Successful automation? These are the key factors

Applications for the fast-growing workforce of SYNAOS are sent via Sibel Yüksel's desk in Hanover. Yüksel is a people business partner and deliberately relies on a mix of experience and curiosity when it comes to team building. “Open personalities with a healthy dose of creative will go well with SYNAOS,” emphasizes the 30-year-old. More than 100 people already work at SYNAOS at various locations in Germany and Europe — this makes an open exchange essential. “Our values definitely include eye-to-eye communication,” says Yüksel. “A feedback culture is a good starting point for further growth.” This internal culture is also reflected in cooperation with customers and external partners — the triad of software, hardware and user requirements is an important factor in modern intralogistics. At SYNAOS, for example, there are close partnerships, especially with vehicle and robotics manufacturers, where the skills of those involved complement each other productively.

Learn from each other

SAFELOG is one of these competent partners. The company was founded in 1996 and expanded its portfolio to include mobile transport robots in 2015. Julia Kessler is Director of Project Management at SAFELOG. Working with other hardware and software suppliers is something that fascinates them about intralogistics. “Partnerships are becoming important because no provider on the market can cover the entire list of project requirements alone,” says Kessler.

‍
Looking back on her own career and the rapid development of the intralogistics industry, she expects that the future will bring constant changes. She sees IT, IT security and software as decisive factors in the ongoing evolution of the sector.

Julia Kessler has worked as a project planner at robotics manufacturer SAFELOG for six years. Her first projects included the Mercedes-Benz “Factory 56” future factory in Sindelfingen. “Thanks in part to a partnership such as SYNAOS, we can communicate with other hardware manufacturers in one set-up and thus also tackle more complex tasks together.” Every Meeting with Colleagues, Customers or Project Partners opens up new perspectives and points of view. “I am constantly learning new things in dialogue with specialists from hardware, software and intralogistics,” says Kessler. In this constellation, she also sees herself playing a certain role as an interpreter. “The top priority is that all parties involved have understood the details of the project and know their tasks. There is often a certain need for explanation here.”

Because everyone has different expectations for an automation project. “The more precisely you have clarified in advance what the customer really wants and what is possible, the more successful the project is in the end. You have to stay in continuous communication and coordination with the customer in order to fully understand their concerns in good time and in full.”

Understanding Requirements

Zuzana Majerova is a particularly experienced intralogistic. She works for Volkswagen Slovakia and is responsible for logistics group systems in logistics planning at the Bratislava plant. Thousands of Vehicles roll off the assembly line within a week. Series production for the Volkswagen Passat and Skoda Superb will soon start in a converted hall. There, driverless vehicles are then controlled via the SYNAOS Intralogistics Management Platform. Majerova has been working at the plant since 1998 and knows the processes inside and out. “My heart bleeds for the systems,” she affirms. “The system is good when I don't notice anything about it. It is important that all processes function reliably. If something happens, the line stops.”

Zuzana Majerova is responsible for the in-house logistics/AMS logistics department for the Bratislava location at Volkswagen Slovakia. She has worked here since 1998 and is currently supporting the rollout of the SYNAOS system. For four different types of AGVs at the plant in Bratislava, a SYNAOS team must define routes. “In the end, around 70 vehicles will drive there,” says Marie-Sophie Jeinsen. She is a Logistics Process Engineer and a true addition to SYNAOS. She started out as a working student and, as the face of the company, is now the interface to Volkswagen and other customers. Jeinsen has been involved in the project in Bratislava right from the start and is also responsible for the application-specific configuration of the software on site. With the intralogistics expert from Volkswagen, the young talent from SYNAOS is now a well-rehearsed team.

“Communication with colleagues at SYNAOS is perfect,” says Zuzana Majerova. “These are people who know the world of Volkswagen, they understand our processes.” Under these conditions, regular video switching also makes for smooth teamwork and reliable troubleshooting.

Marie-Sophie Jeinsen is a Logistics Process Engineer. Her work at SYNAOS began as a working student. She is now responsible for configuring the software for the customer. Clear communication is simply essential in intralogistics — long before the first robots make their rounds at the customer's premises. “Our actual work starts with clarifying orders, when we look at the processes on site,” says Jeinsen. “In doing so, we clarify the product fit — does our product really fit the requirements at the location? I go through every single step with the customer.” This is also in line with Julia Kessler's experience at SAFELOG. “The better you can communicate the understanding of mobile robots, the higher is acceptance in the end,” she confirms.

The Formula for Success for Automation Projects in Intralogistics therefore combines two factors: concentrated technical expertise and the ability to exchange ideas in partnership.

‍