Reference Masco - Saverio Mottana and Igor Venanzoni

First time right: standards boost efficiency & quality

At Masco Group Automation, quality is essential but costly. Standardization is the solution, says Managing Director Saverio Mottana. With MTP for line integration and a standard portfolio for digitalization, projects now execute 20% faster without compromising quality.

Skids to lines: How Masco achieves first time right

Reference Masco - Pharmaceutical-equipment

Masco Group provides production processes and equipment as well as services to the pharmaceutical, biotech, cosmetics, and food and beverage sectors.

Times are busy in Masco Group’s manufacturing facilities in Settala, close to the Italian city of Milan. A shining array of skids and lines populates the large assembly, with some close to completion and awaiting shipment, others right in the middle of the site acceptance test, and others still in construction. One thing they have in common is that they all have to live up to the highest expectations in terms of quality and cost, says Saverio Mottana, Managing Director of Masco Group Automation (MGA): “Quality is essential for our customers, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. This is why ‘first time right’ is our motto – and standards are a way to achieve this.”

How does Masco Group Automation benefit from standardizing their equipment units? Watch the video to learn more about first-time-right and increased efficiency with MTP and automation.

Automation challenge: balance innovation, quality, cost

As the managing director MGA, Mottana is responsible for the automation and digitalization business: “We offer our services to the companies of the group but also directly to customers. As trendsetters, we promote innovation and state of the art of the technologies to create maximum value in our projects – but we also have to meet challenging schedules and requirements. Quality is not only essential, it is also a cost. It is our job to avoid any unnecessary costs for our customers, but also for us.”

buliding with company names on a sign in front of the buildings

Through their companies STILMAS, OLSA and DOC, Masco Group is developing innovative solutions for ultra-pure water, processing, as well as documentation, organization and consultancy.

Quality is a cost, and we need to avoid any unnecessary costs in our projects. This is why right first time is so important – and standards are a way to achieve this.

Saverio Mottana, Managing Director, Masco Group Automation

MGA is combining flexibility, quality and efficiency

Masco Group Automation provides automation services to the companies of Masco Group and customers.

The skids and lines of Masco Group are typically developed as units that are part of a larger manufacturing framework, Mottana explains: “And this is why line integration is such a crucial aspect for us. To meet the time, cost and quality requirements, our package units need to work together and speak a common language – and we achieve this through standardization.” As Siemens Solution Partner, Masco has been relying on Siemens products and services for a long time, including standardizing their automation systems with Siemens products wherever possible. One part of this standardization strategy includes line communication, says Mottana: “With Module Type Package as a standard, we can manage and integrate equipment both in a flexible way and effective way.”

Streamlining integration for “plug and produce”

Module Type Package (MTP) is a standard that enables plug and produce. With MTP, MGA can easily configure and assemble production lines using MTP files, minimizing the effort required for line integration: “We use the MTP Creator to easily export our project and import it into the production framework of the line or skid”, explains Igor Venanzoni, Key Account & Sales Manager at MGA. This plugin for TIA Portal enables the native generation of MTP files directly in the engineering framework, without the need for additional tools, says Venanzoni: “We can simply use the data from our project and reuse it in the integration layer, with 100% compatibility and no rework.”

Line communication via MTP is configured in TIA Portal.

With the MTP Creator, we can simply use the data from our engineering project in TIA Portal and reuse it in the integration layer, with 100% compatibility and no rework.

Igor Venanzoni, Key Account & Sales Manager, Masco Group Automation

Standardization: automation, visualization, integration

With its sleek, modern look and intuitive operation, SIMATIC WinCC Unified provides an excellent basis for the standardization of operator interfaces at MGA.

For MGA, standardization is not only limited to line integration. The automation architecture is based on SIMATIC controllers and components as default, and all features and functions of the solutions are engineered in TIA Portal using the Process Function Library. “The library concept allows us to reuse function blocks and standardize our engineering. We start from a solid, pre-tested base, which helps us deliver our projects faster”, Venanzoni continues, “and we are also using SIMATIC WinCC Unified as a standard both for the SCADA level and for the local operation of the individual skids.” The uniform interface with its intuitive operation supports the operators in their daily task and reduces training times, an important aspect both in terms of production costs and quality.

Digital Twin cuts project times by months

Standardization is also the foundation for a more effective and efficient project execution, Venanzoni continues: “Based on our standard Siemens architecture, we can easily create a Digital Twin of automation with the SIMIT simulation platform. This helps us to streamline the testing of our projects, it supports us in commissioning, and it is also essential for complex projects, for example, when we have to retrofit a machine that is in production.” The savings on project execution time are a compelling argument for the group’s business, adds Saverio Mottana: “In one specific case, I remember we won the project because we were able to save two months on a project time of two years.”

Masco Group Automation can streamline the engineering and testing of their solutions with a Digital Twin of automation in the SIMIT simulation platform.

The SIMIT simulation platform and the Digital Twin help us to streamline testing and commissioning, especially for complex projects, for example, when we have to retrofit a machine that is in production.

Igor Venanzoni, Key Account & Sales Manage, Masco Group Automation

MGA's next steps: expand standard and functionality

Igor Venanzoni and the entire team at MGA are continuously expanding and improving their engineering standards to bring value to their solutions.

Integration, visualization and automation: MGA has come a long way in standardizing their solutions – but, as Saverio Mottana explains, standardization is an ongoing process: “Standardization is also about continuous improvement and bringing value to the customer. This is why we already plan to expand out toolset for MTP: In addition to the MTP Creator, we will next implement SIMATIC MTP Studio, which will enable us to check the MTP files before we deliver them to the site or customer. This will be another tool to improve project quality and reduce project costs.”

Standardization can help reduce engineering hours per project by up to 20%. The Digital Twin alone can shorten project times by 10 to 15%. And this also helps us reduce the total costs of the project by 20 to 30%.

Saverio Mottana, Managing Director, Masco Group Automation

Bottom line: 15% faster execution, 30% cost savings

But the standardization is already paying off, says Mottana: “What we are doing at Masco in terms of standardization and modularization will help the customer reduce their time to market, provide more flexibility in the usage of the lines, help them optimize their plants and shorten project times.” But it is also MGA themselves that benefit from standardization, Mottana continues: “What we can see across our projects is that standardization can help reduce engineering hours per project significantly, by up to 20% depending on the project. The Digital Twin alone can shorten project times by 10 to 15%. And this also helps us reduce the total costs of the project by 20 to 30%.” All this while still delivering spotless quality – “always right the first time”, says Mottana.