Hayward Tyler embraces digital twins

The challenge

200 years of world-class engineering

Hayward Tyler has spent more than 200 years building a reputation for the quality design and manufacture of motors and pumps for the global energy sector.

With locations in the UK, US, China and India, the company’s ambitions have always been grand, and growth is an ever-present target. When the turnover of its UK operations grew from £18m to £26m between 2011 and 2014, Hayward Tyler decided to capitalise on its momentum with an ambitious transformation project.

Hayward Tyler’s goals were threefold: the company wanted to maximise efficiency, better align capacity to demand, and boost profitability. The first step in achieving this, would be to double the size of its UK facility. And, in doing so, dramatically increase its capacity for production.

However, realising these goals and planning the transformation effectively required the right tools –driven by the power of data and digital technology.

Hayward Tyler required a solution that would provide insight into how the business would look over the next decade, what future opportunities there might be, and how operations would evolve over that period. And, most importantly, it needed visibility into the optimum timing of key asset investments.

In addition, whatever solution Hayward Tyler chose had to factor complex resource and process variables into its plan, including new equipment, people, sub-assembly processes, cranes, forklifts and back office policies and workflows.

The approach

Digital twins across the life cycle, using the power of predictive simulation

To transform the way it operated and gain the insight it needed, Hayward Tyler implemented digital twins, resulting in a dynamic, virtual factory that provided timely access to actionable information.

For the predictive simulation technology that supports the digital twin, Hayward Tyler chose WITNESS. The platform’s ability to execute detailed, schedule-based planning straight out of the box, and in an easy-to-deploy and user-friendly environment, won the management team over.

“We are an extremely dynamic company and needed a solution which we could adopt quickly and hit the ground running with,” says the Manufacturing Systems Director at Hayward Tyler.

“When we saw the level of insight predictive simulation could provide, we immediately bought Lanner WITNESS, installed it, and had developed a meaningful model from which to create our master plan within just a few months.”

With WITNESS, Hayward Tyler can run a full year’s simulation in just a matter of seconds, creating a detailed picture of the business processes and resources it needs to deliver against future demand.

To extend the simulation model into a digital twin, Hayward Tyler developed the model into an immersive 3D factory model to optimise operational processes. Finally, it was configured to run in the cloud through Microsoft Azure and integrate with Hayward’s Epicore ERP systems to add new intelligence for sales and operations planning, maximizing the value of the digital twin.

The impact

Virtual planning. Real-world success.

Hayward Tyler's new digital twin, powered by the predictive simulation technology of WITNESS, provides detailed insights into how the company’s manufacturing operations will evolve over the next years. The model shows the management team exactly what’s required for the company to meet demand and maximise productivity at every stage of its processes.

It takes into consideration multiple factors that affect plant capacity and performance — including factory layout, equipment requirements, shift patterns and peaks and troughs in demand. 

Hayward Tyler has been able to develop a clear model of how business will look between now and 2022, and automatically signpost all the activities required to achieve its plans in the most effective way possible.

With this new insight, Hayward Tyler has been able to form a robust, accurate transformation plan, and has gained the ability to predict the impacts of business changes. This means productivity remains high, costs stay low and, crucially, business leaders always have the details they need to present plans to stakeholders. 

For example, with the digital twin model Hayward Tyler can present a detailed masterplan to its key banking partner, providing vital transparency and instilling confidence in its business plan. This easy access to data has also been invaluable in sharing information with the manufacturers and sub-contractors bringing the company’s vision to life.

And this is really just the beginning. As Hayward Tyler proceeds with its growth strategy, it will continue use the digital twin and related technologies to underpin its planning, updating the digital twin model with changes as and when they are needed. 

“The model is dynamic,” says the Manufacturing Systems Director. “So we can continue to update and populate it with added detail and market changes as we become aware of them.”