This new stage in the company’s operation requires new ways of thinking and structures to support the systematically planned and managed operations. Management cannot be done without tools, and one of the contenders was the Digital Twin platform. “I was convinced of the opportunities digital twin offers,” says CEO Heikki Hyttinen.

Soon, the Finnish company Process Genius delivered the 3D Digital Twin platform to Prokosch. “The platform helps the company’s different departments to work more closely together and it actually forces them to plan and think in a positive way about how to do things more efficiently and rationally,” says Hyttinen.

According to Hyttinen, the key themes in the current development phase to deliver on the brand and customer promise are:

• Delivery time and reliability
• Communication and ease of cooperation
• Competitive price-quality ratio
• Availability and reliability

Efficient and reliable production processes and machinery are keys for profitability. With digital twin, the productive time and capacity of the machines are measured and analyzed in real time. Situational awareness allows you to know exactly what is being produced, how much and when. Problem areas are easily found and waste is minimized.

Digital twin is currently in the implementation phase. It aims to increase productive time in the factory in several areas.

With digital twin, quality and safety information is always up-to-date and job descriptions, maintenance logs and procedure lists, as well as safety instructions for the production area and machines are easily accessible to everyone. This increases the overall competence and efficiency of production staff. “When the safety authority wants to see the documentation, production can present it digitally from a tablet. In the same way, the system provides various instructions, such as how to safely shut down a machine,” says Hyttinen.

With digital twin, quality and safety information is always up-to-date and job descriptions, maintenance logs and procedure lists, as well as safety instructions for the production area and machines are easily accessible to everyone. This increases the overall competence and efficiency of production staff. “When the safety authority wants to see the documentation, production can present it digitally from a tablet. In the same way, the system provides various instructions, such as how to safely shut down a machine,” says Hyttinen.

At present, planning the production calendar is short-sighted, and a new, more planned approach will substantially improve security of supply even further.

According to Hyttinen, it is likely that repair costs will decrease and unplanned machine breakdowns and machine damage will be reduced.

According to Hyttinen, around 2% of turnover is spent on machine repairs. When the machine is broken, it naturally produces nothing. In addition, a broken machine or jammed material immediately affects the reliability of delivery. By bringing machines under predictive maintenance and using digital twin to alert on-time maintenance and their confirmations, he calculates that predictive maintenance can save up to 20% a year on repairs. Premature failures can be better prevented and the maintenance logs can be used to monitor which elements of the machines require regular maintenance.

Working with Process Genius has always been solution-oriented. Challenges have always been solved and staff have always been willing to solve them. Due to high demand, the project took a little longer than expected to complete. “The solution can be highly recommended to German companies, because this package has many features that make the everyday life of the entrepreneur, factory manager and production staff easier,” says Hyttinen.

“As far as German companies are concerned, it should be noted that there are already many local players here. I believe that here, too, product and service offering and ease of cooperation are important competitive elements. As a foreign operator, the package must be 100% defined and the implementation and communication must be active and excellent. That is why I can recommend Process Genius as a partner.