Digital Planning Validation in automotive industry

Digital methods of planning and validation enable production planning not only to plan technological processes and equipment, but also to ensure the product's producability in early phases and to influence product design from a production point of view. The concept of Digital Planning Validation (DPV) as presented here is based on a process paralleling that of digital planning. It comprises both the continuous checking of digital planning results as well as process reviews at certain points in time, the so-called Process Days. During these, the current planning states are validated through geometrical checks of the assemblies, the simulation of processes or detailed examinations of layouts. The method of Digital Planning Validation is based on DMU techniques and simulation. Analogous to the product DMU in development, it can be regarded as a kind of process DMU of production planning within the Digital Factory. The main advantages of Digital Planning Validation are the increased security and reliability when planning is realized, a better quality of planning results, and a higher degree of product maturity during the early planning phases.