Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV
Increasing process efficiency through smart support for the machine operators - but how?
Smart, demand-based support for the machine operators can reduce downtime due to disturbances and machine setup times, thereby increasing process efficiency.
Many disturbances in the production process are caused by operator error and an inadequate response to critical situations. This is due to the fact that the demands on the operators are continuously increasing because the production processes are becoming ever more complex, and the personnel lack the process knowledge required to fulfill their tasks according to the requirements.
There is a wide variety of digitization and assistance solutions currently available on the market to support the operators. Each of the offered solutions appears to take aspects of your specific challenges into account, but the actual benefit often does not become evident until after the introduction. Consequently, you run a serious risk of implementing assistance and digitization solutions that do not actually meet the needs of your production personnel. In such a case, the solutions will neither result in the increase in process efficiency you were hoping for, nor will they improve your employees’ satisfaction.
Orientation and customized concepts: Our “Efficiency through assistance” workshop:
We offer step-by-step assistance with the development of a customized solution to address the challenges that occur in your production processes.
Within the framework of the one-day workshop and based on the defined challenges, we develop a demand-based concept for a solution together with you and your production personnel. For this purpose, we analyze your production processes, discuss typical tasks of the personnel involved, and identify the most urgent challenges for all the parties involved.
This overview of the requirements constitutes the basis for the development of a common concept for a solution, which we systematically document and describe. Then we process these concepts by means of a development roadmap that contains the steps required to implement the concept, and we present it to you within the framework of a follow-up meeting.
Development and process support
The completed development roadmap provides you with a specific plan for further action which, if successfully implemented, ensures that both the employees’ satisfaction and the process efficiency increase. It describes the implementation of a solution idea that is tailor-made for your requirements and the challenges you face.
How will the plan be implemented? Which partners will be involved? Which of the available building blocks will be used? That is for you to decide!
If you would like us to, we will continuously assist you with the implementation of the concept as an independent consultant. We will help you find strong development partners, coordinate the collaboration, roll out the newly developed system in your production, and ensure a high level of acceptance among the potential users from an early stage.
Furthermore, you can also ask us to undertake the entire concept implementation and rollout. This way, you get everything from a single source and benefit from our competences in the fields of system design and software development in line with the respective working conditions.