Tier-one automotive supplier shortens cycle time, and improves standardized work adherence on assembly line it previously considered optimized.

Drishti Technologies Inc., whose AI-powered production technology uses video analytics, data and insights to bring significant benefits to manufacturers and their employees recently concluded a 10-week proof of concept deployment with global automotive supplier HELLA.

Prasad Akella, Drishti founder and CEO, tells IndustryWeek, with the success of the pilot, the group is moving forward with a broader integration. “The first and most direct integration is with the MES, as it immediately opens up the ability to conduct fast root cause analyses using the serial numbers of parts in question,” Akella says. Understandably, COVID-19 has presented unexpected challenges, explains Akella. For example, with frozen travel, Drishti was unable to conduct plant visits. “Therefore, we have developed a remote deployment option for customers that allows them to have the full benefit of Drishti without requiring us to travel and instead leveraging the deep in-house skills of the HELLA plant facilities team,” he says.

“Standardized work is the foundation of our assembly operations, and finding opportunities to improve adherence has the potential to significantly boost our productivity,” said Marcos Aurelio Alves Junior, operational excellence and industrial engineering manager at HELLA Mexico in a statement.

Alves and his team used the AI-generated data points in Drishti’s Portal to pinpoint statistical outliers, cycles that took significantly more or less time than the others. Because of the sheer volume of cycle time data Drishti provides, these outliers were clear indicators that attention was required.

Down to details

HELLA deployed 12 Drishti cameras on an automotive component assembly line in Guanajuato, Mexico. Because HELLA has established a lean philosophy throughout the organization since 2007, the selected assembly line was already a high-performing line in the company. HELLA was intrigued by Drishti’s AI-powered production solution and challenged the company to find opportunities for improvement, even though the line was already considered optimized based on state-of-the-art, non-AI lean methodologies.

Using Drishti Trace, which allows manufacturers to use live and recorded video to learn from what has happened, and Drishti Flow, which adds AI to provide assembly data that lets manufacturers closely monitor and rapidly improve performance, the HELLA team and Drishti jointly identified a number of potential improvements. In some instances, HELLA engineers were able to verify adherence to standardized work and implement improvements to the standardized work to reduce process delays and microstops.

“Drishti Trace lets anyone with access to the Portal go back in time and see exactly what happened on the factory floor,” said Alves. “It solves a number of questions about what happened in the past, making the process to identify deviations shorter and us more assertive in attacking the correct outliers in our histograms. And it’s particularly useful during the coronavirus because it doesn’t require our team to travel to the site to know what’s happening.”

At the conclusion of the 10-week deployment, HELLA saw a significant improvement in productivity on the assembly line. A broader Drishti deployment is currently in the works.

“Drishti’s technology uniquely provides us with information about what’s happening on the factory floor, now and in the past, wherever we are,” said Michael Hammoud, vice president of operations, HELLA said in a statement. “It helps us support our lean practices with data, and use the information we get from the cameras and AI to train our operators, improving their productivity and job satisfaction at the same time. It’s a win-win for the company and our employees.”

Constant improvement

The HELLA team believed the line was already optimized, so the team wasn’t confident that Drishti would uncover more opportunities, says Akella. “However, it soon became clear that several process steps on the line were inconsistent with standardized work, and those deviations were going undetected,” he says. “Despite the previously held belief that the line was optimized, Drishti shed light on further opportunities. Changing behavior on the line is not always easy, but Drishti’s video-backed proof points make it easier to get line associates on board.”

According to Akella, the success of this deployment demonstrates that there is almost always room for improvement. And, the best results come when companies remain open minded and ready to scale.

Open minded. Your industrial engineers have optimized your lines as best they can with yesterday’s technology. Newer technologies like Drishti can shed light on issues that weren’t previously obvious. It’s analogous to imaging your lungs using a stethoscope, an ultrasound scannerA and an MRI machine. The increasing capabilities of the devices give greater insights that lead to better diagnostics. The more open-minded the team is, the more use cases that are constructed and the greater the value from new technologies. Mindset is critical.

Ready to scale.  When you decide to make the investment to test new technologies, assume success and be ready to get your CFO’s approval for the broader roll out. Otherwise, you’ve invested significant resources and have no path to scale the benefits across the organization.

16 November, 2020

Segulah Fund V has entered into an agreement to partner with Multisoft AB’s founders Emil Gyllenring and Ivar Algvere to develop and support the company in its next growth phase. Segulah will acquire a majority shareholding while the founders will retain a significant shareholding and remain in their respective operational roles. Senior employees will also be invited to the partnership as shareholders.

Multisoft, based in Stockholm with c. 80 employees, is a provider of business process systems for its clients, leveraging its proprietary low code platform Softadmin®. The company develops bespoke and standalone solutions, which can be seamlessly integrated with other systems as needed. Since its inception, Multisoft has delivered more than 400 projects to a broad range of customers, including Volvo, Länsförsäkringar and Vattenfall. The company has grown revenues by 15% CAGR in the last four years on the back of strong demand for its services.

Low code platforms employ module-based logic and drag-and-drop components to allow faster development of process solutions compared to traditional coding. The low code niche is outgrowing the broader market as increasing business complexity drives demand for bespoke systems that can be further developed over time as companies evolve.

“We look forward to partnering with Segulah and to leverage their extensive experience to reach our vision of becoming a leading provider of bespoke and pre-configured process automation solutions for complex business problems, with the market’s most satisfied customers and employees” says Emil Gyllenring, CEO and co-founder of Multisoft.

“Multisoft has taken a strong position within an attractive market with structural underlying growth driven by digitalisation and automation. The investment fits well into Segulah’s strategy and we look forward to working together with the founders to realise Multisoft’s full potential” say Percy Calissendorff and Johan Möllerström, Partner and Director, respectively, at Segulah Advisor AB.

