Can service be fun?
Has this happened to you? You’re standing in front of the plant that requires maintenance holding a stack of folders with operating instructions, checklists, and wiring diagrams. The wrench for inspection point 7 doesn’t fit, and you have to add this to your notes. A wearing part at inspection point 15 is already defective and needs to be replaced more frequently, and this also has to be logged. Were the bottle formats changed? You write down the data, compare it with your checklist, and reset the machine. The maintenance process is followed by detailed documentation. Photos you took on your work cellphone still have to be downloaded to the PC…
It’s almost as though you can talk to the system – a genuinely smart solution.
With HeiMAX, it flows ...
And now imagine that you’re holding a handy tablet that contains all the data relating to the plant. You click each inspection point one after the other. The necessary information appears for each one, telling you what you need to pay attention to for this particular point, what spare part or special tool you need, maybe even accompanied by a photo, audio recording, or video.
The app guides you through the entire process. Bit by bit, you click through the inspection points, check them off the list on the touch display, add comments if necessary, and take photos or videos directly with the device. Finally, everything is finished on site – it’s straightforward, practical, and uncomplicated.
After maintenance
So what about the tedious documentation? We’re not kidding: The software does it for you. Once maintenance is done, all you have to do is connect to your company’s higher-level system (for example, SAP, ERP). Your updated data is fed into the system and a log is generated and automatically forwarded to the relevant departments. The higher-level system evaluates and optimizes everything based on your updated information. Did you add an inspection point or discover points that were unnecessary? These experiences are evaluated in the development and service departments. With the next software release, the software assistant is updated. The tool learns along with you and assists you and your colleagues with your routine tasks.
HeiMAX – the system thinks along with you
Is it time to service a machine? In the client-server version, the higher-level software’s ticket system automatically detects when service is due and triggers the related subsystems. The necessary content – including checklists and all the relevant data on the machine’s individual inspection points – are automatically loaded on the maintenance tablets. The warehouse receives a message that certain wearing parts need to be kept in stock or ordered. “We’ve already developed solutions for customers where, in the event of a defective component, they can check the machine manufacturer’s online shop directly to find out whether the component is available and when it can be delivered,” explains Michael Messerschmidt, head of Software Development at HEITEC.
In the standalone version, the tablet PC connects directly to the machine and automatically reads out important parameters like wear data, the motor’s operating time, and the bottle formats for feeder systems.
Quickly optimized – available to all
At the next inspection, is it your colleague who’s logging on to the mobile terminal? Thanks to secure user administration, he accesses his English account and works on inspection points that are still pending. He also automatically has all the information you entered during the last service. He can easily learn about the machine point by point. Based on your tips from the last service, he’s already prepared. He takes along the part ordered from the warehouse as well as the wrench that you needed the last time. Or he studies the photos that you took to document a somewhat tricky filter replacement.