Advanced digital maintenance solution for remote access and remote management of machines and industrial appliances

The German engineering company is specialised in the consulting, planning and development of industrial systems, control components and software. They concentrate on embedded systems, automated process monitoring with Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 applications and software for industrial control systems, furthermore functional safety and industrial IT-security for their components. They developed a complete solution for remote access and remote management of decentralized plants and complete machine parks. The solution enables the user to remotely access machines and industrial appliances to reduce the need of service and maintenance experts on customer site. By the device, the company solved the problem, that after installation and commission of newly installed machines and equipment errors occur randomly in a high value, requiring assistance from the equipment supplier’s engineering or service team. The tool reduces the service demand on site (and corresponding costs for travelling, administration, etc.) by enabling the equipment to report its health status regularly. Also, the service team of the equipment supplier can remotely access the machine for remote diagnosis. This omits on-site service presence. Areas of application are process technology, transport and logistics, energy production and other civial applications. Examples: - Access to any compatible touch-panel/HMI (Human Machine Interface) for remote support, remote operation and remote diagnosis - Remote programming of PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) and embedded control devices - Maintenance and up-grading of software inside the equipment from a remote place - Back-up and restore of PLC and HMI configuration changes The relevant features are: - Enabling small and mid-sized companies to apply advanced digital maintenance solutions to their customers, accessible via cloud - Hardware (router), software and cloud provided in “one-stop-shopping” - Fully integrated system solution based on communication via LTE/4G and 5G - Stand-alone software solution available, without the need of a gateway or router by extending existing industrial PCs/controllers to act as a remote access software-gateway - Low initial cost and only small monthly operation fee - No need of any knowledge in details of industrial network as the devices come preconfectioned and pre-configured exactly meeting the client’s needs and show-up automatically in the device management software managed in the cloud configuration Competitive solutions are hardly understandable and accessible for unexperienced users. The provided tool is a “plug & play”-solution. It offers a software which features a clear design and comfort functions that doesn’t require any knowledge in network device administration. To expand the business internationally, the German engineering company is keen to establish the following types of partnerships with industry companies of all sizes: - Licensing agreement where the partner could license the technology - Commercial agreement with technical assistance where the German SME would provide support in installation of the technology Moreover, the company will offer his knowledge and technical advice and will assist and collaborate in the implementation of the technology according to client’s needs.