly as part of any rescheduling. This also saves significant time and raises the efficiency & ergonomics level to a new level.
What does the seal of approval mean for you?
The MTM ASSOCIATION e. V. and the Fondazione Ergo-MTM Italia set the standard for ergonomic evaluation with EAWS. And our customers – which tend to be the larger companies – value standards! For our customers it is important to see that AssemblySuite calculates correctly according to these aspects. In this respect, the seal of approval “approved by MTM ASSOCIATION” is an asset for our customers and for us.
What’s next for the collaboration?
I could imagine that we will also have our functionalities in the area of time management certified, e.g. for MTM-UAS. Incidentally, the current certification is also the starting signal for closer cooperation with Deutsche MTM-Gesellschaft mbH and its TiCon software.
Read more about the “approved by MTM ASSOCIATION” seal of approval HERE.
