Digital upgrade for the "brain" at Volkswagen

Within the Volkswagen factory it is called “the brain of the factory”: the FIS control room. FIS – that stands for vehicle information and control system. This is exactly what the Wolfsburg control room focuses on. The entire vehicle production process is monitored and controlled from here; from the receipt of orders for the plant to the entry into the assembly lines. It is easy to appreciate that technology and ergonomics must meet the highest standards. With the support of the control room specialists from JST – Jungmann Systemtechnik^®, a comprehensive update was implemented.

“We worked with JST several years ago and equipped the control room with ergonomic furniture and large-display technology,” recalls Hilmar Schimenas, Head of Operational Vehicle Control Room. “Since digitisation is a core topic of the Future Pact, the hardware and software has now been brought up to date with the help of financial resources from Innovation Fund II”.

Optimal software solutions thanks to digitalisation

This enables the Volkswagen Group to take advantage of all the benefits of digital progress at the FIS control room. Schimenas: “We simply wanted to be able to use optimal software solutions that allow us to act quickly.” Prerequisite for this: digital technology.

Proactive alerting with PixelDetection^®

With more than 20 systems with numerous monitoring interfaces displayed on two workgroup-oriented monitor walls with a total of 16 LCD displays, it is difficult for the human eye to keep everything in view. This is exactly where “the operator’s eye” – the JST monitoring software PixelDetection^® – comes into play. A perfect way to proactively display alarms visually via the AlarmLight. The project manager is convinced: “With PixelDetection^®, changes in status are always clearly visible and colleagues can react immediately.”

Most important application at a glance

With the digitisation, the operators of the Wolfsburg FIS control room now also benefit from another JST control room component: JST CockpitView^® makes it possible to display the most important applications clearly at a glance. “At the beginning of each shift, we use a default setting with all main views. During the shift the views change of course. But at the end the operator returns to this overview”, Hilmar Schimenas explains about the procedure in the FIS control room.

Constructive sessions in the control room simulator

Looking back, the project manager sees the visit to the JST control room simulator alongside realistic 3D planning as valuable decision-making aids: “I can warmly recommend this to everyone,” says Schimenas, “we were guests there with employees from all three shifts, were able to test the solutions directly on site and decide what is useful for us. This was a really constructive meeting, where you could clearly feel how goal-oriented and competent the JST team works.”

FIS: Production control center - Video