 The transaction is expected to close in January 2021 contingent on terms outlined in the purchase agreement. The acquisition will be the eleventh investment for Segulah Fund V.

For further information, please visit www.multisoft.se, www.segulah.com or contact:

Emil Gyllenring, CEO, Multisoft AB, +46 70 775 08 14, emil.gyllenring@multisoft.se

Percy Calissendorff, Partner, Segulah Advisor AB, +46 73 347 62 81, calissendorff@segulah.se

Johan Möllerström, Director, Segulah Advisor AB, +46 72 543 79 11, mollerstrom@segulah.se

Note: Emil Gyllenring and Ivar Algvere will own their shares through their respective wholly owned companies.

• EQT IX acquires a majority stake in thinkproject, Europe’s leading SaaS provider of construction intelligence solutions for the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Owner-operated (AECO) industry

• thinkproject helps improve its customers’ delivery times, reduce waste and energy consumption, while improving sustainability in one of the key carbon emitting industries globally. Its software product suite covers the full construction lifecycle and is driving digitization in one of the largest but least digitally penetrated industries

• EQT aims to accelerate thinkproject’s growth through its strong commitment towards sustainability and digitization, and to support product extension, geographical expansion, and consolidation of the fragmented construction software space

EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT IX fund (“EQT IX”) has acquired a majority stake in thinkproject (“the Company”) from TA Associates (“TA”) and thinkproject’s founder Thomas Bachmaier. TA, Thomas Bachmaier and the management team will re-invest significantly into the Company in the context of this transaction. thinkproject’s management team, led by CEO Gareth Burton and CFO Ralf Gruesshaber, will continue to lead the Company and build on its strong track record of growth and innovation.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Munich, thinkproject serves more than 250,000 users in over 60 countries. Its cloud-delivered, integrated digital solutions help customers be more efficient, cost-effective and simplify their digital transformation across the construction lifecycle. The Company employs around 450 people and its software is used by 2,750 customers across international private and public asset owners, project developers, and general contractors.

thinkproject’s underlying end market, the construction industry, is one of the largest and least digitized industries globally. In recent years, the AECO industry has seen an accelerated digitization momentum and widespread technological adoption. This shift is driven by multiple secular trends, including stagnant productivity, growing cost pressure, increasing regulation, a demographic move towards a new generation with greater IT affinity and focus on sustainability. By improving delivery times and reducing waste and energy consumption, thinkproject helps cut emissions in one of the key carbon emitting industries globally. The Company’s efforts in this field are contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #12, “Responsible Consumption and Production”.

thinkproject’s management team has executed on a strategic growth agenda with a focus on digitization, technological innovation and sustainability across several levers. EQT intends to support the current direction taken by the management team by further growing the Company’s global customer base, backing product extension, geographical expansion and supporting a consolidation of the fragmented construction software space. thinkproject is expected to leverage the full EQT platform during its next phase of growth, including EQT’s digital and sustainability expertise, local-with-locals presence across Europe and Asia-Pacific, and domain experience. Moreover, the Company will be supported by the EQT Network, including advisors from EQT’s software, real estate and infrastructure space.

Florian Funk, Partner at EQT Partners, said: “For us, thinkproject represents a truly thematic investment at the intersection of EQT’s two core value creation pillars, sustainability and digitization. After having followed thinkproject over the last couple of years, we are thrilled by the opportunity to work together with the management team and TA Associates to further develop this exciting company. This investment is perfectly aligned with EQT’s core focus of investing in high growth companies and partnering with world class management teams. We are truly impressed by the market leading position thinkproject has built and EQT is excited to support its vision of becoming a global champion.”

Gareth Burton, CEO of thinkproject, said: “EQT is one of the most active and successful private equity investors in the TMT sector with a very profound expertise specifically in the construction sector. thinkproject’s management team and EQT both share the strong conviction around the sector’s fundamentally attractive growth dynamics as well as thinkproject’s ability to further build out its excellent market leadership position and to build the leading global construction intelligence platform. thinkproject continuously strives to serve our customers to help construct a better world.”

Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA Associates, said: “Since our investment four years ago, the thinkproject management team has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the company’s strategic growth initiatives and customers. We believe that these efforts have helped thinkproject transform into Europe’s leading SaaS provider of construction intelligence solutions for the AECO industry. We are thrilled to welcome EQT as our new partner, and we look forward to working with them alongside the thinkproject management team during the company’s next phase of growth.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. It is expected to close by year end.

With this transaction, EQT IX is expected to be 15-20 percent invested, based on its target fund size.

Milbank acted as legal advisors to EQT. Arma Partners acted as financial advisors to thinkproject, and Hengeler Mueller and Travers Smith served as legal counsel.

Contact
Florian Funk, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT IX, +49 89 2554 9908
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334
Karolin Beck, CMO at thinkproject, karolin.beck@thinkproject.com, +49 173 671 4422
thinkproject press contact: Fabian Pecht / Samet Simsek, Havana Orange GmbH, thinkproject@havanaorange.de, +49 89 92 131 51 – 78/70

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 75 billion in raised capital and over EUR 46 billion in assets under management across 16 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with total sales of more than EUR 27 billion and approximately 159,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About thinkproject
Based in Munich, Germany, thinkproject is a global leader in construction intelligence, unlocking the potential of people and information through digital technologies to enable better industry results. It is the leading Europe-based construction and engineering SaaS provider with 2,750 customers, more than 250,000 users in over 60 countries, and over 450 employees.

More info: www.thinkproject.com

About TA Associates
TA Associates is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $3 billion per year. The firm’s more than 100 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

More info: www.ta.com