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In a knowledge industry like ours, it is not obvious for companies to have all the necessary technical expertise in-house. Especially not now that we are taking steps towards predictive and prescriptive maintenance. Therefore, there has long been a trend towards outsourcing technical knowledge. The advent of Industrie 4.0 has only made these technical issues more complex and thus the need greater. The experts at Siemens Digital Industries Services guide you through the entire value chain and strengthen your own production.
Since joining Siemens in 91, Kris Kenis has seen maintenance evolve considerably. “Service is about maximising the output of production at the lowest possible cost. That playing field is still the same as in primeval times when I started, but thanks to Industrie 4.0 we can fill it out differently, smarter,” Kenis says with a wink. Today, he is responsible for Digital Industries Services. “And that is necessary because the market demands more flexibility, quality and efficiency than ever before. Digitalisation can fulfil that promise but then you need people with knowledge of IT structures and OT application knowledge. Not an obvious one for our client. Hence, outsourcing of high-level maintenance activities and co-creation in the context of ‘Proof of Value’ digitisation projects are picking up considerably.”
Kris Kenis: “Service is about maximising the output of production at the lowest possible cost. Thanks to digitalisation, we can fulfil that in a smarter way.”
And that applies to end users and machine builders alike. They too cannot miss this train of digitalisation if they want to continue designing and producing competitive machines and plants. Moreover, the bar is being raised for machine builders. “The end customer not only wants a machine, he also wants its performance and quality to be guaranteed. We can help realise this digitally, right from the concept and design phase. In addition to traditional support, we can commission automation products virtually on a digital twin. This significantly reduces the time-to-market. Once in operation, we help the machine builder optimise production performance and its ‘state of health’ in real time using data analytics services (DAS).“
Siemens' service portfolio covers the entire life cycle of an industrial automation product, system and installation.
Services today therefore clearly encompass a lot more. Kenis: “The classic interpretation in the past consisted of corrective maintenance. The customer had a breakdown and we rushed to fix it. The new digital possibilities enable us to look further. Now we can already predict fairly accurately when a machine is going to break down. By adding techniques like artificial intelligence and machine learning to that, we not only know what happens when but also why. This is the ultimate advice a customer needs. Prescriptive maintenance, in other words. That's what Industry 4.0 can mean for services.”
The market demands more flexibility, quality and efficiency than ever before. Digitisation can deliver on that promise but then you need people with knowledge of IT structures and OT application knowledge.
Siemens divides its industrial services into retrofit & modernisation, field & maintenance, repair services, spare parts services, support & consulting, and training & digital services. In doing so, it covers the entire life cycle of an industrial automation product, system and installation. Kenis: “The training segment has been moving fast recently. On the one hand, large companies are knocking on the door to get tailor-made training for their own installations. A good example is the cooperation with Volvo and Odisee University College. The Volvo operators learn to master the processes to perfection on a true digital twin of the production environment at Volvo, which increases efficiency. Odisee University College makes their location available, and in return they can students also get to know the technology” On the other hand, Siemens is betting on remote training and remote access, especially now in corona times. This allows customers to stay on site and still get instructions on how to do things. Siemens also provides remote platforms such as cRSP (common Remote Service Platform) and Sinema Remote. At BASF in Antwerp, for example, all 350 devices controlled by Simatic PLCs are remotely monitored around the clock via TIA Portal, cybersecurity and diagnostics included.
As an extension of these remote solutions, Sitrain Access, an online training platform, was recently launched. “Via this platform, we make knowledge modularly available in a mix of video tutorials, presentations, webinars ... You can immerse yourself wherever and whenever you want in the modules that are interesting for your range of tasks. With this, we are responding to the mentality of the young people now seeping into the industry. They want instant help and to brush up their knowledge in a flexible and modular way. Knowledge they can also immediately test virtually with digital twins,” Kenis said. “It is important that companies remain committed to digital transformation. Because of the economic downturn by Covid-19 however, many budgets are going into the fridge. But this is the time to accelerate against the competition,” concludes Kenis.
