Retrofit
–Getting older machinery into shape for the digital world ...
Where a system modernisation is pending, you will only find an efficient solution if you take
all aspects of your production plant into consideration.
As a comprehensive service provider, MES has all the necessary expertise in the areas of electrics, mechanics, process engineering, machine safety and automation – both in engineering and implementation.
Reasons for efficient machine modernisation
Operations managers know that maintenance costs for a production plant increase progressively
with the age of the plant. Production quantity and quality, on the other hand, gradually reduce over
the plant service life.
Instead of investing money in an expensive new installation, modernisation of systems offers a real
economical alternative, particularly if production takes place at cost-intensive locations and/or one is operating in low-margin markets. Even partial modernisations (e.g. in the field of automation) result in large-scale economic benefits.
Other reasons include the following:
- Extension of the machine service life
- Lower production costs through improved energy efficiency, production volumes and product quality
- Despite inventory protection, emission and safety regulations compel businesses to modernise
- An improved and secure supply of spare parts
- Recording of process and machine data for Industry 4.0
Advantages of a retrofit over new investment
- Lower investment costs (approx. 10-20%) than for installation of a new machine/plant
- Lower outlay for personnel training, as the machine is familiar
- No new and, consequently, protracted approval process(e.g. customer approvals)
- Further time savings through only partial renewal
The modernisation of a plant is more sophisticated than a new plant construction
All project steps are the same as required for a new plant construction, but realised within a shorter
time period when existing inventory is used, when all interfaces are considered and with a high
aspiration regarding the quality of the production start. All technical expertise must be available
(mechanics, process engineering, electrical engineering, automation).
As a consequence, engineering, manufacturing, delivery, installation, commissioning and optimisation must be realised with a dedicated team of engineers and practitioners. The depth of expertise of the company also needs to be comprehensive in the case of even partial modernisation.
MES is strongly positioned in all fields, enabling you to exploit every potential of your intended plant
modernisation through technical planning and retrofit your systems true to schedule.
Outlook: Retrofitting offers the ideal introduction to digitisation
Existing production machinery can be retrofitted with additional sensors that detect a variety of measurement values (e.g. power consumption or vibration). Sensor data is read out and digitally recorded via so-called IoT gateways.
No interventions in the machine PLC control system are necessary during this equipping!
If data is available from all machines, KPI or the degree of utilisation can be forecast in the next step.
Our software solutions provide 100% traceability for your products with all relevant data. This
considerably simplifies failure analysis. The forecast compiled with this data represents a decisive
step towards intelligent automation of production (e.g. through predictive maintenance).
Our offer: Turnkey plans modernization
As a general contractor, we offer a turnkey solution for your production plants - as an individual
(component) or comprehensive (plant) solution.
Our services in detail:
4) Industry 4.0 digitization
