Energy

Infrax: towards conceptual engineering with EPLAN

Infrax: founders of comfort

Four pipe-bound networks

Electricity, natural gas, cable television and waste water disposal. It is there, without you

even needing to think about it. And rightly so. It is Infrax’ task to provide the daily comfort

we take for granted. To ensure that you can enjoy a refreshing shower, a cosy evening in

front of the TV, the reading light in the bedroom, a comfortably warm house and enjoyable

cooking in the kitchen.

Infrax is a utility company. It is the only company in Flanders that manages all the four

pipebound utility services. This provides Infrax with unique knowledge and economies of

scale. Infrax operates in 122 Flemish and 4 Walloon municipalities. The utility company

manages several public utility networks and invests in the maintenance, improvement and

expansion of the networks. Electricity, natural gas, cable television and sewage: these

networks are all part of the Infrax expertise.

Infrax takes a progressive approach to the way it carries out its operations, paying special

attention to the sustainability and the social character of this approach. That is why the

company regularly launches energy and water saving initiatives. Infrax aims to continue

pioneering in this area in the future.

Finding the best scenarios

The energy landscape is changing rapidly. As a utility company, Infrax is experiencing this impact directly. The issue of the

distribution network rates is being raised both by the regulator and through public debate. Dominique Aegten, Lead Engineer

at Infrax explains: “Also with regard to the structures in the field of distribution network management, there is a search for the

best scenarios. In 2012, these external developments led to the development of a new strategic programme for Infrax. One

of the objectives of this programme was to improve efficiency. Apart from a number of large-scale projects that were aimed

at optimizing our core tasks, lean management was also introduced in this context. Complementary to these projects, the

aim of lean management was to mobilize all levels of the company to encourage working on efficiency improvement on a

smaller scale.”

Towards a new corporate culture

Although the introduction of lean in the context of a strategic programme did take place, it soon became apparent that

the successful deployment of lean management depends much more on creating the right corporate culture. “From the

beginning, we put a strong emphasis on the desired behaviour of every individual in our company," says Dominique. "This

meant, among other things: using the knowledge and experience in the workplace, continuously asking critical questions

about work methods (‘can it be improved?’), making all levels of the organization responsible for continuous improvement

and to think from the common interest point of view and the needs of the customer. As the origin of our corporate culture

had previously been more of a classic hierarchical structure, this meant a major turnaround in some areas. We continue to

work on this culture change every day.”

A range of lean techniques

To achieve both the desired corporate culture and also to realize efficiency improvements, Infrax makes use of various lean

techniques. Initially, the principle of the week start was introduced to all Infrax teams. “This is a brief, weekly meeting, with

the aim of keeping a finger on the pulse with regard to achieving team goals, identifying improvement actions and monitoring

the status of more long-term improvement initiatives," says Dominique Aegten. “The principles of visual management are

applied here using improvement signs. Additionally, we use value stream mapping and A3 thinking methods, based on

the plan-do-check-act cycle to achieve efficiency improvements for certain processes or process items. And finally, we

organize sessions to increase our employees' customer focus, towards both external and internal customers and to increase

awareness regarding the desired behaviour of all employees.”

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Energy

Lean management for improved efficiency

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Working smarter as a spearhead

Today, Infrax sees that this holistic approach is beginning to pay off. “Sources of small frustrations that lead to inefficiency

are increasingly being dealt with through a systematic approach," Dominique explains. “In addition, we are seeing the first

signs of an effective culture change. The aforementioned also correlates strongly with role-model behaviour at all levels of

leadership, a theme which we started working on more rigorously in 2015. In the coming years, we want to take further

steps in our progress towards a fully lean enterprise. In addition to efficiency improvements, we are seeing huge advantages

to ‘working smarter’. This allows us to create a pleasant working environment for all our employees and this is also one of

the spearheads of our business.”

More time for conceptual engineering

Saving time, money and effort, that was the challenge faced by the Engineering Primary Systems department. Dominique

Aegten: "We lost too much time on the design and we wanted to make more time for conceptual engineering. There were

too many repetitive tasks taking place and errors that often recurred. We needed to find a solution for that.”

Step by step

The first step was to standardize the product database. “A good product database that contains extensive and correct

information is the foundation for everything,” says Dominique Aegten. “Purging and maintaining the product database

is very important. It requires continuous effort. The next step was to modularize our systems using macros. Consistent

modularization makes for clear structures. Retrieving existing solutions immediately and avoiding duplication. Efficient

variant management simplifies our processes. Modular-built variants allow us to easily manage and reuse components and

systems. With efficient data management, we can quickly retrieve single developed components or part designs, and we

can then allocate them for reuse in other projects.”

Energy

Optimization of the engineering workflow

EPLAN Software & Services NV/SA

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E-mail: sales@eplan.be ∙ www.eplan.be

Integration of EPLAN Engineering Configuration One

According to Dominique Aegten, the final step consisted of optimizing the engineering workflow by integrating EEC

One (EPLAN Engineering Configuration One). “EPLAN guided us from manual to automated engineering. Simply put,

automatically generate schedules at the touch of a button. EPLAN makes the work of engineers more attractive.

Unnecessary, repetitive work disappears. Making changes in dozens of places because of last minute changes, is now

history. Fewer actions, less time lost through error or mutual consultation meetings: made possible by using good guidelines

and a standardized work method.”

Further standardization

For Infrax, the integration of EEC One was not the end. “We continue to aim for quality,” says Dominique. “This level of

quality is not the result of just one user, but must become a standard within our Engineering Primary Systems department.

Within the context of this standardization, I visited the EPLAN ‘Expert Dialogue Codes & Standards and Design Methods’.

I found this Expert Dialogue a very exciting, and maybe even a necessary, workshop. The new international IEC81346-2

standard dramatically changes the perspective on engineering and design. This standard aims to increase standardization

and efficiency, with EPLAN putting this to good use. It is a different way of thinking and has a huge effect on the way we

now do our engineering.”

By collaborating with EPLAN experts, Infrax hopes that in the future they will to be able to analyse, evaluate, define and

implement the specific design methods. The utility company wants therefore to further reduce the engineering work and

design time for a project.

For more information about Infrax: www.infrax.be

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E-mail: sales@eplan.nl · www.eplan.nl