MTU Aero Engines
Expansion of production area at the Munich site of MTU Aero Engines
Place for new disk-manufacturing operations
A new production facility is being built for automated engine-disk manufacturing at the MTU Aero Engines AG factory site in Munich. Ingenics, in close dialog with the architect, is providing support to the company for the design and integration of the additional production area.
- Overseeing of factory planning
- Layout and connection-point planning
- Conceptual support for logistics planning
- Project-management office
- Interface and project control
- Implementation and steering of change-process management
MTU’s main site in Munich needs to expand its production area due to increased demand for its manufacturing. The roughly 4,000-square-meter space is the last large open area remaining on its premises. The new-build structure extending the main production axis will likely open for operations in 2023, housing rotor manufacturing – including an inspection center – and a department for thermal processes and coatings. An office floor is also planned for it. The consultants at Ingenics AG have been partners with MTU Aero Engines for many years and involved in the project since mid 2019. After turning the preexisting preliminary draft into a design, the construction-planning stage began in early 2021.
The planned new-build structure is striking in a variety of ways. The 34-meter-tall building will feature a total usable floor space of about 14,000 square meters. Roughly 80 percent of the building will be constructed using prefabricated components. A solar-panel system is planned for the rooftop. It will also be the first fully accessible new building at the Munich factory site.
Another special aspect of the planned production area is that the manufacturing of the rotor disks will be almost fully automated. This involves highly automated machinery as well as automated component transfer and transportation. This form of automation has never been seen before on the Munich site. The inspection center, also located within the building, will be semi-automated.
The task for Ingenics’ consultants was to consider the corresponding specifications and requirements in the layout planning and adjust the planning for connection points and logistics accordingly. An office level with workstations for just under 100 staff – primarily those in rotor-disk manufacturing – is planned to go above the two production levels. Spatial-needs and communication analyses were carried out in order to develop a model with the managers, which was handed over to the interior-architecture firm afterward.
The implementation and steering of change-process management and the early inclusion of all stakeholders are other important requirements for integrating the new production area into the factory site and relocating part of the manufacturing areas and office workstations. These tasks in particular demonstrate the capabilities that Ingenics’ consultants have in harmonizing the needs and desires of the various groups involved. Ingenics is supporting the ongoing organizational-change process as an adviser and guide.
Significant time and financial savings have been made thanks to the experience that MTU Aero Engines and Ingenics have had collaborating for earlier projects as well as the positive interaction between the overall project teams with MTU engineers, external project stakeholders, and Ingenics’ consultants. From a technical perspective, the main planning documents from preceding projects have been able to be used as templates and rapidly optimized for the current requirements. The same applies for the layout planning. At a personal level, the many years of partnership between the two companies and the open dialog between everyone involved have made a great contribution to the project’s efficient progress.