Equipment maintenance and facilities management is an important job in the modern factory; using NavVis IVION Go, everyone in the organization can make it more efficient than ever.
In every modern factory, all equipment is monitored, maintained and repaired by teams dedicated to equipment maintenance and facility management.
Whether it’s done in-house or by an external service provider, it’s an incredibly important job; their work helps to minimize production downtime, supports ongoing compliance with health and safety regulations, and helps deliver on key performance indicators like Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
The challenge, meanwhile, is that a great deal of factory equipment is often bespoke and highly specialized.
Robots that have a complex series of motions for welding parts on a car assembly line, for example. Or the stamping of steel plates into shapes using a custom mold. To keep these machines in good operational order, they need to be closely observed for any issues before they manifest into a problem.
Documentation which is out-of-date or unavailable would be a major bottleneck to the maintenance schedule. But it’s not just information about the equipment that’s important.
Details about a machine's location and surrounding environment are also relevant. If inviting a third-party service provider to your factory to inspect equipment, for example, how can they best prepare before visiting the site in person? Do they need to visit the site at all?
When trying to understand an issue with factory equipment, insights into conditions on the ground can be just as useful as the machinery itself.
Quick and reliable defect reporting from with its spatial context
NavVis IVION Go is a mobile application that supports all stakeholders on the factory floor to quickly and reliably report defects to the maintenance team, while also providing spatial context and the precise location of the issue.
In the example given in the video above, a production team leader uses NavVis IVION Go to notify the maintenance team about a problem with a piece of equipment.
They've pinpointed their exact location in the factory by scanning their surroundings, which is quickly identified using AR-positioning technology.
Next, the production team leader creates a Point of Interest for the defect, adding relevant details such as the category of the POI (e.g., repair, maintenance or monitor), and the name and description of the problem.
They've also taken a photo to further document what they’re seeing, then attached it to the POI within the app.
In just a few steps, a complete record of the issue is created and shared with the relevant maintenance team; those situated locally so they can respond quickly and repair the defect the first time, and overseas to head office for analysis and sharing improvements.
NavVis API integrates with third-party ticketing systems
The powerful NavVis API means that all defect reporting can be seamlessly integrated with third-party applications, including issue tracking systems.
In this example, the newly-created POI has automatically triggered the creation of a new task in the maintenance ticketing system.
Using an API means that maintenance teams will always have the flexibility to work with the issue tracking system in use by their organization, while also having the ability to jump into NavVis IVION Enterprise to take a closer look at the location and surrounding area of the defect.
The geometrically correct data within NavVis IVION Enterprise also allows them to take virtual measurements to within millimeter accuracy.
The manager of the maintenance team now has all the information they need to assess the issue and assign a task to the appropriate technician. Knowing the extent of the issue, the technician can prepare in advance by bringing all the right tools for the job.
They can also navigate to the location of the defect faster, using NavVis IVION Go to guide them through the factory floor.
With richer detail and complete information about the defect and its spatial context -- all accessible from with NavVis IVION Go -- the maintenance team can improve their first-time fix rate and reduce downtime for the factory overall.
Wrapping up
Maintenance and repair teams shouldn’t have to waste time sorting through poorly formatted tickets which are missing pieces of information. Nor should they have to puzzle over where a piece of equipment Is located.
With NavVis IVION Go, any factory employee can report a defect or issue in a standard process, and they can feel confident that their information will be acted on in a way that's timely and effective.
Equipment maintenance and facilities management is an important job; now everyone in the organization can help to make it more efficient than ever.
Would you like to learn more about the NavVis Digital Factory Solution? Contact us for more information, or download a copy of our free guide to getting started with your digital factory implementation.