Ralf-Michael Franke Tells It Like It Is!

Ralf-Michael Franke: CEO Industrial Automation Systems, Siemens Industry Sector Global Strategy in Automation, the role of the USA Franke again discussed the reorganization of Siemens. This kind of innovation takes years to completely come to fruition. The organization of the Industry Sector: Industry Automation Motion Control Industry Solutions Building Technologies Mobility Osram (Sylvania) Approximately 40 billion Euros, 51.3% of revenue. We expect 14% growth globally, and 10% growth in the US from 100 billion in 2007 to 110 billion Euros in 2010. We’re investing in growth, and we’ve made major acquisitions in US businesses like UGS, VATech, Morgan Construction, Flender, Robicon, US Filter, Chemtreat… Our strategy to increase productivity is based on Totally Integrated Automation: Production Workflow, Production Life cycle, with a common software and controller platform over all industries,, process, hybrid, and discrete, and for all regions. We can do vertical integration from the device to the enterprise resource planning level. Simatic PLC, Simatic DCS, Simatic MC and Simatic PLC based on Profibus, Profinet and Ethernet open networks connect to Simatic MES, and then to the ERP system thus Siemens automation technology covers the whole production workflow. Siemens automation technology expands over the whole production life cycle, from design, engineering installation and commissioning, operation and maintenance with digital engineering, automation and asset management tools. Simatic PCS7 for example, has advanced process library and control for cost-optimized engineering, Profibus PA redundancy for high availability and simple extentions, etc. Challenges for future production: individualization and shorter product life cycles. For example, today there are up to 10 to the 32nd power version of automobiles in production. This is exponential growth in complexity of manufacturing. To shorten the product life cycle further, an integrated view on product and production is necessary. Totally Integrated Automation reduces time to market for the production. Siemens Safety Integrated Profisafe saves very large amounts. 150 cells x 5000 EUR savings per cell = 750K Euros savings in a plant installation. We have to do more design in the virtual world. We have to design in a feedback loop of requirements, modeling, analysis, validation, change management and knowledge. We need to prove performance virtually, prove cost virtually, and prove manufacturing virtually…this brings huge reductions in time to market, perhaps 20-30%. The next big step is the digital factory, the integration of product and production life cycle. Integration of Totally Integrated Automation and Siemens PLM, merge the virtual with physical worlds, and establish a digital platform to unify disciplines. The digital factory as an answer to the world’s toughest questions. Siemens answers.