Machine data for human insight
JITbase offers Industry 4.0 solutions that address the shortage of specialized employees by allowing machinists to handle more CNC machines at a time. As a partner of the MIP ecosystem, JITbase delivers a great value add for manufacturing companies relying on the Manufacturing Integration Platform (MIP) from MPDV. Frederic Scherer, CEO & Master’s in Industrial Engineering explains the vision and the offerings of JITbase.
Running CNC machines is quite common for metal works. Which benefits can JITbase deliver to companies using this kind of machines?
We believe that a CNC machine should never be stopped. This is why, in the context of the labor shortage, we seek to make the interaction between humans and machines as efficient as possible. As a leader in Industry 4.0, our vision is to make CNC machining centers more competitive by offering them the most efficient technologies to both increase machine uptime and reduce the average number of operators per machine. Thanks to our different solutions, we can identify and reduce machine downtimes, allow CNC operators to manage more machines with a guidance system that tells them where to go next and when, and we can optimize CNC programs and increase lights-out operations thanks to a statistical analysis of actual production data.
Why did you decide to become a MIP partner?
To bring these benefits to machining corporations as part of a larger scheme of continuous improvement, we integrated our solutions into the MIP ecosystem. Manufacturing corporations want to embark in the Industry 4.0 journey and implement multiple technologies aligned with the delivery of tangible benefits for their operations. We strongly believe that manufacturers do not want to deal with numerous corporations that offer independent and non-integrated solutions in that process. The MIP platform allows manufacturers to implement multiple profitable technologies while dealing with one single ecosystem which reduces integration risk and costs. The MIP ecosystem is the solution for manufacturers that want to benefit from advanced technologies at a lower implementation cost and minimized risks.
Our common goal is the Smart Factory? What is your vision of it?
A smart factory makes efficient use of technology in order to enhance productivity, improve quality, and lower costs. These include management software (ERP, MES, APS…), sensors & IIoT, and automation (robots, cobots…). A smart factory also puts their employees at the center of their operations by empowering them and allowing them to use such technologies to meet and exceed manufacturers objectives.
What do you contribute to the MIP ecosystem and to the Smart Factory?
JITbase solutions provide tools for shop floor machinists with the objective of offering them guidance in their activities, identifying and sharing best practices, and monitoring their continuous improvements. Our solutions are also part of the larger smart factory ecosystem and MIP ecosystem federates advanced manufacturing technologies in one integrated IT infrastructure. This unified platform simplifies, accelerates, and lowers costs of the addition of complementary solutions, all to the benefit of manufacturers.
Please describe your solutions in a few sentences!
Machine Monitoring is our basic application to monitor CNC machines in real-time, improve production efficiency, and reduce main causes of downtime. We also provide useful KPIs.
The CNC Program Optimizer helps engineering analyze production historical data in order to align program timing with production reality. We detect planned stops that take longer than expected, remove unnecessary planned stops, detect unplanned spring cuts and update estimated times with real production data.
With Optimal Path System (OPS) we show the machinist where to go and when. OPS calculates the optimal path using real-time machine data. This is a guidance system for the operators on the shop floor that allows them to efficiently manage more machines just like an online navigation system for your shop floor with CNC machines.
