Weber: Clever solutions for digitalized production
On the other hand, digital products and services play an essential role as part of the holistic approach and when it comes to all-round support for production operations. This is why Weber has developed a number of digital products and services that help customers manage their data and information more easily. In line with future-proof, digitalized production processes, these products provide a one-stop shop for data analysis and information retrieval. The basis of Weber Factory Solutions is the Weber FactoryCockpit, which acts as a data center and offers the option of integrating other products such as Weber FactoryAssist, FactoryCare, and VideoAssist for comprehensive, holistic digitalization. In addition, the Weber Portal provides customers with a quick and user-friendly introduction to the world of Weber through information and a wide range of services.
Weber digital products always guarantee comprehensive data security. Each customer has their own cloud-based user profile with private storage space for their production data. All data remains the property of the customer, is protected by a hardware firewall and encrypted when transferred to the cloud.
FactoryCockpit: keep an eye on operating figures wherever you are.
With the Weber FactoryCockpit, all information such as production data, analyses, and reports are available 24/7, in real time and from anywhere, be it from the production floor, the shift supervisor's office, or during a planning meeting. At the heart of this digitalized production is a well-structured dashboard where the live status and all relevant performance and quality data are displayed line-by-line and in one overview – from give-away and yield to good production and packs per batch to uptime. The user can choose between different information detail levels and view individual machines, lines, departments, or the entire production. To directly assess the current production situation and address potential production deviations, the dashboard displays the line status of the past eight hours. If required, a more detailed view of specific days and points in time is also possible. When displaying machine data, the time range selection is customizable. This allows for timely and well-founded analysis and identification of temporary error patterns and root causes. This data can also be used in targeted measures to improve machine and production effectiveness long term, such as operator trainings. Reports and statistics also allow production data to be compared with average values of all previous batches or productions per recipe and thus provide the basis for production optimization and production planning. To facilitate internal coordination with other departments or shift handover, the reports can be generated individually and printed as PDFs. All in all, the Weber FactoryCockpit provides maximum transparency and supports decision-makers and managers in food processing companies in quickly making the right call.
VideoAssist: Finding the root cause made easy.
At this year's interpack, Weber presented a new extension of the FactoryCockpit for the first time: Weber VideoAssist. Sometimes, it is difficult to determine the root cause of malfunctions or errors that occur during the production process. This is challenging for both customers and service technicians. With VideoAssist, Weber has developed an effective solution for these situations. Several cameras are securely installed on the machines and in fixed places throughout the entire production line. The cameras continuously record the production process which is available as a video stream. If a problem occurs, a video sequence is saved for a set timeframe of one minute prior to thirty seconds after the event occurred. This video sequence is subsequently transferred to the cloud, auto-logged as incident in the FactoryCockpit timeline, and displayed as a video marker. This enables customers to view the respective video sequence and to better analyze scope and root cause of the incident. The video storage can also be triggered manually. VideoAssist offers a hide function for people who were captured in the video.
FactoryAssist: Production communication and knowledge management.
Effective communication between production and administrative staff can be challenging for companies. Weber FactoryAssist helps foster communication by bringing teams together across departmental boundaries. This digital communication solution has a messaging function that can be used on desktops, tablets, and other mobile devices as well as on operator terminals of machines and production lines. For shift supervisors and line operators, for example, this makes it possible to directly communicate with each other in real time. Communication functions are highly customizable, and messages can be sent either to a specific operating panel of a machine or to all panels of the line. A conveyor belt is making squeaky noises? Consumables are needed? Such routine messages can conveniently and quickly be handled from any workstation by using FactoryAssist. The documentation of the communication is another major benefit. It provides the perfect basis for information transfer at shift changes and highlights the areas or activities with improvement potential. Another common use is the incident reporting. Along with the error message, suggestions for solutions are auto-generated to support the operating personnel's troubleshooting efforts. The integrated rating system ensures that the most helpful solutions are always displayed at the top. If an employee finds a better solution to resolve a problem, the solution can be stored with supporting information such as descriptive photos, videos, or documents.
The Weber FactoryAssist not only helps with short-term issues, but the solution focused approach and the valuable know-how of employees are stored in a database and available to everyone on production. This actively builds knowledge, that can help resolve malfunctions faster, increase machine efficiency and operator satisfaction, and save time and cost associated with the deployment of technicians. In addition, food processing companies benefit from reducing the workload of their personnel as well as downtimes, resulting in higher uptime and productivity. FactoryAssist is not only compatible with the user interfaces of the Weber Power Control, but machines from other manufacturers can also be connected to FactoryAssist.
FactoryCare: maintenance and digitalization in perfect harmony.
Unforeseen machine downtimes or line component failures are very costly in automated production and can also lead to penalties or even delistings from food retailers. A key measure to prevent these risks is regular maintenance of production machines and lines. Weber FactoryCare supports food processing companies in this process and keeps track of all tasks related to servicing of machines and lines – centrally located in an app and independent of the manufacturer. Instead of tedious, manual record keeping, the Weber FactoryCare now makes upcoming maintenance predictable and eliminates information loss as cause of error. Customers have the option to create individual user accounts based on roles such as administrators or managers with different access and user rights. In addition, FactoryCare offers various options for providing the system with additional information. It is possible to add specific intervals and to assign specific work times and staff to the maintenance jobs. It is also possible to link images, videos, documents, and text comments. For maximum transparency, maintenance jobs and associated final reports can be stored in different versions in the system.
Weber Portal: Welcome to your digital Weber world!
All relevant information and services are available 24/7 and at a glance: Acting as an introduction to the world of Weber, the portal offers customers direct access to a variety of useful functions and the option of navigating to other Weber platforms, such as trainings and e-learning modules of the Weber Academy. Access is user-friendly and easy through a seamless Single-Sign-On connection. In the Weber Portal, customers can find an overview of all their Weber machines. In addition to equipment information, a catalog of all matching spare parts, wear parts, and slicer blades can be displayed. With just a few clicks, the customer can select and even order parts directly through the portal. The catalog also provides relevant documents such as operating instructions, certificates, and invoices. During company audits, it is especially helpful to have these documents organized and easily accessible. Should the need for technical assistance from the Weber Service Team arise, customers have multiple ways to issue a request through the Weber Portal. For one, this can be implemented via Augmented Reality solutions with the help of Weber Remote Support for quick, efficient error diagnosis. Secondly, service tickets can be opened directly in the portal and service technicians can be requested for an on-site visit. A user-friendly ticket management system and an archive of service calls with the respective service reports ensure total transparency. The dashboard is another useful feature of the Weber Portal. Provided the machines are connected to the internet and both Weber FactoryCockpit and FactoryCare are being used, the customer can see relevant data such as yield, give-away, and maintenance work in real-time. With the basic information displayed, the user is able to quickly decide if any action is required and can directly go to the FactoryCockpit for a more detailed view. With the help of customer feedback, the Weber Portal is continuously being improved.
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