Optessa Solves Production Hiccups

A vehicle assembly plant copes every day with a dizzying array of build configurations. Between color changes, different drivelines and dozens of optional features, there's enough mathematical equations to stump Isaac Newton.

But Sir Isaac didn't have today's computers with massive processing power to enable lightning-fast calculations.

Optessa Inc., an upstart technology specialist based in Edmonton, AB, Canada, has written sophisticated new algorithms to smooth out the line-sequencing challenges that disrupt production at North American vehicle assembly plants on a weekly basis.

“We've solved the core mathematical problem,” says Ashok Erramilli, president and chief technology officer of Optessa. “No OEMs have solved it on their own yet.”

Solving the problem is like money in the bank.

For every minute of halted production, an auto maker potentially loses at least $15,000, which means $900,000 per hour and $21.6 million per day (given a 24-hour production schedule), estimates Optessa CEO Srinivas (Vasu) Netrakanti.

Auto makers understand the economics at stake and have worked for years to eliminate hiccups. Still, North American vehicle assembly plants endure two to three line-stopping events every week, Netrakanti says.

OEMs currently rely on enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for data gathering and in-house legacy systems to handle the massive task of line sequencing.

“But in-house solutions have limited capability,” Erramilli says. “They (auto makers) all recognize this as an important function, and that there is a need for a solution. This is a high-priority topic of conversation.”

Optessa's largely off-the-shelf Multi-Line Scheduling (MLS) software solution is flexible enough to allow auto makers to determine which production issues must take top priority.

For instance, if an OEM wants to minimize the number of costly color changes in a build sequence, or configure an assembly line to enable vehicle delivery by a certain date, the MLS software quickly and easily makes the necessary adjustments.

Vehicle assembly plants live by “rules” that govern production, some of them stemming from labor contracts or limitations in component shipments from suppliers.

Typical rules might include, “2-door models are to be built only on the first shift,” “white vehicle bodies cannot follow black or red” and “sunroofs must be installed only at the start of a work shift.”

Every “rule violation” creates potential for a line stoppage. “Rule violations are expensive,” Erramilli says. “Our system can come up with a schedule to optimize for fewer rule violations.”

In talking with one U.S. auto maker eager to end sequencing disruptions, Optessa was able to create a virtual model that resulted in zero line-stopping events, while accommodating the customer's production needs, Netrakanti says.

In the past two years, Optessa has won business with two of Detroit's auto makers and is in advanced discussions with the third. Optessa's first automotive contract began in 2004 with a large Japanese OEM.

In all, the MLS software is running on 100 assembly lines, mostly in North America.

“It's not that OEMs are resisting IT solutions,” Erramilli says. “They are open to them, but the problems have gotten more complex.”

The drive to deliver custom-ordered cars to consumers within a 5-day window illustrates the need for such a system, Netrakanti says.

And as consumer tastes diversify, forcing auto makers to build an increasing variety of models in continually shrinking volumes, the need for greater sequencing flexibility intensifies, he says.

In production applications, Optessa says its software has:

Optessa attempts to integrate MLS with whatever system currently is in place, Erramilli says. In some cases, however, the legacy system must be replaced.

For instance, a Japanese customer now uses MLS in all its North American and U.K. plants, in place of internal systems devised in Japan.