David Swain
The University of Toledo
Joe Cooper
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The sustainable innovation we discovered at Dana Corporation involves the internal management systems the company uses to run its everyday operations. These management systems are called Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP). These systems run everything from the manufacturing floor to the payroll system. Currently most of Dana’s sites around the world run on different ERP systems, and most of the systems they are running are outdated and crash a lot. This creates inefficiency within the business and leads to a lot of waste. In order to remedy this situation an internal IT team decided to come up with a system that will unite all of the companies’ sites, and put them on one ERP. This IT integration is led by Andrew Etgen and it is an effort to increase the efficiency of Dana’s manufacturing plants all over the world. Andrew is an SAP FICO Analyst, and IT Project Coordinator at Dana Corporation. It is his job to oversee the integration of the new system at the local Maumee site.
The innovation is an IT software system that integrates all of the inter-working of the corporation and manages everything from payroll, to the machines on the manufacturing floor. This innovation will allow an internal IT team too quickly trouble shoot and manage any issues that may arise during the work day. This innovation helps to centralize the company by bringing all 33 sites around the world to one common system that was designed by the Dana IT team. The innovation uses special logistics software that improves shipment times, and has machine learning software that helps prevent mainframe meltdowns to help better control the flow of the manufacturing line. The innovation will take about 4 years to be completely integrated at all of the company’s sites around the world. Dana began integrating the system at their sites in America back in 2016, so the projected completion date is in 2020.The innovation has a huge upfront cost, so the savings will not be seen by the company for a couple years. Through this innovation Dana will be increasing the efficiency of all of its business units, hiring more employees, and cutting down on waste.
The sustainable innovation we discovered at Dana Corporation involves the internal management systems the company uses to run its everyday operations. These management systems are called Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP). These systems run everything from the manufacturing floor to the payroll system. Currently most of Dana’s sites around the world run on different ERP systems, and most of the systems they are running are outdated and frequently crash. This creates inefficiency within the business and leads to a lot of waste. This is a unique innovation in that, it is a technological software improvement, and shows a direct impact in the company, which leads to an indirect impact on society and the environment. Our interviewee Andrew Etgen stated, “I’m really excited to be involved with this because IT never gets any of the spot light. I feel like this project shows everybody how important IT is and how it impacts every aspect of the company, and thus impacts society”.
The overall impact of the innovation will help make Dana a more efficient company and produce more eco-friendly and sustainable car parts. The system increases the attractiveness and customer base of all of their business units, but one business unit stands out. That is their Power Technologies business unit. One of the main products that comes from the Power Technologies business unit is the ultra-efficient Advan TEK axle system. This is one of Dana’s more popular sustainable products. This system was designed to address energy loss related to oil churning and gear and bearing friction. This axle design achieves a 45% reduction in energy loss compared to a typical axel, and helps to deliver a 2% fuel economy improvement across all torques, speeds and temperatures. The impact of this technology is prominent in AWD vehicles bringing their fuel consumption down to similar levels of a non-AWD vehicle. With the integration of the new ERP system Dana will be able to increase the production efficacy of products like the Advan TEK axle system and encourage major car companies to use more sustainable car parts. By increasing their customer base, Dana is helping major car manufacturing companies put more sustainable and eco-friendly vehicles on the road. This innovation doesn't stop at passenger vehicles. Dana's Power Technologies team works with industrial vehicles as well and strives to put the most sustainable car parts in the hands of their customers.
The impact of this innovation on the business is huge. This new system saves the company millions of dollars a year, by preventing mainframe meltdowns, speeding up manufacturing processes and reducing logistical errors. Due to the long installation period of the innovation, Andrew was unable to provide us with any accurate numbers on how much the company has saved to date, but it is projected to save the company millions of dollars per quarter. As mentioned before, the upfront costs of the innovation are substantial which also makes it hard to get accurate projections of the direct financial benefits. Another major benefit to the organization the innovation provides is centralization. Dana has been working to become a more centralized company to improve overall management. By putting all of the sites on one ERP system it helps create that singular identity for the organization and improves manageability.
Outside of the company’s financial gain, the innovation will create hundreds of new jobs at their sites around the world. The company expects to hire a team for each site that will be considered the experts on the new ERP system. By implementing this system, their power technologies business unit will become more attractive for major automotive manufacturers, and encourage them to purchase eco-friendly car parts, and adopt more efficient systems. This will lead to more fuel-efficient cars which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By making the company more centralized it improves the work environment for the employees, and the system helps prevent scrap from the manufacturing lines by reducing mainframe meltdowns. The company is also reducing their carbon footprint, because they no longer have to fly out experts to fix their out dated ERP systems.
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Andrew Etgen, SAP FICO Analyst/ IT Project Coordinator
Dana Incorporated is an American worldwide supplier of drivetrain, sealing, and thermal-management technologies. Founded in 1904 and based in Maumee, Ohio, the company employs nearly 31,100 people in 33 countries on six continents. Dana Corporation had a gross revenue of $7.2Billion in 2017. Key products include axles, drive shafts, universal joints and sealing and thermal-management products. Andrew the IT integration manager we interviewed, has been with the company for 7 years. He plays a crucial part in the promotion and public awareness campaign of Dana Corporation.