OPTIMA TOTAL CARE GOES DIGITAL
Digitalization. At Optima, the magic word in mechanical engineering has been brought to life in a very special way. Digitalization will only be used where it makes sense and brings benefits to customers. At Optima, digital products are part of the comprehensive life cycle management program called OPTIMA Total Care. The Industrial IT department develops the digital products centrally – in cooperation with the Smart Services departments of individual business units. OPTIMA Total Care works in the areas of Flexibility, Safety, Digitalization and Sustainability. How? Potentials for flexibility are identified using an extensive database. Monitoring increases production reliability and with the help of real-time data, response times can be reduced; and of course, production transparency automatically minimizes the consumption of unnecessary resources.
Bespoke services
Effectively complementing what are known as Basic Services, i.e. traditional services like installation, calibration, spare parts service, training and retrofits, Smart Services provide support throughout all phases of the machine life cycle: from the project phase, through the ramp-up phase, to the production phase. As an example, training machine operators is an important part of the Total Care program. Operators are supported by various strategies, like the "embedded engineer" or the new train-the-trainer concept: Optima's most qualified technicians transfer their knowledge to the customer's future systems expert. This has a multiplying effect for all other colleagues. The Basic Services have given rise to Smart Services, which are a digital extension of the traditional services. The Smart Services have also been restructured: In future, these will be divided into the areas of Manufacturing Intelligence, Maintenance Support, Knowledge Transfer and Smart Assistance. Why? Because plant managers are usually the first people to notice efficiency problems in production plants – the efficiency of the whole plant declines. Then it becomes necessary to locate the problem using specific KPIs.
KPI: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can be used to determine the performance of activities in companies.
Moving from the problem to the solution
Production management staff solve the problem using Optima's Manfacturing Intelligence Solutions. These allow production data to be captured consistently and independent of the machine manufacturer. It is displayed in a clear and transparent manner, so forming the basis for immediate measures for making improvements – just in time. Once the cause of the problem has been identified via the Manfacturing Intelligence Solutions, it has to be dealt with via targeted maintenance – Maintenance Support. Optima differentiates between time-based, cycle-based and predictive maintenance. With time-based maintenance, maintenance intervals can be easily planned using a software solution. The machine automatically reports the maintenance operations to be carried out and when they should be done. The required spare parts packages can be ordered from Optima. This ensures high machine availability and little planning effort. With cycle-based maintenance, the customer receives automatically prepared spare parts packages according to predefined machine running times.
The customer's staff is supported by a digital maintenance plan that guides staff through the maintenance process, step by step. This means that individual maintenance strategies are an option, and that the training time for new employees is shortened. By contrast, with predictive maintenance, Optima's condition monitoring system permanently monitors the machine's status. Algorithms specially developed on the customer's production line enable the system to automatically report wear levels at an early stage and calculate the anticipated wear limits and timing. This increases the transparency of status changes in the machine and hence system availability, planning accuracy, and production quality. In the not too distant future, the system could therefore order its own spare parts automatically, without the intervention of maintenance personnel.
Getting the information you need quickly
Once the defective part has been identified, Knowledge Transfer assists with precise identification of the spare part and ordering it from the company's own warehouse or from Optima. Machine expertise is managed in a digitally optimized way and operators can quickly access the information they require, for example 3D catalogs for spare parts, operating instructions, data sheets, training documents and much more. By being permanently connected to higher-level systems such as SAP and document management systems, the Smart Service platform ensures that documents are always up-to-date. Here, a new feature is that Optima customers will be able to store their own data in future, for example video tutorials they have created themselves.
If operators are encountering problems in production processes that have never occurred before – for example, a format changeover that takes too long or quality issues with the packaging, then they need the experts from Optima Service. Optima provides Smart Assistance via every conceivable mobile device. For instance, this can occur via a tablet or augmented reality glasses. The customer's employee is guided step by step through the format change or assisted in resolving process issues. Video tutorials can be displayed directly in operators' field of vision, enabling them to see how to replace components. All Smart Services can be accessed by customers 24/7 via a centralized, user-friendly Optima platform. The permanent availability of Smart Services means that agile, digital working on machinery becomes a reality. Smart Services will be presented at Interpack, using a variety of applications.
A look into the future
OPTIMA Total Care provides support in four areas
High levels of availability mean greater flexibility
Reduced need for specialist knowledge, flexible staff deployment
System continues in production while the spare part is digitally identified
Rapid support by Optima experts
All data is automatically stored
Standardized documentation avoids errors
Permanently updated information is guaranteed
Step-by-step instructions prevent errors
Minimizing interfaces, digital workflow
Real-time data speeds up workflows
Information is available anytime, anywhere
Augmented Reality combines production reality and virtual reality
Waste is reduced
Continual maintenance extends the life cycle of the machine
Digital knowledge management saves paper and space
Reduced face-to-face contact means less air travel is required
OPTIMA Total Care provides support in four areas
High levels of availability
mean greater flexibility
Reduced need for specialist knowledge,
flexible staff deployment
System continues in
production while the spare
part is digitally identified
Rapid support
by Optima experts
All data is automatically
stored
Standardized documentation
avoids errors
Permanently updated
information is guaranteed
Step-by-step instructions
prevent errors
Minimizing interfaces,
digital workflow
Real-time data speeds
up workflows
Information is available
anytime, anywhere
Augmented Reality
combines production reality
and virtual reality
Continual maintenance
extends the life cycle of
the machine
Digital knowledge management
saves paper and space
Reduced face-to-face
contact means less air
travel is required
- The company is focusing on digitalization projects that add value for Optima customers.
- Digital products, under the banner of "Smart Services", are part of the OPTIMA Total Care life cycle management program and are developed centrally by Industrial IT.
- OPTIMA Total Care provides support in four areas: Flexibility, Safety, Digitalization and Sustainability.
- On a new central Optima platform, Smart Services are available 24/7.
- Networking with MES or higher-level ERP interfaces is possible.
- All information about the machine status, – at any time and any place, – is already a reality at Optima.
- Machines from other manufacturers than Optima can be integrated into the line management if required.
- New features of the program are the train-the-trainer concept and a fully automatic digital format change assistant and remote support with augmented reality assistance as part of Smart Assistance.
This report has been published in the O-COM Special Edition April 2020.
Read OPTIMA Digital Innovation Center starts operations and OPTIMA carries out a highly complex virtual machine acceptance to get more informations about Optima Total Care.