Boston Dynamics’ robot dog Spot is perhaps the best-known example of the fundamental transformation of the service environment – car rental companies are using it to check vehicles, for example. Using image recognition, artificial intelligence, and cloud technology, its sensors detect whether a vehicle has been damaged and report this to the repair shop, if necessary. Only then does an employee have to get involved. At another company, Spot is responsible for inspecting pipes in industrial facilities for rust and more – a task that humans find tedious and boring. And yet it is still important, because the data must be accurate and consistent at all times in order to detect and correct errors at an early stage.

Digitalization

Digitalization overcomes system discontinuities between the repair shop and administration.

There’s no doubt that robotics, artificial intelligence, and video collaboration platforms have once again expanded the possibilities for maintenance and servicing. And this goes far beyond simply outsourcing routine work to machines. At least if you understand service the way Voith Turbo does: “Our service teams’ top priority is to ensure the maximum availability of our customers’ vehicles. Operators should be able to fully concentrate on their primary tasks – transporting passengers or freight from A to B,” says Ulf Klaua, Director Sales Rail at Voith Turbo. At Voith Turbo, service means more than just repairing a vehicle. Instead, the company is always exploring opportunities to improve and modernize in to increase efficiency when working with customers. “Digitalization gives us the ability to develop innovative concepts that we can use to provide our customers with increasingly targeted support in real time, even remotely,” emphasizes Dirk Schwarzer, plant manager at Voith’s service location in Kiel. In this context, the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating this transformation to smart service.

Communication

Notes, screenshots, or video recordings can be easily shared for documentation purposes.

In February 2021, the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible to visit the Belgian freight transport specialist Lineas in person for the acceptance of a locomotive. The solution was OnCall.Video, an audiovisual communication system with a built-in video collaboration platform. The team in Kiel equipped an employee with smart glasses. Voice control and noise cancellation ensured that the connection with the customer in Brussels was smooth and allowed the participants to interact with each other. Thanks to the platform, the customer had all of the relevant documents on their screen and could take notes, create screenshots, or record videos for documentation purposes throughout the acceptance process.

Martin Arndt, project manager at Voith Turbo, can easily imagine the use of OnCall.Video more frequently in the future: “If we equip customers with the system, we could provide support from Kiel. The employee on site could then see the instructions directly in their glasses.” Such digital tools have further improved the efficiency of activities in many areas in recent years. And Arndt sees tremendous potential here that is still a long way from being exhausted. “Digitalization always makes sense when it improves customer satisfaction,” emphasizes Nicolai Lindemeier who, as Supervisor Main Overhaul Systems, develops the technical specifications for the maintenance teams in Kiel. One example that comes to mind is a new database for order creation. It contains all of the individual activities relevant to the service. “When we receive an inquiry, we can access it from this digital memory and use it to generate a transparent quote for the customer,” Lindemeier explains.

At the same time, such data can be used to specifically plan repair shop capacity utilization and reconcile it with inventory levels. “This enables us to overcome system discontinuities between administration and the repair shop,” adds Frank Grünthal, Senior Manager Maintenance Management. An in-house app that, incidentally, also works across locations serves as a tool for this purpose. And it goes without saying that the customer also receives all of the maintenance reports in digital form. “All operations and steps are documented throughout the process. The result is ideal and efficient quality control for the customer,” says Grünthal.

OnCall.Video

Access to expert knowledge and fast solutions from anywhere and at any time.

Cloud Technology

Access to all of the relevant service data at any time and from anywhere.

Collaboration

Global knowledge sharing in real time across locations.

One cornerstone of the rail industry – a longterm approach – has not been affected by digitalization. Rail vehicles are designed to be in service for several decades. Many service contracts are structured accordingly. “We view ourselves as a long-term partner of the railroad companies to whom we provide our engineering services,” says Klaua, describing this philosophy.

One way is by making in-house efficiency tools available to other brands and helping customers make the most of them, as is the case with OnEfficiency.StopStart. Voith’s tried-and-tested automatic start-stop system can reduce fuel consumption by up to 30 percent. To achieve this, however, it must be used consistently: “The regularly generated reports provide us and the operator with important information on how the system is operating. How often was it switched on? When did the engine not stop, and why? What savings has the automatic system generated? We then work with the customer to identify optimization potential,” says Jürgen Dohrmann, Manager ESS Turbo, explaining the procedure. In this case as well, digitalization offers opportunities that go far beyond traditional maintenance, with service understood as consulting closely with customers as partners. Ideally, this means identifying the customer’s needs even before they are aware of them. Voith Turbo’s comprehensive expertise and the enormous data pool that the company has accumulated and evaluated over the many years benefit every single customer. This is because this treasure trove forms the perfect basis for identifying optimization opportunities.