IoT gateway and Industry 4.0 application

Use Case

Continuous monitoring

Manufacturing

The challenge Blickle has always prided itself on the superior quality of its wheels and castors. To further enhance this quality with modern technology, the company decided to migrate its production processes to Industry 4.0 standards. This planned transition should have minimal impact on the three-shift production operation, while maintaining flexibility and openness for future digitalization initiatives. The solution Blickle IT developed a concept to enable a sustainable and gradual transformation. At the heart of the strategy is edbic, which enables condition monitoring. Acting as a central data hub, edbic seamlessly extracts data from the machines, transfers it to the ERP system and provides full production transparency. The result With the implementation of edbic, machine data no longer reaches IT incomplete or delayed. Immediate data analysis enables rapid problem resolution. Automatic punching presses are monitored to determine output results, missing parts, quantities and more. By eliminating most of the Excel lists previously used, edbic has significantly streamlined operations. In polyurethane production, edbic identifies and corrects problems, contributing to Blickle's high quality castors and wheels. In addition, edbic is now being used beyond production, facilitating connections to payment providers in the web shop and establishing a communication link with SAP. Outlook for the future Blickle plans to further refine the system by using machine data comparison for predictive maintenance. In addition, the company is considering implementing the compacer IoT gateway to take communication between machines and the ERP system to a new level of automation.

Use Case

IoT gateway and Industry 4.0 application

Industry 4.0, Manufacturing

The challenge: BURKHARDT+WEBER is renowned for its expertise in large machining centres. Headquartered in Reutlingen, Germany, the company has a global presence and supplies its products to customers around the world who place a premium on quality. For 130 years, BURKHARDT+WEBER has focused on developing state-of-the-art production solutions for the demanding machining of steel, cast iron and titanium components. The development of these machining centres is the collaborative work of interdisciplinary teams, and all essential components, as well as in-house developments, are manufactured within the company. The compacer IoT solution, built on the edbic platform, is planned for future integration into BURKHARDT+WEBER machining centres. The installation of the compacer IoT gateway enables data collection from the machine's control system. In the long term, BURKHARDT+WEBER machines will offer a wide range of data that can be examined in real time to provide a detailed overview of the machine's condition and efficiency on a dashboard. The solution: An IoT hub will process the collected data, enabling a variety of assessments and ensuring that the operator is kept informed at all times. With machines connected to the compactor solution, condition monitoring is possible, paving the way for the implementation of predictive maintenance. With this approach, BURKHARDT+WEBER enables its customers to successfully implement upcoming digital transformation projects within their production processes.

Use Case

Continuous monitoring

Airport, Logistics

The challenge: A leading provider of ground services and cargo handling wanted to offer comprehensive solutions to the aviation industry. To drive innovation in key areas such as service, quality and reliability, the company wanted to improve visibility and communication through integration and networking across departments. Monitoring irregularities in process flows was critical to optimizing ground handling services. Working with multiple service providers and their disparate IT systems, which varied between airports and internal departments, was a challenge, while maintaining uninterrupted operations throughout the project. The solution: This multi-stage project used edpem, a process event monitoring tool, as the primary solution for monitoring ground services. To ensure fast aircraft turnaround times, the critical path in the process flow needed to be measured and monitored, especially when processes were transferred between suppliers. edpem recorded multiple events, including parking, disembarking completion, cleaning, catering, fuelling, crew boarding and loading completion. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) were tracked and monitored, and causes of delays identified and improved. Ground handling services were optimized by assessing service duration and process flow irregularities. In addition to monitoring traditional EDI processes, visualized reports improved reporting efficiency and facilitated faster decision-making. Key results included reduced turnaround times and fewer disruptions to flight operations. Our client: A major European airport provides ground services to approximately 265 million passengers annually and manages 4.6 million tonnes of global air cargo. Several warehouses are IATA CEIV certified for pharmaceutical logistics. In 2019, its 64,000 employees operated at 300 airports in 47 countries on six continents.