Project:
LiveAlert at an SME
In an Austrian SME, which always focuses on efficiency and productivity, we were able to specifically apply our know-how and passion for data and create significant added value.
This success story impressively underscores the fact that “digitization” can also be usefully applied to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and that the smaller size of the company can be turned into an advantage.
The digital challenge:
Our customer faced an important challenge: response times to plant malfunctions were too long, and maintenance staff had to cover a large number of empty routes. The company’s root cause analysis found that several factors contributed:
- The spatial/structural separation of the electroplating tanks
- The display of fault messages directly on the equipment
- Cell phones cannot be used due to the operational obligation to wear protective gloves
This combination meant that malfunctions had to be reported by the plant operator and a maintenance technician only received them when he was in the office. In addition to the inefficiencies, this situation also entailed the risk that safety-relevant events could not be reported and remedied in a timely manner.
The solution: LiveAlert
The CEO of the company approached us in the course of an event. He challenged us to find an efficient, data-driven solution to his dilemma. This is how our “LiveAlert” was created for the first time, which automatically displays fault messages on employees’ smartwatches, regardless of their location and whether their hands are free at the moment.
The idea behind “LiveAlert” is to monitor the fault messages that are present in the control system and to in the event of relevant events, immediately and with all relevant information to the maintainer. The company provides smartwatches that display the information clearly even when gloves are worn and use vibrations to alert users to new messages.
Project progression:
- In the course of a workshop, the work and decision-making processes of maintenance were first worked out. After that, it was essential to define a set of rules for selecting and prioritizing relevant fault messages.
- The company granted us access to the data landscape and we were thus able to create an initial overview of the data collection in the control system step by step.
- The existing data sources from four control systems were integrated into our “DataCube” and the set of rules for determining and prioritizing the relevant fault messages was implemented.
- To ensure rapid implementation and low costs, the LiveAlerts were initially transmitted to the smartwatches of the maintenance staff via an existing messenger. Meanwhile, we use a specially optimized development for this purpose to provide our customers with maximum safety and reliability.
The biggest benefit:
The introduction of “LiveAlert” at our customer’s site has significantly shortened response times in the event of plant malfunctions and reduced idle times. In addition, the efficiency and motivation of the maintenance staff was increased, process stability was optimized, and accidents during plant operation were prevented.
The most important insight for all involved:
The partnership shows that SMEs can also achieve significant improvements through “digitization”. Short decision-making paths, flat hierarchies and detailed knowledge of the processes help to “tackle” the right places and thus significantly reduce costs and effort.
What “LiveAlert” is, you can read here:
www.predictive.at/solutions/#livealert
You can learn more about the entire introduced solution here:
