Most people eventually come to appreciate a simple truth in life: we don’t know what we don’t know. At Design Systems Canada (DSC), this perspective has long guided the company’s approach to manufacturing. For more than three and a half decades, this team has helped manufacturing plants across Canada, the United States, and Mexico uncover hidden inefficiencies and unlock new opportunities through its comprehensive concept-to-commission engineering services. It’s a mindset and depth of expertise that has made DSC a partner trusted by some of the industry’s biggest names.
Design Systems Canada, as a small company with a strong following, is trusted for excellence in smart factory design, upgrading facilities to meet 4.0 and 5.0 fabrication standards, and providing advanced planning, program management, and full-service engineering. DSC also utilizes a terrestrial 3D-laser scanning suite and drone-based photogrammetry to survey and document site dimensions, supporting smart factory conversions.
Additionally, DSC uses top-tier simulation software and commissioning tools for virtual commissioning. As a result, some of its largest clients come from the automotive industry, including well-known global brands. DSC’s clients also come from healthcare, pharmaceuticals, package handling, and other sectors. And although these big industrial companies are diverse, they share an understanding that managing their own layouts, system analyses, and improvements too often wastes more time and resources than it’s worth.
Improving outcomes
DSC is based in Windsor, Ontario, and its team of 20 professionals specializing in removing pain points for clients in service of improving their bottom lines. Aaron Anson, Managing Partner and General Manager, is clear about the company’s value proposition.
“You don’t know what you don’t know—and when clients want to improve processes, they are so close to their established systems it can be difficult for them to see the bigger picture,” Anson says.
But, well-seasoned in a variety of systems, from conveyors to design, all firmly rooted in establishing the ideal product timing schedule for each facility, the DSC team is able to improve output, pre-empt potential issues, and identify existing faults and weaknesses before they escalate. Importantly, DSC also identifies near-imperceptible system flaws that can cost companies dearly down the line.
Care for its image, too, has contributed to the company’s longevity. DSC recently completed a group rebranding project across its facilities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada with a spruce new look embodying energy and modernity. The company also expanded its footprint, adding a facility in Querétaro, Mexico, to its existing footprint in Saltillo.
The future of automotive assembly
As its clients have always included automotive assembly plants, the company originally built its reputation helping car manufacturers by managing new product programs while assisting to implement process improvements. When market demand shifted toward electric vehicles, DSC naturally pivoted to the support of EV manufacturing.
As global political and economic realities evolved, and governments adjusted their mandates accordingly, the company kept pace, although it took a few years to understand what the ideal iteration of this new technology would be for the Canadian market. Now, a little further down the line, with the real-life conditions of a vast landscape, extreme weather, and absence of recharging infrastructure outside large metropoles, EVs are losing favour with Canadians. “There are so many unknowns still in EVs, especially in Canada,” Anson says, and adoption trends indicate a higher popularity rate for hybrid vehicles.
With local market trends including hybrid vehicles as well as pure electric vehicles, the move provides manufacturers with less of an incline in the learning curve to achieving the best possible outcomes in these technologies, essentially buying manufacturers extra time to reflect on and refine their innovations. This is also necessary for developing the kinds of vehicles that are practical specifically for a Canadian context. “Our clients are going to continue to make the combustion engine,” Anson says, pointing out that, economically, this provides security on a national scale.
Yet, it is by no means game over for the EV market. DSC continues to contribute to the country’s electrically powered future by assisting battery fabricators in establishing their state-of-the-art facilities on local soil. A significant amount of this assistance goes to Korean feeder plants working in collaboration with the battery fabricators. These include NextStar Energy, a collaboration between LG Energy Solution and Stellantis, with NextStar Energy’s recently launched $5 billion facility in Windsor, Ontario. The arrival of this company in Windsor led to other firms setting themselves up in the area, creating even more opportunities for DSC.
Flourishing, the Canadian way
The DSC team has been assisting these companies with facility layouts, efficiency improvements, safety reviews, and general guidance on typical Canadian fabrication flow and regulations. “That’s where we get excited; these are the things that we have the opportunity to improve and streamline,” Anson says, noting that foreign outfits often need a lot of support to adapt to the Canadian way of operating.
The company also helps legacy firms evolve by harnessing the latest technology and assisting with regulatory upgrades, putting them painlessly at the cutting edge of their sector through the addition of automation, modern equipment, and facility design. As with new builds, this includes harnessing predictive maintenance and the internet of things (IoT) to optimize uptime and output. While these upgrades can be lengthy projects, breaking them up into clear phases has proven an ideal strategy for introducing manageable change in organizations where fabrication processes have become outdated.
DSC’s methods are as modern as its layouts, with professionally rendered designs using AutoCAD and the use of digital twins—virtual copies of facility layouts that reflect processes in real time. These are used for data analysis, in machine learning, and to improve system flow. “The data might tell us that you need to have a second machine installed so that you can handle more volume efficiency,” Anson explains.
Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 popularized the use of predictive maintenance. As spare parts like filters—which would typically arrive in a few days—suddenly took several months to appear, pre-empting mechanical services became imperative to ensure fabrication uptime. It also brought change.
Continuously diversifying into new areas like food & beverage, the DSC team soon found that its hard-won automotive engineering expertise in lighting, air supply, and every other aspect of manufacturing facility setup had an unexpected upside: it was transferable and would work in any industry. Today, Design Systems Canada collaborates with a host of new industrial outfits, like a lumber yard in northern Ontario that needed some process flow assistance. DSC also foresees exciting new possibilities in aerospace and forestry.
A tight team
Running a smooth operation with a small team means that DSC’s people are close-knit, making teamwork a pleasure—and customers benefit in many ways. Camaraderie makes for solid work relationships and reliability, care, and a general sense of kindness to colleagues permeate the company’s service delivery. In DSC’s own ranks, the result is long tenures, with at least two employees having been with the company for three decades. This means that generational knowledge is being passed from the older generation to the newer, ensuring continuity and a legacy of excellence.
And, with the vast volumes of manufacturing returning to North American shores, whether tearing down old, existing facilities or building new ones, whether consolidating or expanding, Design Systems Canada is close at hand to support fabricators. This includes setting up manufacturers properly from the start to avoid unnecessary expenses while optimizing earning potential. It is much like having an experienced coach on the team, says Anson.
“We want to help you grow your business. We’re not looking to invest in your business or trying to take your money; we just want you to be the best version of you.”
