Digital worker assistance as a success factor: KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik relies on flexAssistant from SOMA

KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik demonstrates how modern worker assistance is revolutionising production: with the SOMA flexAssistant, paperless manufacturing and assembly of over 800 variants is achieved efficiently, safely and error-free – a practical example of digital support in manufacturing.

Digital work instructions with flexAssistant: A practical example of smart production and paperless processes

With well over 800 variants of a product, how can assembly be made faster, safer and error-free? At KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik GmbH & Co. KG in Hagen, the use of the SOMA flexAssistant shows how digital support makes a difference: from paperless production to greater process reliability.

800 variants, one goal: efficiency and reliability in assembly

When assembling frequency inverters, KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik has to deal with many different product variants. Employees can manufacture well over 800 variants of the frequency inverter at any time.

On the one hand, this means complete flexibility for the end customer, but on the other hand, it also means complex processes, changing parts lists and a multitude of work instructions for KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik employees.

Until now, these challenges were solved with printed documents, which were time-consuming to update and prone to errors. Furthermore, they no longer met the requirements of modern production.

Solution: Modern assembly and production with flexAssistant

The digital worker assistance system flexAssistant was introduced in collaboration with SOMA GmbH. The system guides employees step by step through the assembly process – with clear, digital work instructions, images and real-time feedback options directly at the workplace.

No more paper documents, no more searching for drawings or plans.
Work instructions come directly from the ERP system (SAP) and are automatically converted into efficient workflows.
This means that every assembly step is documented in a traceable, fast, reliable and transparent manner.

The result: efficient, reliable and paperless. A real game changer, especially in production with a high product diversity. Rocco Maroni, Head of IPM3 Manufacturing, agrees: "The flexAssistant worker assistance system gives employees much more confidence in manufacturing frequency converters. The respective production order is displayed on the screen and the employee carries it out step by step. This means that the devices can be built with virtually no errors."

flexAssistant brought numerous advantages to KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik

Fewer errors in variant assembly
Faster training of new employees
Increased transparency and traceability
Faster response times to process changes
Sustainability through elimination of paper and reduced resources

“I think the worker assistance is very good, as it allows me to work more confidently, quickly and cleanly”, says Gönül Kemer, employee at KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik.

Experience flexAssistant in action

How do employees in Hagen experience paperless manufacturing in their everyday work? What specific advantages does the system offer in production? Watch the video now or read the case study to find out how digital worker assistance makes a difference in modern manufacturing and production.

About KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik

KOSTAL Industrie Elektrik GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 1995, is part of the KOSTAL Group and transfers its expertise from the automotive industry to other markets such as drive technology. At its Hagen site, over 520 employees develop and manufacture solutions for power electronics and photovoltaics – with a clear focus on quality, sustainability and innovation.