The capabilities of remote maintenance and customer assistance that harness the power of smartphones was demonstrated during the past year when the coronavirus pandemic forced lockdowns around the world.

The United Grinding Group was one of many companies that used technology to support its worldwide customer base and help keep machines running with minimal downtime. Available from Warwick-based group company Walter Ewag UK Ltd, there are three main offerings in the Group’s Digital Solutions — Production Monitor, Service Monitor and Remote Service.

The first two help customers keep track of production: for example, flagging up when maintenance work is required and where/when problems may arise in production. Remote Service is designed to help support the help desk over a data connection.

Highlighting why these solutions are better than simply telephoning a help desk, Neil Whittingham, Walter Ewag UK’s sales director, said: “Technical enquiries on the telephone without image support can be very lengthy. That is why the United Grinding Group has integrated our established Conference Centre into Digital Solutions. The Conference Centre app has now been redesigned so that we can reach customers via their smartphones.

“There were 2,500 demands for remote service during 2020, and United Grinding North America also performs preliminary machine acceptances remotely. The application team produces videos of the required processes by mounting a GoPro camera in the machine and using a time code to document the duration of the relevant process cycles.

“Other digital tools are also being worked on, including smart glasses. These offer a number of benefits, including allowing the technician at the machine to be hands-free while the help desk specialist also shares the same view. An extension of this would be the application of contextual information via augmented reality.

“Furthermore, the use of technology to help customers remotely does not only apply to repair and maintenance. Remote process optimisation is also a possibility, using data from the production and service monitors.”