Baking & Snack - February 2022 - 92

AR/VR/AI
predicts that these tests may be handled differently in
the future.
" Moving forward, companies may not be doing it entirely
virtually, " he said. " Instead of sending five people
to the factory acceptance test, maybe you send only two
and then, instead of the other three joining virtually, you
have 10 more who can join. "
The other advantage Mr. Izquierdo has seen is that
Augmented
reality goggles
provide easyto-use
guidance
for workers
troubleshooting
problems.
Mettler-Toledo
" We utilize AR in a variety of ways while supporting
our customers, including troubleshooting directly with
our end users or connecting technicians to subject matter
experts to provide quicker, more cost-effective support, "
Mr. Bellingham said. " We also use AR as part of
our ongoing training efforts for our employees. "
JLS Automation relies on AR for remote support and
recipe modifications.
" The technology allows us as OEMs to rapidly diagnose
a problem and interact in real-time with the customer, "
said Bill Stratford, director of aftermarket sales
and service at JLS. " We can point out best practices to
help them improve the overall operation of the machine
and also point out potential problems that either exist
and they don't recognize, or something that may cause
an issue in the future. "
This technology is also now commonly being used
for factory acceptance tests (FATs). Virtual FATs were
a rarity two years ago, said Dennis Gunnell, president,
Formost Fuji.
" We probably had done one or two before COVID hit,
but now it's fairly regular, " he explained. " We've done the
full gamut from putting a tablet up and using FaceTime to
HoloLens glasses. We've had a customer send out their custom
system that had a camera, headphones, everything. "
Although he stressed that in-person FATs are preferred,
handling them digitally means that more people
can be involved. PMMI has developed guidelines to help
its members navigate virtual FATs. And Mr. Izquierdo
these videos can be turned into training materials.
Training is another way companies are taking advantage
of these technologies. Not only can workers use goggles
to train and troubleshoot virtually, companies use QR
codes on equipment. They allow maintenance and other
workers to scan the codes, which can take them to videos
about set up and repair, walk them through repairs,
provide parts lists and more.
" My goal is that someday they could come up, scan
the QR code and pick a part if they had to replace one.
And once they pick that part, an email would be automatically
generated, and sent to Heat and Control to order
that part and to assist the operator within minutes, "
Mr. Farver explained.
Mr. Gunnell predicted that we will see a lot more training
applications for these technologies, and he sees a lot
of opportunity for in-house training and recruitment.
" If I'm going out to a job fair, I can have one of these
folks come to my booth, put on a set of goggles and see
what's going on in my factory and walk through my
plant, " he said.
Alain Lemieux, product group leader, AMF Bakery
Systems, said he sees plenty of places where these technologies
will benefit bakeries in the future, including " AI
tools that automatically analyze daily production runs
and identify weak points, help managers fix issues, train
personnel and optimize overall capacities. "
While all of this technology holds a lot of promise,
it creates challenges for companies, especially for those
that have not yet embraced it.
" The main barriers we see are understanding data, No.
1. Cybersecurity would be No. 2, " Mr. Izquierdo said.
He recommended that bakeries train their staff on
SENSORS COLLECT DATA
CONTINUOUSLY, WHICH IS THEN
FED TO SOFTWARE THAT ANALYZES
IT AND TELLS OPERATORS IF
SOMETHING IS AMISS.
92 Baking & Snack February 2022 / www.bakingbusiness.com
these technologies and find a data partner that fits their
needs since they likely will have a third party helping
them process their data and identify potential problems
and opportunities to optimize the process. He also said
companies should ensure they have a strong security
system in place to protect information and have a point
person on staff who understands data and can turn the
information into actions that benefit the business.
" That's really the trick, " Mr. Izquierdo added. " How to
look at all that information and get to the next level. It's
not about keeping your machines running, it's about optimizing
how they run. "
*
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