Lean & Green Award for the Festo Scharnhausen Technology Plant

Lean and green – i.e. lean, sustainable processes and environmentally conscious production – is an important aspect of the strategy in this plant and was implemented by Festo both in production operations and in technical innovations in all areas of plant and building technology. These requirements were at the forefront even in the planning and construction phase of the new plant and were used as the basis for decision-making during the process.

"Our winning the Lean & Green Management Award in the ‘Special Prize’ category confirms that our actions have been going in the right direction at also motivates us to continue on the same path in the future," reports manager of the Scharnhausen Technology Plant Stefan Schwerdtle happily. "When the finalists were assessed on the maturity level of their lean and green measures, we achieved a rating of 7.6 out of a total of 10 possible points, which is excellent. This means we can consider ourselves to be one of the best lean and green companies among the entrants for the award. We see this as a valuable seal of approval for our Technology Plant."

Cooperation as a success factor

In the words of the award jury, the Scharnhausen Technology Plant is based on an integrated lean management approach with a clear target structure and a clear vision for the plant. The auditors were also impressed by the way in which the plant has made green factors an integral part of this vision and uses resource efficiency to generate a competitive advantage. "Festo has definitely exploited the opportunities which the construction of a new plant offers," notes Daniel Reichert, Project Manager for the Lean & Green Award. "Staff were closely involved in this planning process. Targets were coordinated at all levels and problem-solving loops were set up quickly when necessary.”

A central factor in the plant’s lean approach is the integrated value stream management. In the Technology Plant, all value streams from development, logistics and production must always be perfectly coordinated. The successes that have already been achieved in optimising the value streams are clear to see. In the production of the pneumatic mini slide DGSL, for example, the overall transport distance was reduced from more than 30 km across various sites to just 240 m; by having all the process steps now carried out at a single site throughput times were cut by more than 60%.

Taking a connected view of energy data

Starting with lean and resource-saving processes, companies today use digital connectivity options in order, for example, to compare production data with energy consumption and significantly reduce this consumption. The Technology Plant was able to score points with its energy transparency system, which facilitates precisely this type of connectivity. By considering all the energy streams in the production plants as well as in the building technology as a whole, a significant savings potential can be realised. This also increases employee awareness of the need to use resources sparingly.

"We are very proud to have achieved this excellent result in the ‘Lean & Green Management Awards’," says Frank Weber, Head of Global Building Management at Festo. It confirms that we were right to take a systematic, broad-based view during the planning and implementation of our new plant project. Right from the start, we looked at the building, production operations and processes especially in terms of their energy efficiency and environmental protection.

Lean & Green Management Award – a top honour

The Lean & Green Management Award was hosted this year for the fifth time by consultancy firms Growtth Consulting Europe and Quadriga Consult. In specialist circles the award is considered to be one of the top honours for production plants. The participants were initially assessed by a questionnaire. The organiser’s consultants then carried out “Lean & Green Assessments” at the premises of the companies selected as finalists. Finally, a jury of experts evaluated the results and identified the prizewinners. This year the prizewinners in other categories included BMW Munich, Rohde & Schwarz, Neuenhauser and Bolta-Werke. The official awards presentation will take place on 5 and 6 December at the Blaichach/Immenstadt site of Robert Bosch, last year’s winner and this year’s host, on the occasion of a "Lean & Green Summit".