Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Machine Advisor maximizes the value of data for OEMs

HANNOVER, Germany—Amid rapid digitization of manufacturing, machine builders (OEMs—original equipment manufacturers) need to provide a better service to improve their customers’ agility and market responsiveness.

Schneider Electric, a leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, has announced EcoStruxure Machine Advisor, a platform that allows OEMs to track, monitor and fix machines remotely, and pass significant benefits to operators.

Real-time operational awareness is a competitive advantage
Driven by rapid adoption of connectivity, mobility, cloud computing and big data analytics, digitization in manufacturing has huge potential. According to a 2015 McKinsey survey, by 2025 digitization will reduce time to market by 20 to 25 per cent, optimize expertise by 45 to 55 per cent, and reduce machine downtime by up to 50 per cent.

In this ultra-competitive environment, OEMs need solutions that will improve the connectivity of their machines, giving them real-time operational awareness, and access to their machines in order to optimize their operational efficiency while developing new business opportunities—such as within their services business. These benefits need to be passed on to operators, while guaranteeing safety and data security.

Maximizing the value of data with EcoStruxure Machine Advisor
Building on its deep expertise in the OEMs segment Schneider Electric introduces EcoStruxure Machine Advisor to offer new levels of efficiencies and growth by turning data into key insights for machine builders.

“With EcoStruxure Machine Advisor, OEMs gain real-time remote access to their machines, allowing them to add and modify new services to each installed machine at any production site worldwide,” explains Ali Haj-Fraj, machine solutions senior vice-president at Schneider Electric.EcoStruxure.

Machine Advisor provides a fully connected framework for reliable machine operation through three key functionalities:

• Track: OEMs can visualize the location of all their machines, with real-time access to documentation and history, such as bill of materials, manuals, maintenance logs and task management schedules;
• Monitor: The cloud-based software allows OEMs to collect and visualize machine data in real time, giving a comprehensive analysis of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), widgets for performance against key KPIs (key performance indicators) and other trends, and dashboards to monitor machine availability and output quality;
• Fix: A service enabled by a mobile app to facilitate maintenance and operations with contextual information, step-by-step procedures and remote expertise by leveraging augmented reality. Furthermore, Fix provides remote access to the engineering software in the cloud enabling service technicians to use “Software-as-a-Service” to always have the right version and libraries at hand.

While these functionalities allow OEMs to improve customer satisfaction and innovate with new service offers, EcoStruxure Machine Advisor also gives immediate benefits to operators by leveraging the EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor app.

EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor puts real-time information at their fingertips, whenever and wherever it is needed. The custom application improves operational efficiency with augmented reality, enabling operators to superimpose the current data and virtual objects onto a cabinet, machine, or plant.

EcoStruxure Machine Advisor is part of the Apps, Analytics & Services portfolio of the Schneider Electric IoT-enabled architecture: EcoStruxure Machine.

EcoStruxure is Schneider Electric’s open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform. EcoStruxure delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability, and connectivity for its customers. EcoStruxure leverages advancements in IoT, mobility, sensing, cloud, analytics, and cybersecurity to deliver Innovation at Every Level. This includes Connected Products, Edge Control, and Apps, Analytics & Services.

EcoStruxure has been deployed in 480,000+ sites, with the support of 20,000+ system integrators and developers, connecting over 1.6 million assets under management through 40+ digital services.

EcoStruxure Machine Advisor pilots
EcoStruxure Machine Advisor has been piloted successfully with many OEMs in Europe and Asia. Leadermac, a manufacturer of four-side molders in Taiwan, wanted to implement digitized solutions to improve its service offer and pass the benefits to its clients.

Leadermac is now able to execute early diagnosis and preventive maintenance of its machines, and sell better-connected, more flexible, more efficient and safer machines.

“EcoStruxure Machine Advisor is the future,” says Leadermac president Michael Chang. “It helps OEMs like us provide better services, such as remote preventive maintenance, alarm monitoring, tooling usage and IoT applications.”

About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is leading the digital transformation of energy management and automation in homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. With global presence in over 100 countries, Schneider is a global leader in power management – medium voltage, low voltage and secure power, and in automation Systems. It provides integrated efficiency solutions, combining energy, automation and software. In its global Ecosystem, Schneider Electric collaborates with the largest partner, integrator and developer community on our open platform to deliver real-time control and operational efficiency. Company information is available at www.schneider-electric.ca.