During 2022 Tofaş completed a total of 364 projects, of which 1,500 were associated with digitalization solutions.

Tofaş’s strategic priorities and practices are informed by technological developments in light of changing market and customer needs. The company regards intelligent-factory solutions that make use of productivity-enhancing digital optimization so as to constantly improve its competitive strength as one of its strategic priorities.

During 2022 Tofaş completed a total of 364 projects, of which 1,500 were associated with digitalization solutions. Foremost among the digitalization projects on which the company focused last year were those that involved such technologies as Internet of Things (IoT), advanced data analytics & machine learning, image processing, collaborative robots (cobots), and robotic process automation (RPA).

• Much of the production machinery and equipment currently in use at Tofaş is already connected to an IoT platform that makes it possible for their critical parameters to be monitored in real time. The total number of projects that facilitate early problem-detection & intervention at Tofaş reached 761 in 2022 with the addition of 167 new ones during the year.
• During 2022, 72 work-process digitalization projects were carried out bringing the total number of such projects to 272. Besides facilitating workflows, these projects also make them more economical.
• The total number of Tofaş projects that make use of RPA technology to come up with solutions for repetitive tasks which employees must perform but which demand attention reached 300 in 2022 with the addition of 136 new ones during the year.
• Between 2016 and 2022, a total of 64 projects making use of next-generation image processing & machine-vision technologies to ensure the effectiveness of critical QC processes were carried out.
• Through the deployment of cobots to help automate unergonomic tasks, some Tofaş production operations that require people and robots to perform tasks together have been made more efficient.
• Between 2019 and 2022, a total of 15 projects involving the use of wearable technologies to reduce labor costs and to improve worker ergonomics were carried out.
• The total number of projects that make use of data-science, AI, and machine learning technologies to optimize tasks that are particularly difficult for workers to perform by hand reached 33 in 2022 with the addition of 9 new ones during the year. Such projects lead to significant opportunities and improvements in the areas of occupational health & safety and productivity.

Tofaş continues to invest in developing such IT capabilities as remote working, 5G, cloud, and cybersecurity while also improving the quality of existing databases as an essential element of its ongoing digital transformation program.

In order to expand employees’ data competencies and to support the proliferation of their data-focused analytical projects, big-data backbone accessibility has been increased so that they may tap its resources to develop analytical scenarios of their own into which they may incorporate data from both internal and external sources. The addition of self-service analytical products and rapid software-development methods such as low-code/no-code tools to existing infrastructure has been accelerated. During 2022, various modernization projects related to Tofaş’s commercial operations and production-management systems were successfully deployed. Investments capable of advancing the robotic-transformation of basic infrastructure and office processes have been accelerated and are now at the point at which they are capable of supporting operational agility.

In the period ahead, Tofaş will continue to take a benefit-driven approach when dealing with digitalization projects and will be focusing on carrying out more projects with higher added value, collaborating more effectively with external resources, investing in the digital competencies of its employees, and developing new services and partnerships through an integrated connectivity infrastructure.

Under the Optimus initiative, 181 Tofaş personnel led a total of 364 projects during 2022.

Under the Optimus initiative, 181 Tofaş personnel led a total of 364 projects during 2022.

TALENT & ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

Two important elements of any successful organizational implementation of digitalization and innovation are firstly the propagation of digital and innovative mindsets and competencies throughout the organization and secondly the expansion of the ecosystem so as to engage all appropriate solution partners. As a component of its corporate entrepreneurship approach, Tofaş regularly engages and works together with other Koç Holding companies, NGOs, universities, incubation centers, and angel investment groups.

Expertise domains were established and tasked with guiding the acquisition and implementation of such fundamental technologies as data science, machine learning, IoT, and RPA. Work has begun on developing a platform management system for ecosystem expansion. Under the online training and full-time consultancy Data Science Program that was initiated in 2019, the number of Tofaş personnel with AI competencies reached 124 in 2022 while 30 data science projects were also submitted. Under the auspices of Tofaş Academy, 35 Tofaş employees are taking part in IoT training and 158 are receiving training so that they will be able to support RPA program-related process analysis and the implementation of new RPA projects.

Tofaş seeks to foster technology-literacy and digital-transformation culture both within the company and throughout its value-creation chain. For this purpose, Tofaş Academy, working together with Tofaş technology partners, has developed a program that turns digital transformation into a cultural journey whose aim is to support the spread and adoption of technology literacy and digital culture. Individualized, classroom, and video training resources are made available under this program. During 2022, 568 field personnel received such training.

Under the Optimus initiative that was launched in 2020 to support Tofaş employees in the development of digitalization-related projects, 181 Tofaş personnel led a total of 364 projects during 2022. Originally conceived as a factory-related undertaking, the success of the Optimus initiative led to the expansion of its scope so as to include quality-control and supply-chain functions as well. Energy and supply chain-related Optimus project numbers are expected to increase in 2023.

Tofaş conducts corporate intrapreneurship programs with the aim of supporting employees in their efforts to acquire new competencies and to make use of innovative methods to come up with creative ideas capable of being developed as projects.

CORPORATE INTRAPRENEURSHIP

• Tofaş conducts corporate intrapreneurship programs with the aim of supporting employees in their efforts to acquire new competencies and to make use of innovative methods to come up with creative ideas capable of being developed as projects.
• Under the “Benim Projem” [My Project] corporate intrapreneurship program, Tofaş employee-developed product, service, and process projects are assessed by a jury and those deemed worthy are encouraged to advance to the next stage. Project-owners are rewarded if their projects reach the prototyping stage and their investor presentations are successful.
• Tofaş’s kaizen-based suggestion systems is designed to encourage employees to come up with innovative solutions, particularly whenever they spot an opportunity for improving production processes. Tofaş personnel who are employed in production-related functions set themselves annual suggestion-submission targets. Project owners whose ideas are trialed and deemed to be successful are rewarded.
• Tofaş’s idea-bank Fikir Kumbarası Platformu is a corporate-intrapreneurship program for soliciting and collecting program-related ideas and proposals. Company employees may use this platform at any time to submit ideas for projects they would like to see undertaken.
• In 2022 Tofaş initiated a HackYourJob corporate intrapreneurship program with the support of Koç Holding, Microsoft, and KoçSistem. The aim of this program is to encourage Tofaş employees to learn basic coding, to design apps of their own, and to come up with creative solutions for turning their ideas into reality. In the hackathon that is organized as part of this program, Tofaş employees receive three days of Microsoft Power platform training and compete as teams in the development of project ideas and software solutions.