Increase Service Efficiency with Bitnamic CONNECT and EquipmentCloud® from Kontron AIS: The All-Round Solution for Mecha

Pubilshed on December 9, 2020 From Vanessa Kluge

Technical innovations allow increasingly powerful and complex machines to be sold worldwide. However, once a machine has been sold, access to the machine established during commissioning is usually cut off and there is a loss of important machine data, that would ensure a better understanding of the production process for machine operators and manufacturers. The cloud-based, agile IIoT service platform EquipmentCloud® was developed to counteract this trend. It collects, analyzes, and processes valuable system-related data in order to develop new digital services and improve internal and external processes.

With the help of the various user-friendly modules, all relevant information relating to the machines and systems concerned is made available to solve common use cases and the associated problems quickly and over the long term. Service efficiency is a top priority here for providing customers with a first-class application experience that turns them into loyal and happy users. At the same time, the aim is to reduce the workload on the company’s own service team.

  • Monitoring: The monitoring of machine data is ensured thanks to systemic evaluation and push notifications for alarms, status, process values and faults. 
  • Workflows: The combination of digital checklists and milestones in the workflows module provides an immediate overview of the processes that are currently running. Automatic notifications remind you of pending checklist tasks and significantly support the process. The clear assignment, including embedded due dates, enables standardized and transparent process optimization, both online and offline.
  • DeviceManagement: The DeviceManagement module allows IoT gateways to be managed and continuously monitored in the field.  Firmware updates and applications can be safely rolled out as docker containers remotely across entire fleets of machines and faults that occur can be detected at an early stage due to health monitoring.
  • RemoteAssistance: The bitnamic CONNECT remote maintenance solution is used here. It offers support with service and maintenance, process monitoring and training. Problems with machines can be solved faster with direct expert assistance from a distance, reducing travel costs and avoiding long downtimes.

Access all bitnamic CONNECT functions directly from EquipmentCloud®

The remote maintenance software bitnamic Connect is integrated into EquipmentCloud® as a RemoteAssistance module. This enables service calls between customers or technicians who are facing a complex problem and external experts who provide troubleshooting assistance during an interactive video conference.
Live support is opened by the expert in the EquipmentCloud® after the technician has submitted a service request via smartphone or tablet. A smooth transition from EquipmentCloud® to bitnamic CONNECT takes place using an appropriate interface.
As soon as the expert has initiated the call, the service technician receives a QR code, which he uses to dial into the session with a mobile device of his choice. Thanks to the audiovisual connection, the expert can now immediately get a full overview of the situation. Useful functions such as a whiteboard, which can be used to create and annotate screenshots, also provide support for problem solving.
All information, data or documents generated or exchanged during the video conference are transferred and stored by EquipmentCloud® via an encrypted API. As a result, the database is constantly being kept up to date, which specifically promotes the inter-departmental exchange of knowledge. In the event of recurring errors, service technicians can now check out the situation in EquipmentCloud® and tackle the problem on their own. 

bitnamic CONNECT and EquipmentCloud® – the ideal combination

EquipmentCloud® offers machine manufacturers and operators many advantages: They learn more about their machines and can avoid unproductive downtimes by solving problems quickly. Processes can be optimized by deepening your own knowledge. The holistic information database saves additional costs and increases customer loyalty at the same time. Without compromising on direct, straightforward communication between the service technician and the expert, the RemoteAssistance module allows you to avoid high travel costs and significantly increase service efficiency.

Would you like to learn more about EquipmentCloud® AND how it works together with bitnamic CONNECT? Request a live demo now!