Case Study

Honeywell

Abstract

A case study on how Honeywell International, Inc.—a multinational conglomerate producer of a variety of commercial products, engineering services, and aerospace systems—has utilized SiliconExpert’s Bill-of-Materials and Part Search tools to improve their component procurement process, simplify methods of updating and analyzing current component information, and aid in transitioning towards using one electronic component database to manage all of their data.

The Challenge

As a Fortune 100 company that addresses a diverse array of both consumer and corporation needs, Honeywell International, Inc. (NYSE: HON) is a major force within the industrial sector with an intensified focus on performance, quality, delivery, and value in the products and services they provide. Tellingly, Dave Cote—Honeywell’s Chairman and CEO—outlined their company’s Five-Year Plan which highlighted “software [a]s the most consistent critical component of every single thing that we do.”

Erwan Rivet—the Director of Engineering of Building Control Systems at Honeywell in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region—noticed several engineering teams he was responsible for had difficulty accessing another database to find targeted component attributes, eventually resorting to measures that were time-intensive.

“When I first moved to Honeywell, I saw a lot of members of our hardware, design, and manufacturing teams struggling with data identification,” Erwan explains. Honeywell has a different tool in place that assists them in combing through their component database, but in practice engineers used Google to cross-reference vendors. Erwan’s team also struggled to find comprehensive electronic component data: compliance certifications, years to end of life forecasts, lifecycle statuses, and PCNs. They found other resources to be inefficient.

“Sometimes, they gave up. They did not want to spend that amount of time to get access to the data needed,” Erwan revealed.

The Solution

Monitoring several teams across the UK, Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland, Erwan’s Engineering Leaders identified the need for a tool that would be easy to use, yet readily accessible, as Honeywell gradually transitions towards a standardization of all their data systems. With these matters at hand Erwan explored his options, eventually deciding on SiliconExpert’s Bill-of-Materials (BOM) Manager along with Part Search as a capable solution.

Honeywell Case Study Image
After a two-day trial period testing SiliconExpert’s capabilities, Erwan’s teams found the tool’s easy-to-use interface and universality as much more intuitive and useful than their prior protocol. Relating the BOM functionality as a “one-stop shop” for component data, the ability to exhaustively scrub and clean the various team’s BOMs efficiently led Honeywell to choose SiliconExpert going forward.

“In the movement to normalize processes, our teams recognized SiliconExpert as the tool that helped them achieve a lot more than they would expect during this data transition phase,” Erwan said. With access to unparalleled amounts of unbiased and complete component data, they immediately realized how much potential time and money could be saved just with the BOM Manager alone. With everything considered, Erwan fully believed that “it was the right choice… SiliconExpert presented the fastest and best solution.”

The Impact

Among many of Honeywell’s industrial concerns, RoHS compliance and keeping component data attributes as current as possible are chief points of emphasis. SiliconExpert’s BOM Manager, in conjunction with Part Search’s unmatched functionality to parametrically search and cross-reference over 300 millions electronic parts, has transformed these concerns into valuable results.

“Because RoHS compliance affects how we have to change our actual products, BOM Manager has been invaluable in ensuring our certificates are up-to-date,” Erwan details. “We also value the product change notifications that warn us of future obsolescence because it allows us to plan ahead, to gauge if we should start testing alternate parts to deal with forthcoming issues.”

Additionally, merging and integrating all of SiliconExpert’s component data with Honeywell’s own database has yielded some tremendous results, in some cases quantifiable while in others incalculable.

For example, use of Part Search found that multiple Honeywell’s divisions were ordering the same electronic part, but with different part numbers—consolidating those parts instantly saved Honeywell thousands of dollars. On another occasion, use of SiliconExpert’s tools prevented a production line from shutting down, effectively avoiding the costly process to reset production.

Erwan and his teams at Honeywell have within reach every component attribute relevant in the entire lifecycle of a product, including pricing and inventory, which has led to invaluable strategic sourcing. This vital resource has enabled Honeywell teams to identify numerous alternate sources for components, the chief factor that secured continuity of the production line. In regards to that incredible saving of time and money, Erwan remarks that “you can’t put an exact number on it, but you could imagine it would be very high.”

"...SiliconExpert presented the fastest and the best solution."

Erwan Rivet | Director of Engineering | Honeywell

"...it allows us to plan ahead, to gauge if we should start testing alternate parts to deal with forthcoming issues."