Saving Know-How of Experienced Machine Operators with Revolution Pi

Many companies face the challenge of experienced employees taking their accumulated knowledge into well-deserved retirement. This loss weighs particularly heavily when machine and plant operators know their machines inside out. After all, if you know a plant like the back of your hand, you operate it much more efficiently. Operating data shows that OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) drops by up to 30 percent with inexperienced personnel.

With the RevPi, plants can be equipped with additional sensors to detect and measure anomalies. There is no need to intervene in existing control systems to collect data. Additionally, the Revolution Pi can also be used to simulate manual interventions on physical controls such as push buttons, speed controls, keyboard inputs, or HMI and their possible settings.

In printing plants, paper runs over an enormous number of rollers, cylinders, and bearings. Here, defective parts can quickly lead to fires with devastating consequences – knowledge about the equipment and its maintenance is therefore crucial. Those who have spent decades in production know every part of their system. Even the smallest acoustic changes catch attention; placing a hand in the right spot reveals unusual heating or machine vibrations and indicates which part is causing problems. Further checks and measures then take place directly at the correct position. Experienced personnel not only minimize unplanned downtime due to malfunctions or safety risks but also shorten lengthy fault analyses.

The Solution With the Revolution Pi

If this experience cannot be passed on, it should be digitally replicated: Without interfering with existing controls, additional temperature and vibro-acoustic sensors provide similar insights. Collected data is evaluated by Revolution Pi and displayed on a dashboard. Depending on the software used, alarms are triggered via threshold detection or anomaly detection. The Revolution Pi can then operate optical or acoustic signals or provide digital alerts via email, push message, or old-school SMS.

Knowledge Management: Digitally Preserving Experience with RevPis

Preserving knowledge is important, but unfortunately not always possible when employees retire or change companies. Often, employers are under time pressure to digitize valuable experience before it is lost. With its variety of applications, the Revolution Pi is becoming an all-purpose tool in the battle to preserve decades of know-how.