Traceable Project Data at ELWEMA.
Building a production system involves numerous programs, configurations, and technical documents. Engineers need access to the latest version throughout development, assembly, commissioning, and delivery. Without a common structure, teams spend time searching for files, resolving conflicting versions, and reconstructing changes.
ELWEMA uses the AMDT software solution to manage project data centrally, control program versions, and document modifications. This gives employees a shared source of information throughout the system lifecycle.
The challenge: Inconsistent structures and unclear versions.
ELWEMA Automotive GmbH develops customized production systems for cleaning, testing, and assembly. Its solutions are used primarily in the production of engines, transmissions, and steering systems.
Each system project involves data from multiple automation components. These may include PLC and HMI programs, robot programs, frequency converter configurations, safety specifications, network lists, and I/O lists.
Before introducing the AMDT solution, teams organized this data using different file structures and naming conventions. Changes were not always synchronized. As a result, employees spent considerable time searching for the correct files and determining which version was current.
ELWEMA needed a central solution that could organize heterogeneous project data, coordinate access, and maintain a transparent history of changes.
The solution: A central repository for project data.
The AMDT solution brings programs, configurations, and documents together in a structured central repository. Authorized users can access the latest available project versions and see which files are currently being edited.
Employees check out a file, lock it while making changes, and check it back in as a new version. This controlled process helps prevent conflicting versions when several people work on the same system project.
The solution records who made a change, when it was made, and why. Users can compare different versions and trace the development of a program or configuration throughout the project.
At the time of the original project documentation, around 35 ELWEMA employees used the system.
We now have a centralised data storage location, a clear structure for user rights, transparency about who changed what, where when and why, source code control and the ability to compare versions, which helps with standardisation. It is now easy to deal with changes: we Check-out the file, set the lock state, make changes, and check it back in. This is all fully documented and can be traced at any time, which also facilitates standardisation and contributes further to our development as a company.
Karl-Heinz Büchel, Director of Control Systems; Automation at ELWEMA Automotive GmbH
Version control beyond system delivery.
Version management does not end when ELWEMA finishes building a system. After assembly and commissioning, the customer conducts an acceptance test. The system is then disassembled, transported, and reassembled at the customer’s site.
ELWEMA records the relevant program and data versions at key stages of this process. The documented delivery state provides a defined reference point when changes are made after installation.
This is important for technical coordination, service, safety, and warranty questions. The timestamped history shows when a modification occurred and helps ELWEMA and its customers understand how the system has changed since delivery.
Tracking changes across automation components.
The AMDT solution manages project data centrally and records changes to device software. Users can determine which program version belongs to a system and review differences between versions.
Setpoints and parameters can also be checked and restored when required. This gives engineering and service teams access to the information they need when investigating a problem or returning to an earlier project state.
Clear user rights determine who can access or edit specific data. ELWEMA supports this process with employee training to ensure that changes are documented consistently and promptly.
The result: Less searching and greater traceability.
Centralized version management gives ELWEMA a consistent process for handling project data throughout the system lifecycle. Employees work from a shared repository and can trace changes without relying on individual filing structures or informal coordination.
ELWEMA benefits from:
- centralized storage of programs, configurations, and documents,
- reliable access to current and previous project versions,
- transparent and traceable change histories,
- comparison of different program states,
- controlled access and editing rights,
- component locking to prevent version conflicts,
- less time spent searching for project data,
- a documented system state at delivery,
- clearer information for service and warranty questions.
