Translated by Jessica Dolan
Corona has greatly changed the way we live and work together. German small and medium-sized enterprises are now facing up to the many new challenges of production in the Corona crisis. Over the past few days, I have had many discussions with SMEs about their most pressing challenges. From these discussions, technologies can be derived that can help manufacturing companies to become more efficient in the current situation.
First of all, some good news: The talks have put me in a very positive mood. I had expected a very tense atmosphere - instead, I am impressed by the hands-on "we can do it" mentality. Sure, nobody is currently doing "business as usual". Here is an insight: Many companies have introduced shift operation in areas of the company aside from production as well, so that employees work together in smaller teams. The aim of this measure is to ensure that in the event of an employee falling ill and the resulting quarantine of direct colleagues, not all of them are absent.
However, this measure leads to teams no longer working together in the previous constellation. Employees with the skills required at that moment are not always on site; therefore solutions are needed to bridge the gap and resources must be used efficiently. One question that arose was: How can the IT/OT landscape be made functional and, if necessary, quickly operable so that production can be maintained with less manpower?
In this article, I would like to present 3 technology examples which I have encountered in the past through technology monitoring at ROKIN and which can provide a remedy here.
TechBite1: Management of the IT/OT Infrastructure
Operation and backup of IT components in OT infrastructures of manufacturing companies is the goal of Ondeso's software. It allows the user to generate live vital values of the IT system landscape and thus to manage it centrally and uniformly. In this way, an overview can be easily maintained, even with reduced personnel. In addition, decisions on the prioritisation of interventions in the IT infrastructure to maintain its functionality can be made on the basis of data.
TechBite2: Automated detection of the IT/OT infrastructure
In order to manage the IT/OT infrastructure in a meaningful way, it is necessary to know what exactly exists. This task is performed by the software from qbilon. A live image of the company's IT landscape is generated via an automated recording. This enables the system-critical infrastructure to be identified. Thus, the use of resources can be allocated accordingly to prevent failures in the most important areas.
TechBite3: Rapid prototyping of apps in production thanks to low code
Using so-called low-code platforms, such as those from Tulip, production applications - for example for data analysis or work instructions - can be set up in a short time and without programming knowledge. Tailored to the company's own production processes, these applications can be used to support employees in their tasks and also in other activities not directly related to their job.
Excited about these and other technologies and seeking inspiration for innovation in your own company? Our AI algorithms continuously search the rising flood of information for the latest technologies - especially for the needs of industry. In our TechSheets you will not only find technology examples on a specific topic in the context of Industry 4.0, but also manufacturer information, studies and much more.
.jpg)
