Automotive and transportation Solaris Bus & Coach Heading for success in a Solaris bus Products NX, Teamcenter Business challenges Continuous innovation Developing technologies for greater safety and less environmental impact Dynamic growth Expanding international presence Keys to success Vision, experience and enthusiasm Use of leading-edge NX and Teamcenter software Following the completion of the first IT solutions solutions help Solaris design contract for the supply of 72 buses to the municipal transport operator in Poznań, Implementation of innovative public transport NX and Teamcenter Solaris soon became the leader of the Polish vehicles low-floor city bus market and launched its products in foreign markets. The combina- Results One of Europe‘s leading manufacturers tion of the company owners’ vision and of modern city transport vehicles Faster development and experience with the enthusiasm of a young Solaris Bus & Coach (Solaris) is a family higher quality crew resulted in excellent organization and enterprise founded and owned by Solange working conditions that fostered continued Simplified modeling and and Krzysztof Olszewski. The company is a success. editing of complex designs Polish manufacturer of city buses, intercity Improved collaboration and and special coaches, as well as trolleybuses Today, Solaris is one of Europe‘s leading concurrent engineering and trams, and holds a leading position in manufacturers of modern city transport the European market. Since production Engineering data used vehicles. Its four factories situated in the began in 1996, the company has manufac- throughout the company’s Greater Poland region employ more than tured over 12,000 buses traveling on the operations 2,300 staff, with 500 additional employees roads of 29 countries. working at foreign locations. siemens.com/software “Siemens solutions have greatly facilitated our work, especially in configuring a vehicle for the needs of a specific contract.” Łukasz Baranowski Senior Designer Solaris Bus & Coach One of the company‘s key business objec- Demonstrating that the company does not tives is to develop state-of-the-art technolo- rest on its laurels, at the beginning of 2015 gies that support increasingly greater levels it signed another contract with a public of safety for drivers and passengers alike, municipal operator from Ostrava for the while minimizing the adverse environ- supply of 105 buses. mental impact of municipal transport vehicles. “When I started working for Solaris, the company was completing one bus per week. Looking for ways forward Today, up to eight finished vehicles leave our The history of Solaris is filled with success factories every day,” says Tomasz Broniarczyk, and is marked by an uninterrupted growth deputy director for production. “This makes a of sales. Last year, the company saw major great difference. Such dynamic growth sales growth and has maintained, for the required the company to introduce in-depth twelfth time, the position of the leader of changes to its relations with suppliers and the Polish city bus sector. The Bolechowo- forced us to continuously look for ways to based manufacturer has been reporting realize greater productivity at each stage of record results in foreign markets as well. In the process, from design to sales.” total, the company sold 1,380 buses and trolleybuses, beating its 2013 results, when The rapid growth has forced the company 1,302 units were delivered. Of the contracts to implement an information technology completed last year, almost 80 percent (IT) system for logistics management and (1,100 units) of the products were supplied advanced tools supporting the process of to foreign customers. designing and engineering new vehicles. “ NX helps us design better products faster, allows us to simulate their operation and makes production easier.” Tomasz Broniarczyk Deputy Director for Production Solaris Bus & Coach Each vehicle made by the company consists numerous versions. We are also dealing “Thanks to the concurrent of several thousand (in some cases, more with 3D and 2D relations. The same data is design capability, the engi- than 12,000) different components. Solaris used in the context of different projects and neering design of a new has to ensure the delivery of all components products. NX and Teamcenter systems product can be completed to a single location at the right time, and enable us to manage that key data. The much faster; it can be ana- then appropriately manage all processes at tools are indispensable for our outstanding lyzed in terms of process the company. Therefore, the company has engineers, and enable them to meet the feasibility and relevant implemented SAP® software for logistic high expectations they are facing.” changes can be introduced.” management. Łukasz Baranowski “The frame of a city bus is a welded unibody Senior Designer Growth of the company and requirements structure made of corrosion-resistant steel,” Solaris Bus & Coach of the market have also triggered changes says Łukasz Baranowski, senior designer at in the new vehicle design and engineering Solaris. “The skin panels are made of the process. Solaris has been continuously same material. A wide array of elements expanding its product range. In 1994, it made of different materials is used for the introduced the first low-floor bus to the final assembly of the buses. These include Polish market and, in 2006, it unveiled steel, aluminum, plastic and glass compo- Europe‘s first series-produced hybrid drive nents. Therefore, while working on a new bus. The new products that are broadly vehicle, a large number of documents are recognized in the global markets are a result created, edited and reviewed. Owing to the of the solid work of Solaris’ engineers. Teamcenter solution, we can work in the same environment.” Effective support from Siemens Digital Industries Software NX is a unified platform that combines In 2009, Solaris decided to implement NX™ advanced, built-in computer-aided engi- software for product development and neering (CAE) functionalities with other Teamcenter® software for product lifecycle popular solutions in a single, native environ- management (PLM) from Siemens Digital ment. NX includes an extremely robust set Industries Software as a platform supporting of advanced design tools for even the most the 3D design process. complex shapes. It offers best-in-class surface modeling functionalities employing “We partner with many design offices that all the advantages of synchronous tech- have their own standards and solutions,” nology. The system offers easy-to-use explains Tomasz Graczyk, PLM manager at simulation solutions based on geometric Solaris. “We are working in an environment models that provide designers with access in which millions of objects are designed in to the results of advanced simulations. “ We are also dealing with 3D and 2D relations. The same data is used in the context of different projects and products. NX and Teamcenter systems enable us to manage that key data. The tools are indispensable for our outstanding engineers, and enable them to meet the high expectations they are facing.” Tomasz Graczyk PLM Manager Solaris Bus & Coach “Siemens solutions have greatly facilitated our work, especially in configuring a vehicle for the needs of a specific contract,” says Baranowski. “First, an engineering bill of materials (BOM) is compiled in NX based on the specification agreed upon with the customer. Then, it is sent to the Środa Wielkopolska plant for the creation of a production BOM, also in Teamcenter. Next, the production BOM is sent by means of workflow processes to the SAP system. In the case of customer-specific requirements, we check the feasibility of such a request in engineering and technological terms. If feasible, the engineering design is devel- oped in NX and included in the part list in elements. This makes it possible for Teamcenter. The order and execution numerous designers to work simultane- follow.” ously, and enhances the re-use and replace- ment of the design’s elements, as well as “The NX software includes new technology the modification and updating of entire for modular design that simplifies the designs.” modeling and editing of complex designs,” Baranowski continues. “It allows the designs The capabilities of Siemens solutions can be to be divided into specific functional seen in every aspect of the company’s operation. “NX model visualization enables the shop floor personnel to view the element being manufactured at any time,” says Baranowski. “With accurate visualiza- tion, even people with poorer spatial imagi- nation skills can easily see and assess details.” Other innovative projects Solaris does not intend to slow down in the future. In addition to launching series production of a new Solaris city bus, the company is planning to introduce other new time required to prepare a design that products. The most interesting projects matches the customer’s expectations. include work on the design and construc- “Individual components and assemblies are tion of the first double-articulated electric designed and positioned at an appropriate bus with a hydrogen fuel cell that increases location within the coordinate system, its operating range. The vehicle is being which allows the final product to be assem- developed in partnership with the Technical bled and designed faster,” Baranowski University of Poznań and the Technical explains. “Synchronous modeling, in turn, University of Warsaw, with financial support accelerates