Tablet, smartphone and smartwatch are the new intelligent supporters in the modern smart factory. The mobile devices are indispensable if cost and energy efficiency and the availability of machines in production are to be increased. At HANNOVER MESSE, in-tech will be demonstrating live in Hall 9, Stand F81, using a practical example of how clever mobile assistance systems optimally support the operation of heterogeneous production facilities.

The exhibit illustrates the connection of the in-tech solution to any production plant: the application evaluates the data of the machines and derives tasks for the operating personnel, production key figures and warning signals from this. This information is clearly visualised on tablets, smartphones and smartwatches. Depending on the user, the production monitoring solution provides context-specific information - tasks and warnings for the machine operator, current key production figures for the production manager and maintenance instructions for the service technician. In this way, problems can be detected and remedied more quickly, downtimes are reduced and the efficiency of the plant increases. The exhibit will also be presented as part of the HANNOVER MESSE Guided Tour - Industrial Automation & IT.

Information generation in real time

The engineering specialists illustrate how different roles on the shop floor are supported by the provision of context-specific information, active notifications in the event of deviations from production KPIs and targeted assistance in identifying and eliminating the causes in real time. The employee is also immediately informed of new tasks and supported in their efficient resolution through context-specific guidance. If new, urgent tasks are announced, the mobile device, e.g. the smartphone, responds with a corresponding message.

Solution transferable to other systems

The system can be connected to any existing (data) interfaces or via additional sensors (non-invasive). User examples are electronics production, metalworking, but also measuring systems. The showcase - especially the notification of the operator - is tailored to production machines and plants. The solution - in particular the monitoring of KPIs - can also be applied to other plants and systems. Managing Director Christian Wagner says: "We can flexibly connect existing, heterogeneous systems, i.e. machines from different manufacturers, to our solution and thus evaluate information for heterogeneous plants across the board". The information from the machines is accessed, for example, via OPC UA interfaces, APIs for PLC control, MTConnect interfaces or proprietary interfaces such as REST interfaces. All data can be accessed via iOS or Android devices. A Windows Phone adaptation is also currently being worked on. "The server (backend) solution can be operated on all common cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, etc., and also on a server in the production facility - i.e. "on premise"," explains Mr Wagner.