# Digital Transformation of Production Planning and Control in Manufacturing SMEs-The Mold Shop Case
## 4 Industrial Pilot Case  
### Industrial Pilot Case Description  
A mold is used for shaping materials into parts or products, and the mold production industry is essential for the mass production of various products such as plastic ones. Most mold manufacturing companies are SME companies (e.g., [1]), and therefore, it is important to investigate methods to improve the digital maturity of such companies. In molds' production, the core business activities can be classified into three business sectors: 1. Design and manufacturing of Injection Molds, 2. Design and manufacturing of Cutting and Forming Dies and 3. Manufacturing of High Precision Parts. All products and subcomponents are processed in the same resources and part flow covers most of the machining centers, depending on the particularities of each case. Common ground for all three of the above-mentioned business sectors is the demanding and complex manufacturing processes and the high precision required. The first two sectors, best fit the Engineer to Order business models, as the final products are unique, first-time-right complex assemblies, which vary greatly in terms of functionality, lead times and cost. Design, engineering and manufacturing start as soon as the customer demand comes in. While, the third sector, best fits the Make to Order business model, since the parts produced in single or very low-volume quantities, are engineered by the customer, and a detailed CAD drawing is provided. The industrial pilot case will focus on the third sector, Make to Order of High Precision Parts since it will allow for initial validation of the digital manufacturing solutions to be introduced as the significantly shorter lead times, and the more ordinary distribution of demand throughout the year, make it feasible to test and demonstrate the functionalities of the proposed digital manufacturing solutions in real conditions, via executing actual manufacturing orders. In addition, the company experts are convinced that the results of the testing and validation can be transferred to the other two business sectors. The basic differences are: (a) molds and dies are assemblies, but a high precision part can be considered a component of such an assembly in terms of manufacturing processes complexity and handling, and (b) mold and dies require design and engineering before being introduced in the shop-floor as manufacturing orders, while  
Figure 5: Shopfloor status app–Orders monitoring view. for high precision parts, CAD drawings and engineering information are already available, which makes the pilot case easier to implement and allow for early validation results. The overall manufacturing operations are sub-optimal, and identified weaknesses, described in this chapter, are also considered points of improvement, that can yield great benefits if addressed efficiently. * _Planning & scheduling_: There is no planning or scheduling taking place other than the rough manual prioritization of the jobs in progress. Senior engineers and management have a deep understanding of each project and the efforts required to complete it and give instructions to the shopfloor personnel. Once a job is close to completion, or finished on a specific resource or department, a decision is made about which job is going to be processed next. Usually, to stay efficient and avoid resources staying idle, waiting for instructions, departments are assigned to be occupied with the same project, and engineers undertake projects personally so that they can manage them efficiently. All instructions to the shop floor, and work assignments, are orally provided, and the only information available is the order confirmation date and required delivery time. * _Monitoring & control_: Since there is no schedule or production plan, following a project during its execution can be very demanding. There is no overview of which job is being processed in which machine since this information is dispersed among the operators and responsible engineers and requires person-to-person communication.