Operator-independent machine as answer to tight labor market
Are you struggling with a shortage of experienced operators? Your machine can be part of the solution. As a custom machine builder, we helped several manufacturing companies make their machines operator-independent. With a new machine or a retrofit of an existing installation. In this article, we outline the possibilities for your company.
Your experienced operators are retiring or choosing other challenges. While replacements are harder to find in an increasingly tight labor market.
That outflow means that a lot of knowledge about your machine (fleet) is lost. Because no one knows that installation better than he or she who works with it every day.
That difficult influx, in turn, means that a replacement is not immediately ready. And if a replacement is found at all, that a lot is immediately expected of him or her. In the short term, that new operator must operate and maintain a machine that has been in use for decades.
Consequence for that colleague: sky-high expectations and a high workload. Anything but an ideal start.
Consequence for your business: an uncertain factor in production and lower returns.
Part of the answer: a sophisticated hiring policy, proper training and adequate time for handovers. Easier said than done.
But your machine itself can also be part of the answer. Making your installations more operator-independent solves many of the challenges you face today.
Operator-independent translates into a machine that is easier to operate. And therefore not a black box that only your experienced colleagues can work with or get the most out of.
Operator-independent also means easier maintenance. Through clearer visualization, with or with a remote support functionality.
In summary, your machine becomes accessible to a wider audience. Even non-technical people could work with it.
We outline options in three areas: design, automation and maintenance.
1. Operator-independent design
Better operator interface
The complexity of your machine is under the hood. The operator interface, on the other hand, should just be very simple and understandable. Consider better visualization and intuitive operation so that even inexperienced workers are able to operate the machine.
Machine gives the lead
Easier operation is good; a machine that takes over some of that operation itself is better. Make it easier on your operators with a machine that sets itself up. By using, among other things
- digitization
- smart sensors
- fine adjustment
- …
2. Customized
What complex manual tasks do your current operators perform to keep the machine running? We are going to automate those. We do this by combining your process knowledge with our electro-mechanical expertise as machine builders.
This provides a double benefit.
- Your machine becomes accessible to inexperienced operators.
- At the same time, the customized machine means a huge competitive advantage.
In this step, we secure the knowledge of your company as well as that of your operators. Together, we translate the process knowledge your people possess from years of working with that machine into a practical solution. We convert that baking experience into the design and control of that machine.
3. Maintenance
Your current operators know the machine inside out. They have the knowledge and confidence to perform maintenance work and trouble shooting. But does the same apply to your new, inexperienced colleague?
Better visualization, part two
A first step: better visualization. But not with a focus on controls, but on what’s going on under the hood. A clear interface gives a view of exactly what that machine is doing: temperature, efficiency, pressure, notifications about maintenance….
This way, your operator has the info he or she needs at any time.
Remote support
A second step: remote support. Because 80% of the problems can be solved remotely and within a few hours.
Result: simplified maintenance and improved availability. And on top of that:
- Economical because no travel costs for service technicians
- Quick start of troubleshooting
- Secure remote access via e.g. VPN
Remote access allows us as a machine builder to take over your installation remotely. So your operator can request our help by giving us access to use the HMI remotely.
Allowing a third party to remotely control a machine obviously also requires specific attention to safety and cybersecurity. In order to continue to guarantee safety for people machine and company, this scenario cannot just happen. It requires specific circumstances as well as conditions to keep everything safe.
Even a relatively small step in allowing limited remote control of machines, is a big step forward for many end users.
Conclusion?
Customized machine building, specific to your needs, is one of the solutions to operator-independent machines. And certainly remote support means a big step forward in practice.