Heilbronn, Germany — Illig Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG introduced Illig Assist, a digital service platform, to support its customers on the way to Industry 4.0.
Illig systems already are equipped with controls for calculating machine parameters, guiding setup systems and connecting to local networks and databases to query production-related data. Illig Assist complements these digital systems and helps the machine operator as a learning component to cope with occurring events in the daily workflow.
"In the past, companies relied on notes and the 'tribal knowledge' of experienced individuals. The new application simplifies knowledge transfer through a clear and interactive graphic user interface," according to an Illig news release.
Messages from both connected machines and the machine operators are recorded and displayed chronologically. The system automatically provides a visual localization of events and offers detailed suggestions from a solution database.
Operators can contribute their own suggestions and enrich them with videos and images. An integrated comment function allows users to evaluate proposed solutions. Users can also view and manage shift reports, maintenance information and digital manuals.
"This approach serves to build up a permanent knowledge database, prevents the loss of knowledge due to the departure of experienced machine operators, and accelerates training for new employees," the release said.
In addition to asset management and chat function per machine, Illig Assist provides rights management for creating and reading comments and other information. Depending on the user's rights, the system offers insight into the machine with its functional sub-blocks as well as an overview of the entire line, factory or worldwide locations.
For more information, go to www.illig.com.