IndUSTRy 4.0/SmaRT faCTORIeS
SICK’S SmaRT LIghT TOWeR ShedS LIghT On effICIenCIeS
parameters to communicate the real-time operational and maintenance status of machinery. The SICK Smart Light Tower exploits the benefits of IO-
S ReduCing downtime with Ai
more manufacturers are making progress and seeing results from connected, reliable and predictive processes. Predictive maintenance directly tracks an asset’s health, status and performance in ‘real-time’, to reduce costly and unexpected breakdowns and offers manufacturers the opportunity to plan maintenance around their own production schedule. When combined with aI, it often results in the use of digital twins, virtual
representations of physical factories or systems created to gather data from the Internet of Things and digital processes – when combined they enhance operations for more profitable and safer processes and automate assets monitoring tasks - the opportunities for this are only now being explored. Prior to the pandemic, Intoware designed WorkfloPlus, to turn existing paper-
based procedures into smart digital work-instructions that are followed by frontline factory workers using smartphones, tablets or wearable devices. In doing so it ensures that each process is executed correctly, audited and provides the necessary data analytics to ensure compliance. The value manufacturers receive from data analytics it provides, means that
reporting is far more detailed and very specific to each individual step, action, location, time-span or job, building up to a higher view to create trends, insights, analysis that could only be achieved previously via manual data entry – for one Intoware customer this realised a massive 200 per cent increase in productivity gains. WorkfloPlus is also built with Open aPI’s that connect the platform with third-
party systems such as eRP, PLm, CRm and asset management. as it is unlikely that WorkfloPlus will be the only digital ‘tool’ within industrial businesses, as work being carried out may require information held in existing systems which means they need to connect so data flows seamlessly, preventing data silos.
ConClusion
With the vaccine rollout increasing in pace, new questions about living with the pandemic are on the horizon, which means that the only certainty is how to live with change? To remain profitable and drive future growth during this uncertain time, manufacturers must unlock the data in their assets and processes to
support better decision making, or they may risk being left behind. If you want to calculate the value of your
connected frontline factory workforce, why not use this helpful ROI calculator?
https://www.intoware.com/news/roi- calculator
intoware
www.intoware.com
The SICK Smart Light Tower uses three operating modes:
signal light, level meter, or animation to communicate the run status of machines and alert operating personnel to maintenance tasks or emergency conditions. It can be fitted to a wide variety of fixed machinery, as well as on mobile vehicles such as agVs (automated guided vehicles) and amRs (autonomous mobile robots), offering the benefit of long-distance visibility to enable a management overview of several machines over a production or logistics hall. “Setting up a SICK Smart Light Tower is limited only by
your imagination,” explains Charlie Walker, SICK’s UK product specialist – Presence detection. “Where traditional light towers are restricted by a modular assembly of different colours at set positions, the SICK Smart Light Tower has 20 sets of Leds that can be programmed to display any of 21 colours, either illuminated continuously or flashing, strobing or pulsating at user-selectable frequencies. “IO-Link connectivity offers the cost saving benefits of
using unshielded cables and fewer input and output cards. The Smart Light Tower can be quickly integrated into the PLC program to display higher-level management and performance data.”
siCK
www.sick.co.uk
Link so that both machine builders and end users can easily program real-time displays and audible signals to support wide-ranging operational, maintenance, and management goals. The SICK Smart Light Tower can be easily installed via a single cable and an IO-Link master, and programmed through an intuitive graphical interface with a standard PC.
ICK has reimagined the industrial light stack as a versatile and customisable Smart Light Tower that can be easily set up with a wide range of
faCTORy&handLIngSOLUTIOnS | deCembeR/JanUaRy 2022 17
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