Industrial Automation Magazine India

Using AR experiences companies can build a library of training material  

Published on : Friday 01-07-2022

Vikas Khanvelkar, Managing Director, DesignTech Systems Pvt Ltd. 
The pandemic is nearly behind us, but the effects on industry will last longer. What are three digitalisation strategies that companies are working on based on lessons of the last two years?

Digitalisation was an imminent paradigm, however pandemic accelerated that process, making companies comprehend the value of digitalisation with greater emphasis and significance. The key three digitalisation strategies and technologies the companies are looking to invest in are:
 
a. Remote monitoring of manufacturing plant operations: during the peak pandemic, the people from the IT industry could still work from home using SaaS or cloud technologies. Manufacturing is still a traditional process where physical presence of the manpower is necessary. With pandemic, the workmen/women could not go to the manufacturing plants, thus bringing manufacturing operations to a near standstill. Industrial Internet-of-things or IIoT can help companies monitor and manage their plant operations remotely. With the help of sensors, and advanced analytics tools or IIoT platforms, the companies can read the machine data, understand their performance, anticipate the functioning issues red flagged by the systems, to ensure timely action resulting in the maximum uptime of the machines and greater productivity. Coupled with augmented reality, the servicemen can even access expert’s guidance or view digital experiences to understand the machines maintenance, operations, repairs, troubleshooting or servicing protocols and processes. With these technologies, the manufacturing plants can still manage to operate optimally with minimum on-ground personnel.
 
a. Augmented Reality: augmented reality finds applications in various functions; may it be product marketing and promotions, product demonstrations for the clients, maintenance and repairs assistance, training and education to many more for various industries. Augmented reality helps companies build rich, detailed, semi-immersive and interactive digital experiences that can be used to showcase new products, launch them virtually, take the prospects through the products right from aesthetics to the finer details and functioning. Companies right from jewellery, automobiles, to gadgets manufacturers can use this tool for developing immersive product experiences. In case of large machineries or systems, which companies display at various industrial trade shows and expositions, the companies can now demonstrate these systems to their visitors at the show using AR or can even share it with them digitally, without worrying about the logistics of transporting the machine or even meeting people physically when it’s not possible. Using AR experiences companies can build a library of training material which can help their staff learn about products or systems commissioning, operations, troubleshooting and maintenance. This can be used by manufacturing companies to train their plant workers on how to use the machine, or can also be used to train servicing people who service systems such as Air Conditioners for individual clients. AR as an enhanced digital experience makes for an impactful and detailed communication approach.
 
a. SaaS: using software as a service has been around for quite some time. But due to the pandemic, people were working from home, which really broadened its spectrum of usage. Making the right software tools and platforms available for people to collaborate, work on, build things, from anyplace and anywhere was key. Right from team meetings, webinars, to writing codes and data analytics, software tools and various digital platforms saw a boost in usage and consumption. Even the small and medium size businesses, who did not have a big IT infrastructure, could benefit from availing these tools and services at a monthly or annual affordable price point.
 
In times to come, we will see further evolution of these technologies and their usage. The pandemic has shown us the importance of preparedness, flexibility, adaption and adoption of the technologies that can help the industry stay afloat and resilient by managing work and processes digitally and thereby minimising the level of professional impact caused by unprecedented events.
 
For so many Indian companies who are not fully into Industrial Revolution 3.0, is there any urgency to move towards digitalisation?
Yes, definitely. The pandemic has shown us that the unanticipated events can come upon us without any forewarning and can literally bring our entire operations to a standstill. So the urgency of going digital has never been greater. With digitalisation, the companies have the means and tools to monitor, measure, and manage their work processes remotely. The access of data and tools allows the team members to carry on the tasks from home or locations other than office. The sooner the companies invest in building their IT and digital infrastructure, the better they will be positioned to carry out the work in challenging situations.
 
For many companies, the challenge is in moving from pilots to deployment at scale. What is the way forward?
Sometimes when the scale of deployment is big, it gives people cold feet in a sense that they worry if the deployment will be as successful as the pilot. The pilot project is usually small and manageable. When it comes to deployment on a larger scale, the worry of making it successful becomes a hindrance. But you have to trust the technology and the people who will be implementing it. If the team who is going to implement the project is well experienced, they understand your work processes and imperatives, and have proficiency over their technology, then they should be able to deploy the technology on a larger scale and ensure that the client companies derive the highest benefits and returns from it.
 
Also, the second consideration is finance. Usually a pilot project or benchmarking experience is conducted to understand if the technology being considered is suitable for your area of work and applications. If it is found suitable, then its adoption might be a financial stretch for the companies. But in this case, the companies have to sit with their vendors and understand the value they can derive out of it in terms of RoI, time and cost saving, and if the technology is able to meet their desired goals and objectives. If the technology that is being deployed is efficient and is increasing the overall effectiveness and productivity of the company, then it is well worth the investment.
 
