How 100 maintenance specialists use Scable in one of Europe's largest battery factories

More than 100 employees in maintenance

CATL has produced batteries in Germany starting in 2022. From the get-go, the company set out to use digitalization and automation to its full potential: almost the entirety of its assembly lines are automated, numerous robots and driverless "AGV"-transporters are in use.

The production plant in Arnstadt is of considerable size. The high degrees of automation makes them stand out even more.

Such a high-tech standard of equipment means that maintenance plays an especially importnat role. After all, multiple module- and cell-assembly lines need appropriate upkeep. To ensure smooth service, maintenance manager Christopher Kaufmann and his 100 person strong team rely fully on digital solutions. Unsurprisingly, they opted to use maintenance software very early on. Kaufmann chose to entrust Scable AG with its operations. "The Scable maintenance software saw great popularity and acceptance from staff right from the beginning, thanks to its exceptional user friendliness. It was also very straightforward to implement and to adapt it step-by-step to our growth.", says Kaufmann about his decision.

CATL is an international market leader in the production of batteries.

How CATL ensures responsive disruption- and spare parts-management

The software provides a real-time overview of the system status of all machines to the maintenance team. Disruptions are recorded right on the shopfloor, which can be conveniently done via Tablets. These disruptions can then be fixed by the maintenance team using a ticket-system - transparently recording all communications, so that all team members have the information they need, whenever they need it.

Spare parts management is also coordinated using Scable software in this mega-factory. All spare parts, together with contextual information such as use cases and storage locations are defined in the software. That way, maintenance specialists know what spare parts are required for a given machine, and where to find it. Withdrawal of spare parts happens via scanning of codes, so that the stock is always known and can be reordered in time.

The most important metrics for the CATL maintenance team

For its KPI-centric control of maintenance operations, CATL also relies on Scable. Data is collected and analzed automatically by the software. Its ability to connect to BI-tools means that data can then be further analyzed and used in decision-making processes. "Scable maintenance software allows us to generate all the data we need."

Successful implementation at additional plants

The introduction of Scable software was designed for expansion from the beginning. Thanks to its modular approach, increasingly more functionality could be added over time. For CATL, this allowed the integration of two logistics centers into the software, alongside the cell- and module-assembly lines. The plant's maximum operating capacity of 14 GWH/a means that up to 250 maintenance specialists could potentially use Scable.