The pandemic has given many a digital solution a significant boost. Video conferencing, for example, has mutated into an indispensable means of communication and the topic of remote maintenance has increasingly popped up in a very prominent position on the service portals of industrial companies. If the service technician is not allowed to go out due to the coronavirus, he has to be connected "somehow". The greater the expected consequences of a machine failure, the louder the calls for rapid assistance became. Remote service, which is often praised as a technology of the future, had already found its way into machine tool factories well before coronavirus. The question of what has happened during the pandemic and whether the now familiar digital service solution can even inspire the willingness for new collaborations in the sense of Industry 4.0 therefore seems much more important than its spread.
ervice and maintenance are quality aspects that will play a special role at METAV 2022 in Düsseldorf (March 8 to 11), including in the Quality Area set up especially for this purpose. The special exhibition offers visitors an overview of the entire range of measuring and testing technology as well as quality management and evaluation systems. "Only those who can reliably and consistently supply their customers with high-quality products will be able to survive on the market in the long term," emphasizes Dr. Wilfried Schäfer, Executive Director of the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders' Association), organizer of METAV 2022. A recent survey of the approximately 250 exhibitors registered for METAV 2022 at that time confirms that remote maintenance is largely part of day-to-day business.
Remote solutions must be simple and uncomplicated
This is also the case at Röders GmbH, a manufacturer of high-precision milling and grinding machines from Soltau in Lower Saxony. In the experience of Dr. Oliver Gossel, authorized signatory and sales manager for mechanical engineering, there is a high level of acceptance for remote maintenance among customers, most of whom take a very pragmatic view of the issue. "Remote maintenance helps to save time and money and to eliminate faults, whether they are caused by operating errors or faults in the machine. As a rule, help can be provided quickly and efficiently." However, Gossel is also convinced that a remote solution must be as uncomplicated and easy to use as possible. "We can expand our own PC-based control system, which is very easy to operate, effectively and cost-effectively to include remote maintenance with a classic system."
The standard solution is preferred by over 90 percent of customers, says Gossel. Individual solutions, which are mainly requested by large companies, are possible, but require more effort. During the set-up phase of a machine, everything is documented in detail and the necessary settings are prepared in a special IT environment. This ensures that everything works immediately in an emergency, both for the user and for Röders' service department. The company relies on solutions from Teamviewer for online collaboration and remote support: a name that is frequently mentioned by METAV exhibitors. The connectivity experts from Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg specialize in cloud-based technologies and provide tools for remote access as well as for data analysis and support.