Last but not the least, the general tendency to be apprehensive about change is a basic human factor that prevents us from transitioning from the set patterns to the new, even if the new theoretically or even practically seems better. The uncertainty, the learning curve, or the general comfortability with the existing processes should be overcome if the new technology is an upgrade in every way and will help your company remain competitive and resilient.
 
There is so much work going on in the area of Data Analytics. What about the effort to get real-time data directly from machines?
In IIoT or the Industrial Internet-of-Things, the sensors actually get real-time data from the machines directly. The data is gathered and through intelligent sorting, a dashboard can be created to provide the concise synopsis of the machine working information. For example, the machine maintenance, output, can all be monitored. Functioning issues can also be red flagged beforehand such as lesser oil, high temperature, increased vibration, servicing due, etc. This helps in reducing the machine down time and increasing the manufacturing output and productivity.
 
While real time data is ideal for monitoring, the challenge is to continuously get the voluminous real time data and analyse the same. This is expensive, needs larger infrastructure and also needs a large amount of superfast internet bandwidth. A good optimum solution is batch processing and processing the data over fixed intervals like every 15 minutes, every one hour or twice a day, etc. As this depends on how fast the data changes at the site and how critical is the time to monitor. In this process data is monitored and sampling is done and is monitored at set intervals. Intervals can also vary during the day, e.g., it can be every one hour during the day and every three hours in the night, etc. Such solutions are most cost effective and hence are widely used.
 
Digital transformation is deemed to be necessary for companies to become part of the big global supply chains. Are there already such requirements by big buyers as a condition to become their suppliers?
Some of the digital solutions are necessary for vendor’s registration and on-boarding as suppliers. It helps the OEMs track the data and processes with better effectiveness. For example, SCM (supply chain management) solutions or ERP (enterprise resource planning) solutions are required to streamline the workflows and processes. OEMs have a lot of suppliers and vendors scattered geographically. The only way they can track the inventory, deliveries, shipments or other back-end processes and documentation is through these solutions. They bring more efficiency to the system. Large OEMs normally mandate their raw materials suppliers to adopt certain standardised digital processes and templates.
 
How could Digital Transformation help companies to cope with the supply constraints of recent origin – for example electronic chips, for example other shortages arising out of political events in Europe?
The companies can analyse the demand and supply digitally. For example, if more chips are being ordered in Asia, but a larger chunk of deliveries is being sent to Europe, then the companies can realign their logistics and transports to manage the need where it is higher. They can also analyse and work out different routes to circumvent the logistical delays or hurdles. For example, if the shipping cargo is facing delays, then air routes could be explored if applicable. E-commerce websites are basically doing just that; managing deliveries from across the globe from any place to anywhere.
 
Digital technologies help companies to source from many vendors in different parts of the world so that they de-risk themselves from the effects of geographic political turmoil.
 
Vikas Khanvelkar has a rich experience of over 30 years in CAD/CAM industry. He has acquired his Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics & Telecomm) from College of Engineering Pune (COEP). He has also pursued his Masters in Business Administration and specialised in Marketing.
 
Prior to starting his own business DesignTech Systems Ltd in 1998, M. Khanvelkar was associated with HCL Infosystems for 9 years, where he was heading CAD/CAM Division as a Country Manager for 5 years. He has always worked on introducing the latest technologies in the Indian Market right from the concept stage, be it CNC Technology; Variable speed DC, AC and Servo Drives; or CAD/CAM Technology.
 
In early 1980s when CNC Technology was just getting introduced in India, he worked on promoting CNC Machine Tools and CNC Controller Retrofit Systems to successfully convert conventional Machine Tool user’s to accept and move to CNC. In mid to late Eighties when variable speed DC, AC and servo drives were just coming on the scene, he was involved in promoting industrial automation and control systems based on variable speed drives and programmable logic controllers for cement plants, printing machinery, rubber calender machines, etc., in wide industrial segments.
 
In the early Nineties when CAD/CAM/CAE Technology was being evaluated by large Automotive and Defense Customers, Mr Khanvelkar worked on promoting these solutions based on HP Unix Workstations. This made him grow to head HCL/HP – CAD/CAM division nationally.
 
After promoting DesignTech in 1998, he has pioneered use of CAD/CAM/CAE software solutions in SMEs across all industrial segments all over India. He extensively worked and supported converting conventional 2D based designers to move to 3D modeling based design solutions and also popularized use of FEA solution amongst many of them.
 
He also propagated the use of CAD/CAM/CAE software in Educational Institutes and popularised CAD/CAM as a career option among Mechanical Engineering students. He is regularly invited as a guest faculty in many Management and Engineering Institutes to enrich the students on the aspects of Management, Entrepreneurship and Technological aspects. He has also delivered lectures on technology and management in various events and conferences all over India.
 
(The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)