Areva pulls it all together with Tableau


Although we work in different departments, we are linked. With Tableau, we can align everything and see how we need to work together to realize this project.

AREVA Group has a portfolio of renewable energy offers in: wind energy, bio-energy, solar power, and hydrogen power. AREVA Wind manufactures and designs the M5000 turbine, a field-proven wind energy converter for offshore wind farms—the first 5MW wind energy converter exclusively designed for offshore conditions guarantying highest reliability levels. At the 2011 U.S. Tableau Customer Conference, planning and industrial strategy manager, Erwan Simon, shared how Tableau has helped his team visualize what was needed to strategically meet the demand for delivering more wind turbines.

Tableau: You were looking for a tool to help present data to your executive committee?
Erwan: Yes, we worked with Tableau and in one month, we had a tool that was running perfectly.
   
Tableau: What was the initial project that Tableau helped you to analyze?
Erwan: We have a plant that produces 100 windmills a year. We needed to know when a 2nd and 3rd plant would be needed. We asked ourselves when should we build? Where will we build? How many jobs will we create?
   
Tableau: And what was the benefit of using Tableau to analyze and present data?
Erwan: In Tableau, with a couple of clicks we could put everything on one chart. Sales, marketing, production, purchases, and finances. We could see the whole organization.
   
Tableau: Tableau helped you to see how to work together better?
Erwan: Although we work in different departments, we are linked. With Tableau, we could align everything and see how we had to work together to realize this project.
   
Tableau: What did you discover with the help of Tableau?
Erwan: We gathered all our departments around one table and saw our direction, our goal. We saw what we had to do to deliver turbines and windmills in time, in hours, and to accomplish the project all together.
   
Tableau: What tool had you used before discovering Tableau?
Erwan: Before Tableau, we used Excel dashboards. What we presented in Excel was minor. We could see some trends, but not the entire scope.
   
Tableau: So you are pleased with what is possible with Tableau?
Erwan: It is better than what we originally thought. Absolutely unimaginable. With Tableau, it was exactly what we wanted to display. The direction we were taking, our global vision. We could display it all.