This article provides insights into Epsilon3’s Build software tool and its applications in the space industry.
Epsilon3 developed Build to help teams track and manage engineering, assembly, testing, parts, and inventory.
The article was developed in collaboration with Epsilon3, a paying participant in the satsearch membership program.
Introduction
The emergence of NewSpace applications has increased the commercial demand in the global market and has also increased the need to manage the plethora of operations simultaneously in an effective manner.
Therefore, project management remains one of the key aspects to streamline the space missions as well as help manage the mission costs effectively. In the past, there have been cases where project management issues have led to a significant rise in the costs of the missions, especially when a totally new technology is deployed onboard a mission. James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is one such prominent example where the new components were utilized and there were also budget runs leading to mission delays.
Epsilon3’s Build toolset is one of the components of its full project-cycle management solutions, where companies can manage, track, record, and even optimize their space missions. In the further part of the article, we will be taking a closer look at this component.
The challenge of inventory, tooling, and parts management
Managing inventories, tools, and components may be a difficult undertaking, particularly for organizations that deal with complex and dynamic operations. Several difficulties are frequently faced in this area, some of which are as follows:
- Inventory visibility: Keeping real-time inventory visibility is crucial for avoiding shortages and overstock situations. Without correct data, organizations risk supply chain interruptions and excessive holding costs.
- Control of tooling: Proper tooling is required for production and maintenance duties. Tool misplacement can cause production delays, increased downtime, and higher expenditures to replace lost or damaged equipment.
- Tracking: The tracking of individual parts and components is essential for maintenance, repair, and production. Without a dependable system, space businesses may struggle to identify crucial elements when they are needed, resulting in significant delays.
- Data accuracy: Errors and mistakes in manual data input and obsolete systems can seriously affect operations and decision-making.
How does the Build toolset differ from other toolsets in the market?
The software utilities have paved the way for several software in the industry, starting from basic data entry, tracking, and monitoring using Microsoft Excel to specialized solutions like Eclipse. What remains as a potential gap is the need for automation as well as to reduce custom integrations in the software.
For example, managing the manufacturing and supply of components for large constellations like OneWeb won’t be effective on Excel, unless it is highly customized as per the needs of the technical teams. Epsilon3’s Build toolset stands in a unique position to eliminate the need for manually managing these processes and instead provide automated alters in case there is a potential delay. Moreover, it does not require custom integration as all the procedures and work instructions are already integrated into the system.
The Epsilon3 Build tool is designed to manage parts, inventory, resources, manufacturing, work instructions, and build history for space missions. It manages parts, Bill of Materials (BOMs), components, lead times, and more with easy ways to import parts or integrations with other product lifecycle management systems like Teamcenter. The Builds toolset is designed to streamline engineering workflows, manage parts, inventory, tooling, non-conformance, etc.
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request infoConsidering the increasing complexity of space missions and the high demand for new applications, mass manufacturing processes are going to require an absolute level of accuracy. The Build toolset has the capability to also provide detailed analytics, dashboards, and reports of work in progress, assembly duration, and traceability. This helps the customers reduce errors and improve their mission processes effectively.
To receive more insight we can assume the following example – XYZ company, a space manufacturing giant, was facing several inventory and tooling management difficulties. Downtime due to missing parts and tools was a frequent issue, and they lacked an efficient method for forecasting their inventory requirements. As a consequence, both costs and productivity were enhanced. XYZ company saw numerous significant benefits after deploying Epsilon3’s toolset:
- Reduced downtime: Real-time inventory and tool tracking nearly eliminated downtime due to missing goods. Automated notifications guaranteed that reordering was completed on time, preventing delays to their manufacturing plan.
- Cost savings: XYZ company no longer overstocks supplies or tools due to precise demand forecasting. This resulted in considerable cost reductions due to lower carrying costs and waste.
- Increased productivity: The productivity was increased because workers had easy access to the necessary tools and supplies. This increase in efficiency resulted in higher output and income.
- Improved Safety: Accurate tracking and monitoring of tools and supplies guaranteed that workers always utilized the proper equipment, lowering the risk of accidents.
A detailed outlook on the Build toolset can be viewed in the following video to have a live experience of how the processes are managed on the system:
Conclusion
The entry, tracking, and monitoring elements are crucial in project-cycle management, regardless of which sector or industry the company is operating. Simultaneously, spotting and reducing errors is also equally important. The space industry’s massive demand is making the manufacturing processes complex and improvisation is necessary to keep streamlining processes, this can be done only through spotting errors which then can be reduced and new approaches can be implemented.
Epsilon3 addresses these challenges by providing a comprehensive Build toolset that combines cutting-edge technology with user-friendly features.
To find out more about Epsilon3, please view their supplier hub here on the satsearch platform.