Created digital systems for a manufacturing leader to remotely manage their machinery.

Our client is a leader in the engineering and manufacturing of products used for dispensing adhesive, sealants, coatings, and fluid management. With operations in more than 35 countries, they knew that digitizing certain aspects of their business could take them to the next level. The project they had in mind involved their melters, a machine that dispenses hot glue-like solutions. These melters have operators who previously were monitoring the levels for data like temperature and pressure from one location and then going out to the machine in question to adjust them in person.Their goal was to begin utilizing touchscreen, web-based apps for these products, making them more efficient and user friendly.

To help them design and develop these solutions, it was important to learn more about their business. We employed a team of industrial designers who walked the floor with the operators, immersing themselves in the needs of the users. We approached the build in phases. For the first phase, we developed a touch screen interface that allowed operators to monitor the controls while walking the floor. In the second phase, we designed an app to not only monitor machine activity, but also react to critical issues quickly.

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Pro's at prototyping
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We approached this solution with one key idea in mind—the data should tell a clear story. It was essential to develop a simple solution for a complex machine. Within seconds, the operator should have the information needed to react in an informed and meaningful way. We designed an intuitive interface that displays only the most important information, incorporating scrollable script views and actionable items.

We included a layout of functions, numbers, gauges, and statistical charts ensuring the operators always have direct access to key data. We also included the ability to configure the settings offline and then import them into themeter when ready.The use of familiar industry terms and icons made the transition to the app easy. Additionally, we made it much easier to monitor the machinery systems through real-time alerts when a service requirement is necessary. Our data scientists used information the operators had gathered to implement a feature to predict  machine failure and decrease downtime.

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• Reduced Downtime by predicting machine failures

• Human Interface we developed an intuitive multi - platform interface

• Machine Control We implemented wi-fi capabilities to control multiple machines at once

• Actionable Analytics using focused on displaying only the data important to machine operators