Integration speed is increasingly becoming a decisive factor in the development of automation solutions for mobile machinery. Requirements are growing at an ever-faster pace, and innovation cycles are becoming shorter and shorter. System manufacturers who can deliver tailor-made solutions on proven platforms within the shortest possible time are valuable partners for OEMs looking to secure a competitive edge. Graf Syteco has further optimized its processes to work with customers to develop and integrate customized HMI solutions for demanding applications as quickly as possible. Steffen Dieterle, CEO of Graf Syteco, explains how this is achieved.
Integration speed and ease of programming have always been top priorities at Graf Syteco. What's changing now?
That’s right; our collaborative partnership with our OEM customers has always been a key pillar of our strategy. Our goal has always been to find optimal solutions—fundamentally, we always start with the mindset that “nothing is impossible.” This has enabled us to provide machine manufacturers with highly customized HMI systems that integrate seamlessly into the user interface, reduce complexity, and thereby increase machine productivity. However, depending on the machine’s complexity, this can also be a challenging process that involves several rounds of iteration. We optimize our development and lifecycle processes for these OEM projects to arrive at ready-to-use solutions even more easily and quickly.
How do you go about this optimization?
From the very beginning, we follow a rigorous requirements management process and rely more heavily on automation tools in project management as well as during the ideation phase. Using standardized processes, we develop the foundation for our OEM-specific solutions in workshops. Depending on the complexity and the amount of customization required, we determine the appropriate measures at various quality gates throughout the product lifecycle and the development process.
Thanks to our decades of experience in developing custom HMI systems, we are able to integrate optimal workflow automation using the ALM software Polarion, enabling us to adapt and develop complex software systems very quickly. Of course, our hardware also plays a crucial role in this process.
Graf Syteco CEO Steffen Dieterle
In what way?
At Graf Syteco, we follow a platform strategy. Our current GSt-A-HMI platform has a modular design and serves as a proven foundation for rapidly developing new variants. The possibilities for customization are virtually limitless: from particularly small or large display sizes, to processor and interface adjustments, all the way to the integration and customization of physical buttons.
With preconfigured and proven solution sets—composed of tried-and-true components and features—we can achieve reliable results more quickly, since not every project has to start from scratch. At the same time, these “templates” ensure a higher level of standardization and quality assurance.
What role does product lifecycle management play in this context?
A clearly structured product life cycle is a key driver of efficiency and planning reliability. When obsolescence is addressed early on, bottlenecks and last-minute redesigns can be significantly reduced. We have also incorporated this aspect into our processes, as availability and on-time delivery are particularly critical competitive factors in today’s market. These can be significantly improved through forward-looking product lifecycle planning and strategically managed platform development.
Our goal is to create maximum synergies while remaining flexible and able to respond quickly to new requirements, making things as easy as possible for our customers. Those who work with us should experience maximum dynamism while maintaining consistent quality—in consulting, implementation, hardware, and software. We continue to optimize this by constantly improving these processes.