Optical Visionary

Source: Technology Digital

Date :9/25/2007 3:07:35 PM

How SICK Inc. has used innovation to become a worldwide developer and marketer of optical electronics

By Megan Santosus

Born in 1909 in Heilbronn, Germany, Erwin Sick developed into an inquisitive young man with a love for discovering how technical things worked and operated. As he grew older, his technical interest led him to a vocational school for fine optics and mechanics in Germany.

Upon graduating, Sick worked as a draftsman and engineer, and in the 1930s played a role in developing color film as well as cinematographic, astrological and physical instruments.

However, as World War II loomed large and Hitler began building Germany’s capacity for war, Sick found himself involved with developing optical controls for rockets. Throughout the war, Sick continued his work on optic-electronic projects related to the war needs of Germany.

With the conclusion of the war, Sick decided to use his considerable knowledge and expertise to benefit humanity in a peaceful way. He had had enough of war.

After a difficult post war transition, Sick founded his own company, which began building radios. However, given the challenges of life in post war Germany, Sick started to seek out other products which, through the 1950s, developed into optical instruments that later in the 1960s and 1970s would become a full line of opto-electronic systems.

Today, SICK Inc. is a manufacturer of sensors, safety systems and automatic identification products for industrial applications. Further, according to Dan Wink, manager of manufacturing, whether automating factories or optimizing distribution centers, SICK provides cost-effective solutions and prides itself as being able to provide customers with solutions to meet their needs, no matter what the application.

Yet there was one request for a photoelectric application that took the company by surprise, as Wink recalls.

“About a year ago, a customer came to us who needed a sensor that could be used for the trip line on a bowling lane,” Wink says.

While most of its sensor products are used by the likes of Siemens, Intelligrated, Northrup Grumman and others, SICK was happy to see its products help ensure compliance at the lanes.

Over its 60 year history, SICK has shown a knack for innovation, which includes pioneering a long line of industry firsts — such as the first safety light curtain, the first bar code reader, the first color sensor, and many more. These innovations provide solutions to the automotive, airline, manufacturing, packaging, and material handling industries.

From its base in Waldkirch, Germany, the company expanded to the U.S.

in 1976. The North American subsidiary of SICK is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., with sales throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

SICK employs more than 4,000 people worldwide, with 2006 sales at nearly €650 million.

The SICK operation in Minnesota started as mostly sales and distribution of products produced in Germany. Since 1976, SICK, Inc. has been steadily expanding its presence in the North American market, with products produced locally as well as products produced in Germany and Hungary.

The manufacturing operation has been steadily expanding for the past nine years and contributes approximately 25 percent of the company’s sales, according to Wink.

So what is it about SICK’s sensors that make them equally at home in a bowling alley or a UPS distribution hub? Wink says that it is through innovation and technological leadership that the company succeeds.

Many of the industrial sensors SICK produces are customizable — giving the company an edge over competitive products, Wink says. For example, it’s not unusual for a customer to ask for a unique connector or bracket to mount a sensor. Many customers used to apply this level of customization themselves at higher costs. Now SICK can offer that same customization at a lower cost to the customer.

“A lot of the sensors we build are quite small,” Wink explains. “Some customers want to use a plug-and-play concept — to plug in a sensor and use it at various locations.”

The addition of a simple phone jack to a photoelectric sensor that clips right into the users connection is one example of how easy plug-and-play can be used.

In another example, a customer wanted to be able to see the indicator light that goes on when a product triggers a sensor. The challenge was that the sensor would be mounted on a conveyor belt where the indicator light as it existed would not be visible. The engineering team at SICK, Inc. employed a clear housing for the sensor that would allow the indicator light to be seen from various angles.

To accommodate unique requests, SICK tries — whenever possible — to use the same product foundation, and then adds parts based on customer needs.

“The circuitry inside some of the sensors is relatively the same; it is the way we package the electronics that may be different,” Wink says.

Satisfying the unique requests of customers can be a challenging full time job, given that SICK’s sales come from many different sources. Most of the company’s products are sold through distributors and integrators, with a good chunk of sales coming via the company’s website as well.

When asked what specifically makes SICK successful, Wink says a strong team that is dedicated to providing the best solution possible for the customer.

“Operationally, our teams works hand-in-hand with the sales group to design and produce the best solutions for the customer,” he says.

Wink adds, “From a manufacturing standpoint, the temptation in this day and age is to go overseas with your manufacturing business to places where you can get cheap labor cost such as India and China.”

However, making such a shift can come with some unanticipated costs to the quality of the product or the speed to market.

“We work hard to maintain our manufacturing strength here in the U.S. We work very hard at bringing in low cost components in order to give our customers a better value, and we also work diligently to ensure the highest possible product quality.

“Keeping our manufacturing facilities in this country doesn’t always mean we are always the cheapest, but the brand name that goes with our products is well known, particularly in Germany where SICK is very well known for the quality and technology of the company,” Wink says.

The company is also very focused on how it manufactures its products.

“We try very hard at our facility here in Bloomington, Minnesota, to build and develop a strong sense of teamwork with our production staff,”

he says.

Wink goes on to add, “Teamwork is a dynamic situation and can be difficult due to the varied backgrounds and experiences of our employees. Some people simply have never been exposed to teamwork situations, so it is not always easy to get teams to a self-directed level, but we keep striving towards that goal.

“Our production floor is broken down into groups, with team leaders for each group,” Wink explains. “We also do a number of team building activities to help members of each team build their interpersonal connections and understand their role within the team. We also do problem solving exercises to help these people develop stronger teamwork skills. Ever try to balance 12 nails on the head of one single nail? Now that is a tough challenge, but it can be done.”

Wink also says that verbal communication can be an issue: not all employees understand engineering nomenclature, and with sales offices and other manufacturing facilities around the world, language can act as a divide.

Therefore, being able to visualize the work is one way to work around the language barrier.

“We provide visual work instructions that show people how to build a product, through pictures and icons that demonstrates what needs to be done to build the product correctly every time,” says Wink. “It is almost cartoonish, but this is done so that everyone can see how to build the product whether they are here or in Germany or elsewhere. We keep our instructions very simple in order to present them in ways that everybody can understand and identify. Pictures really do speak a thousand words.”

Wink adds, “Another thing we do that helps differentiate us is that we have a strong focus on lean manufacturing techniques. We focus on strategies such as good, repeatable processes and using long, continuous runs.”

Asked if the company strictly follows the Toyota Production System that is synonymous with lean manufacturing, Wink says, “For some product lines it is very easy to employ the Toyota Production System principles; other lines are not so easily adaptable. We use as many of the lean techniques and principles as we can where it makes sense. Lean manufacturing will be a continual focus as our manufacturing operations continue to expand.”

Over the next few years, SICK, Inc. plans to continue its expansion by employing new technologies and new capabilities.

Some of the new technologies that are emerging on to the market are vision based products.

“If you are packing a truck, you want to pack it with as many packages as you can get in there,” Wink explains. “SICK has a series of vision based products available now that give customers an idea of how big a box is in terms of volume, allowing them to efficiently fill trucks.”

In addition to the shipping industry, Wink says that SICK is eyeing similar opportunities in the food and beverage, and pharmaceuticals industries, where companies make mass quantities of products that they can track with sensors and barcode scanners.

Perhaps there is another unique opportunity just waiting for the SICK team to solve.