It all depends on data consistency

Heldele GmbH is in its element with futuristic building automation technology, assembly lines built in record time for the big names in the German auto industry, communications, safety and fire protection systems in ambitious and complex large-scale projects. The electrical and communications engineering specialists from Salach bei Göppingen in Württemberg are also making their own mark in one of the sectors of the future, electrical mobility, with the interactive charging station technology it has developed. The greatest efficiency in design and data management and maximum data consistency is required to master projects of this nature. Heldele has therefore put is faith in EPLAN solutions for more than 15 years. The firm is currently running 16 licences for EPLAN Electric P8 Professional; seven hardware designers use them in their work in automation technology, six in building technology and three in the environmental and process engineering sector located at the Stuttgart site. “EPLAN Electric P8 has established itself in our company, it is powerful and consistent”, explains Bernd Kümmel, Automation technology project manager at Heldele. In the last five years, the company has migrated fully from legacy and other systems to EPLAN, although existing products are still revised in the legacy systems. EPLAN Pro Panel, the new solution for control cabinet and switchgear installations, has also recently come on board. “Every year we have more large-scale projects, and so this system will definitely pay its way”, says Bernd Kümmel. The Automation Division alone contributes 16.5 million euros to the company's total turnover of 83 million euros.

Time savings – 50 percent

Large-scale projects – for Bernd Kümmel this means installations with up to 300 control cabinets and 150 control consoles. Heldele is a full-service provider and handles a project from software development, through design and control cabinet construction to commissioning and handover to the customer. Each year, the 35 technicians in the control cabinet construction department build around 700 metres of control cabinet in total. The investment in EPLAN Pro Panel will pay for itself in the shortest time. According to the project manager's experience, the time savings in control cabinet construction are around 50 percent; this is possible because the control cabinet structure need only be designed once, the data can then be applied to all the other tasks. The data is transferred directly through the EPLAN NC production interface without further processing to the in-house Steinhauer machining centre; the wiring looms required are supplied to the wiring technicians from an external supplier.

Cable routing runs like clockwork

Cable routing runs like clockwork with the functions available in EPLAN Pro Panel: the supplier receives the EPLAN data from Heldele, uses it to make up and label the cables and delivers a complete kit ready for installation. This is how Bernd Kümmel describes the process: “The cables are prepared and fully labelled with all the information so that the wiring technician can practically work without a wiring diagram, just using the cabling list; on principle, the wiring diagram is now only used for inspection.” On the one hand, this method of working is very reliable – errors in control cabinet construction are hence practically impossible; a further advantage is that out-and-out specialists are no longer required for this task, and that staff can thus be deployed more flexibly.

Everything covered – “down to the last terminal”

The high level of data consistency in the EPLAN Platform generates rationalisation benefits throughout the process chain. Bernd Kümmel and his team use all of the functions: The EPLAN database is not only used to generate cable layouts, but also spare and wear parts lists and bills of material including all the components and units “down to the last terminal” to help in materials ordering. The Control cabinet construction department orders its materials entirely from EPLAN lists: Standard components are held in large, well-organised departmental stores, high-value components are ordered specifically for each order. In the start-up phase, building up the database required a considerable amount of effort, but this has quickly paid for itself. Bernd Kümmel refers in particular to the “unbureaucratic support” from the EPLAN advisors, not least in the creation of master data macros for components required across all the disciplines in project engineering. The EPLAN Data Portal has made it considerably easier to deal with bought-in parts, confirmed the project manager: “We always check in the Data Portal first before we create macros for new components or devices ourselves,”; the manufacturers keep the data relating to their products, including order numbers and preview images, which are constantly up-to-date in the portal. This means that it is not only quicker to draw up wiring diagrams, but the diagrams are easier to understand and interpret – whatever the installation plan: The devices are always represented in the same way and from the same data source.

Maximum transparency and availability

Transparent documentation and the deployment of the most up-to-date available technologies are particularly important in complex projects such as those that Heldele works on in building automation all around the world. Buildings technology in large administrative buildings is far more than just light, power and telephones these days, stresses Bernd Kümmel: air conditioning and energy management, security and fire detection systems, access management, media technology and much more are all integrated into the system and are controlled automatically. For instance, the company's own building no longer has any light switches as light, heating and blinds are controlled via an intranet and are switched by the staff using the computers at their workstations.

The principle of service orientation

24-hour service, 365 days a year is Heldele's promise to its customers, to protect them from costly business interruptions. The company also expects this service orientation from its partners. “It is important to us that problems are resolved immediately”, says Bernd Kümmel about the many years of collaboration with EPLAN: The hotline reacts quickly and competently, “we do not need to waste time on maintenance work”. Service is guaranteed for all products, even the older ones; sometimes support is still required for the older systems, as the use of CAE is often guided by customer requests. Without regular training, offered by EPLAN either in house or at its training centre in Stuttgart, it wouldn't be possible – “We also contact EPLAN Consulting regularly, to consider where our weak points are and agree timing and content with EPLAN selectively.”

The charging station manufacturer

Heldele's E-smart is an exotic member of the company's three-hundred strong fleet: Heldele's designers have converted it themselves, working with the customiser, Lorinser. Heldele is now no longer only a service provider in the field of sustainable and efficient future technologies, but is also a manufacturer. Working with Phoenix Contact, DesignTech, SPG, P+Z, Edelstahlmechanik Eisele and other research partners, the Heldele Technology Competence Centre has developed an innovative charging station to market maturity. The first charging stations have already been installed; another 150 are aimed to follow in the first year.