CONFOR: Case Study "Lift Systems"
In order to configure, cost-calculate, create appropriate offers and generate orders for a hydraulic lift system several complex steps are necessary which will require highly qualified personnel.
With Liftmaster Pro SC&P offers a CONFOR-based standardized configuration solution for the configuration of lift systems.
Conventional procedure
1. Design
In accordance with basis data such as load capacity, lifting height and speed one has to determine the smallest applicable (and the cheapest) hydraulic cylinder.
With the cylinder there is an array of delivery options which are the surface characteristics, connection to the lift cabin and hydraulic connection.
It is required to select the matching hydraulic aggregate to the cylinder design.
Beyond this there are up to 40 delivery options that must be taken into account.
For the design of the cabin, doors, shaft and frame parts additional data is needed such as the shaft and cabin measurements or location of the entry.
Quite complex calculations are implemented to determine the number of mounts and hangers, the length and number of bearer cables, security measurements and similar aspects.
Beyond the above described components further parts including
- Pipe protection valve,
- Wall tie,
- Leakage oil set,
- Oil cooler and
- diverse connection elements
can be delivered which are designed to meet the individual customer requirements.
2. Pricing
It is necessary to establish the respective prices of each individual component on the item list. Partly they are unit prices or they are based on their length and weight meaning a formula has to be calculated.
After the prices have been determined the discounts granted to the specific customers are included.
3. Offer creation and documentation
The established scope of delivery is compiled to an offer. In order to do this different item list positions have to be put together in sale positions and their prices have to be calculated. With the individual positions additional information is provided (description texts, assembly instructions, drawings, circuit layouts etc.).
The design details (scope of delivery, performance data, measurements etc.) are completed with further extensive documentation which includes information on TÜV certification or assembly of the lift.
This will also comprise calculations on the buckling of the cylinders, cable safety of bearer cables or bending load of guide rails. Beyond this a shaft description is created that contains all relevant measurements for the assembly of the lift.
4. Order
If the customer orders the offered system then the ERP or merchandise management system must hold all relevant information needed for manufacturing and delivery. Usually any details obtained in the offer phase cannot be directly passed on but have to be manually entered again. It could happen that the offered system has not yet been completed and further adjustments have to be made to the design. This will in many cases lead to further costs which cannot be invoiced.
The total outlay for the above described procedure can take up to two working days.
How does Liftmaster Pro support the aboved described procedure?
1. Design
After the basis data and parameters have been entered Liftmaster Pro will establish the suitable cylinders and suggest the most effective use. Matching to the cylinders the appropriate aggregates are chosen and the cheapest is subsequently suggested. In merely one step the desired delivery options are established – afterwards all necessary components are compiled and entered into the item list.
After the shaft and cabin measurements and further parameters have been provided the shaft and frame parts are determined with other lift components such as doors, cabin and security devices. Aspects such as safety margins and geometry of the assembled parts are taken into consideration. This avoids any problems in the assembly process and collisions of the moving parts are ruled out.
Parts where length is of importance such as guide rails, mounts and bearer cables are automatically designed.
Similar procedures apply to other components such as oil coolers and leakage oil sets.
- The basis data and parameters must only be entered once for the entire system
- The system determines based on this data the required components in form of a standard configuration
- The standard configuration can be changed afterwards
2. Pricing
The component prices (both purchase and selling price) are available via an interface in Liftmaster Pro. During the design process these are taken into account in respect to the general price calculation. With the provided manufacturing costs it is possible to determine production costs and sales price.
The individual applicable discount agreements for customers are automatically used for the determined sale prices and can be overwritten for certain offers and orders if the user has the necessary authorizations.
3. Offer creation and documentation
Liftmaster Pro compiles the resulting offer positions and determines all necessary additional details that must be included in the offer. This includes scanned documents which are available in graphic format. All required documents and calculations are generated. When the offer and documentation is being generated the currency and language of the customer is taken into consideration. The generated documents can be viewed on the screen, printed out or exported in different formats (e.g. PDF).
4. Order
In the case of an order offers can directly converted into an order. If the end customer is provided access to the system then they can initiate the order process themselves. The order details are passed on via an interface to the ERP or other merchandise information system. Due to the offered product logic in Liftmaster Pro the selected pumps will match the accessory components – one can immediately start with the disposition of the storage and purchased parts as well as manufactured parts.
The total outlay for the above described procedure takes on average one hour.
Resume
The total outlay in respect to design and creating offers for complex lift systems can be substantially reduced when implementing Liftmaster Pro. It is possible to provide the customer with an offer in a much shorter space of time – on request they can even directly access the Liftmaster Pro system and get an offer. One is able to provide reliable details on manufacturing capabilities as well as costs for the offered system – the risk of not calculated additional costs is limited.
Demo
Here you will find a simplified Liftmaster Pro-demo-version. For a demonstration of the more complex system features feel free to contact us directly.
