Success Story: Greater Transparency in Manufacturing at Sicame UK Thanks to WeASSIST From WERMA

Initial situation: Hidden downtime in high-precision manufacturing

The Sicame Group is one of the world’s leading suppliers of equipment and service solutions for power grids. At the Sicame UK site, highly specialised components for power distribution are developed and manufactured, which are used under the most demanding conditions worldwide. In an environment where quality, reliability and process reliability are crucial, efficient production processes play a central role.

Despite high technical standards in manufacturing, however, the company faced a significant challenge: production stoppages that occurred could not be clearly recorded or analysed. Matthew Paul, Head of Production Engineering at Sicame UK, describes the situation clearly in retrospect: “Our downtime was simply unknown and existing problems could not be identified.”

This meant that a crucial foundation for the continuous improvement of production processes was missing. Although faults were noticed, their causes often remained hidden. There was no structured data collection of machine statuses, which meant that neither a reliable analysis nor targeted optimisation was possible. For a company with high quality and efficiency requirements, this meant a significant reduction in transparency within manufacturing.

The challenge: a lack of data as an obstacle to optimisation

Before the introduction of a digital solution, the production landscape at Sicame UK was characterised by limited transparency. Machine downtime could not be systematically classified, which made root cause analysis considerably more difficult. Production losses were difficult to measure, and decisions on process optimisation were often based on experience rather than concrete data.

Matthew Paul articulated the need very clearly: “We need comprehensive and reliable data collection to make production processes transparent and controllable. Only in this way can we lay the foundations for a sustainable increase in efficiency.”

The solution: Introduction of WeASSIST as a step towards data-driven production

In 2023, Sicame UK decided to introduce the “WeASSIST” system from WERMA Signaltechnik. Sicame became aware of WERMA at the PPMA trade fair, where the system was presented. After evaluating various alternatives, the decision was deliberately made in favour of WeASSIST, particularly due to the system’s simple installation and flexible customisation options.

The implementation was carried out entirely in-house. The signal towers were installed by the internal maintenance team, whilst the IT department handled the network integration. Matthew Paul particularly highlights the “smooth implementation without complex external intervention”. He emphasises: “The installation was extremely simple and was carried out in no time at all by our in-house team.”

Integration into the existing infrastructure also went smoothly. The system was integrated with a total of nine machines from different manufacturers and of various types – including packaging machines, robots and CNC systems. This achieved broad coverage of key production areas without significantly disrupting existing processes.

Functionality in daily operation: Automated recording of machine statuses

Today, WeASSIST is fully integrated into Sicame UK’s production processes. The signal columns on the machines are controlled via the PLC and automatically record the respective machine status. This results in continuous, digital data collection, which was previously unavailable in this form.

The data obtained in this way is recorded centrally and clearly visualised using the WeASSIST software. This makes it possible, for the first time, to gain a comprehensive overview of the state of production – at a glance. Machine statuses are no longer merely observed on an ad hoc basis, but are documented in real time and presented seamlessly.

With the introduction of WeASSIST, this situation has changed fundamentally. Machine statuses are now recorded automatically and made available in a structured format. This provides the company with a complete database, enabling a significantly more precise analysis of production processes. At the same time, transparency within production has been significantly increased, which has improved both technical and organisational collaboration.

Added value in day-to-day operations: productivity through transparency

The greatest benefit of the system is evident in day-to-day operations. When asked about the key advantage of the solution, Matthew Paul answers unequivocally: “Productivity.” This gain stems in particular from the improved transparency and the simple visualisation of production data.

The ability to clearly track machine statuses has not only improved technical analysis but also strengthened internal collaboration between production, maintenance and IT. Information is now consistently available, creating a common basis for decisions and improvement measures.

The simple and clear presentation of data within the system is particularly valued. “Transparency and simple data display” have become a key added value for Sicame UK in its day-to-day operations.

The collaboration with WERMA Signaltechnik has also been rated very highly. The company’s ongoing support and rapid responsiveness have played a key role in ensuring the successful implementation of the system and its long-term integration into operations.

Conclusion: A decisive step towards data-driven manufacturing

With the introduction of WeASSIST, Sicame UK has taken an important step towards fully transparent and data-driven production. Previously untraceable downtime has been transformed into a structured, measurable system that forms the basis for continuous improvement.

The combination of simple implementation, high user-friendliness and meaningful data collection has resulted in WeASSIST now being a central component of production control at the site and making a measurable contribution to increasing productivity.

The company is already planning to further expand the system and integrate additional areas of production into the data collection process. The aim is to further increase transparency and to be able to control and optimise production processes even more effectively.

Company Profile: About Sicame

Sicame UK designs and manufactures a wide range of electrical distribution equipment used throughout the power distribution and supply industry. Our products are used by numerous power supply companies worldwide and meet their demanding and rigorous requirements across a variety of network designs and under different climatic conditions.

Source: Werma