DAF Trucks and SIA develop intelligent production

Jan Swerts, a student at KU Leuven Campus Diepenbeek, explored in his master's thesis how the truck manufacturer could more easily analyze programmable logic controllers (PLC) data using Siemens Industrial Edge and make it available to other platforms. His conclusions are promising: the open IT platform offers a scalable solution that provides the insights needed to ensure smooth and future-proof production.

The DAF Trucks site in Westerlo is one of the most highly automated production environments in Belgium. In the cab factory, truck cabins are assembled in three phases: welding, painting and finishing. The body shop in particular — where 145 robots, supervised by more than 25 Siemens PLCs, weld the cabins — requires maximum reliability and performance.

The enormous volume of data generated by these machines makes this department an ideal test environment to study how DAF can more efficiently extract PLC data for analysis. For the truck manufacturer, this was the perfect case for a new collaboration with the Siemens Industry Academy.

Data processing as a lever

"The trigger was simple," explains Joris, Automation Engineer at DAF Trucks. "We wanted to gain more insight from our machine data to optimize performance: where do failures occur, how often, how long do they last, and what is the impact on productivity? The information was already in the PLCs, but extracting it was time-consuming. We used our own solutions with additional PLCs, servers and databases, but this approach was not scalable and required significant maintenance. We were looking for a way to do this automatically, securely and efficiently"

As part of his Siemens Industry Academy trajectory, Jan Swerts was tasked with investigating how Industrial Edge could fulfil this role. "We wanted better visibility into our welding cell data without disrupting production," says Joris. "Industrial Edge allows you to move data processing out of the PLC and execute it on a separate system. This keeps machine control stable while enabling us to collect valuable insights."

From PLC to cloud: a secure data stream

Jan began with a network analysis of the existing installation and then worked on a test cell in the factory, equipped with a robot, a PLC and peripheral equipment — a miniature version of the real production line. On this setup, he installed Industrial Edge to capture, process and transmit data to the cloud.

"I collected data on alarms, stops and events from PLCs and robots," explains Jan Swerts. "These were then modeled and sent to an SQL database. There, colleagues can visualize the data to identify trends and anomalies. In this way, I laid the foundation for structural improvements in machine performance."

A bridge between IT and OT

At Siemens, the project was seen as a perfect example of what a modern industrial data architecture can look like. "DAF wanted to gain insights from its data and make it easily available to other platforms in an accessible and cyber-secure way," explains Julie Trappeniers, Sales Specialist at Siemens.

"With Industrial Edge, you move data processing from the PLC to a platform specifically designed for that purpose," Trappeniers says. "Production remains stable while you gain insights to optimize processes. Industrial Edge enables centralized data management, secure software updates and at the same time connects the IT and OT worlds — something many companies are currently struggling with."

Market research

For DAF, the project was not only technologically interesting but also strategically valuable.

"For us, the greatest added value of the Siemens Industry Academy lies in evolving alongside the latest Siemens technologies. Since we do not constantly build new production lines, SIA offers the opportunity to explore innovations without disrupting production. The student acts as a kind of on-site market researcher: studying how new technology can be integrated into processes and already completing the first development phase. This saves us time, builds internal knowledge and creates a solid foundation for later implementation," says Joris.

The project results were convincing: the test setup demonstrated that Industrial Edge could efficiently collect and transmit data, ready for analysis in Power BI. These insights help DAF improve overall equipment efficiency (OEE) and structurally reduce downtime. "Thanks to this program, we now know we can securely unlock and use our data to improve our processes," Joris concludes.

A structural partner

The success of the first project has since led to a follow-up. DAF submitted a new SIA project building on Jan's results. A new student from Ghent University is now studying how the data stream collected via Industrial Edge can further optimize processes in the factory.

The technology has become an integral part of the test environment developed by Jan and forms the basis for new analyses. The collaboration between DAF and the Siemens Industry Academy is thus evolving from technological exploration to concrete workplace improvements — proof that the program is not a one-off project for DAF, but a structural innovation learning partner.

Jan also looks back with satisfaction: "You see up close how automation and data come together. My work had a real impact, which gave me a lot of satisfaction. The experience with Industrial Edge also helped me land my first job at Actemium, another Siemens partner. The knowledge I gained at DAF perfectly matches what I do today. The collaboration between DAF Trucks, Siemens and the Siemens Industry Academy shows how industry, academia and technology partners strengthen each other."