Can we improve our production process by working with modern Vision techniques, and if so, how? That is the question VAF Instruments received an answer to through a SMITZH voucher. Last summer, together with FME, SMR Automation and RoboHouse, they conducted a feasibility study into solutions for automatically reading material codes. The research has now been completed. Result: a recommendation with simpler administration, lower error probability, fewer manual checks and better access to information.
From measurement instrument production to data management
Dordrecht-based VAF Instruments is a world market leader in marine measurement and control systems. The company has been around for more than 80 years and provides products and services to major players in the maritime and process industries. To hear how the feasibility study went and what it yielded, we interviewed Marcel van Beveren, Quality Manager at VAF Instruments.
Marcel, who once started out as a field service engineer himself, has worked for the organization for more than 26 years. That is a small number in relation to some of his nearly 100 colleagues, who have been with VAF for more than 40 years. Not only the number of working years, but also the passion with which Marcel talks about his work shows what a special company VAF Instruments is.
Whereas the emphasis in the early years was primarily on the production of measuring instruments, the company’s focus is now on performance management. Marcel: About 75% of the cost of a ship is in fuel. If you know how to correctly interpret the measured data, the ship can quickly save several percent in fuel costs. That can save a ship owner millions.
In addition to flow meters[1], viscosity density meters[2] and torsional thrust gauges[3], data management system IVY is therefore an important product of VAF Instruments. IVY allows the office owner to analyze real-time data from a ship sailing somewhere far out to sea. VAF Instruments can assist in this process. The sensors from our measurement instruments reveal whether, for example, there are propeller defects or if the ship is too dirty, which changes the ship’s thrust and performance. We can also advise ships based on measurements to enter the dock only when really necessary. This saves an enormous amount of money.
Scanning batch numbers with vision technology: feasible?
VAF Instruments is very aware of the possibilities of new technologies and does not seem to need a program like SMITZH to innovate. Marcel: We are an innovative company and have our own R&D department. However, there are so many interesting projects to take on that cost an awful lot of man hours that we have to make choices. By making use of the voucher scheme through SMITZH, we were able to have most of the content of this research carried out by SMR Automation[4] and had little to worry about. FME informed VAF Instruments of the opportunities through SMITZH and in contact with the right partners to implement the project. The project organization and process analysis were also carried out by FME. Fieldlab RoboHouse recommended SMR Automation as the ideal expert for this issue, made their test center available for technical validation and monitored the neutrality and quality of the process and advice.
Marcel: Working with external parties unburdens us and provides a fresh view from the outside, allowing us to spot possible new opportunities. Thanks to a small financial investment from ourselves and from SMITZH, we gained insights much faster than if we had had to figure it all out ourselves.
In the current production process at VAF Instruments, employees transfer batch numbers of product parts into the digital system and verify it. Where necessary, parts are added a paper bar code. Because any human intervention increases the risk of error and slows down the process, VAF Instruments is looking for digitization options. The feasibility study investigated whether batch numbers, which are pressed, punched or molded into the materials by suppliers due to environmental requirements, could be scanned using techniques such as OCR, EAST text and Tesseract recognition.
Results and follow-up: legion of opportunities for new innovations
Because the impressions on all product parts are so different, SMR Automation concluded that the best solution for improving the process does not lie in modern camera techniques. The study’s recommendation is to engrave a data matrix into each product part. This is a kind of QR code in which information can be stored. The advantage of this is that you can already read the data with the simplest smartphone. Another advantage of this solution is that you can not only link the batch number to the product part, but also record, for example, the type of product, a website and information about spare parts.
Marcel: We welcome the advice from the survey. In the new year we will start internally with a project group to realize this advice. The link between data and the product will save us time during the production process and in the post-process. The feasibility study not only laid the foundation for the next step, but also sparked numerous ideas for new innovations. Marcel: How great would it be to no longer have to send manuals and certificates along with the delivery. With a simple scan, the correct information becomes immediately visible to the end user. Out with the paper clutter, which in practice is often hard to find on board a ship anyway.
[1] Measures the flow and/or amount of gas, vapor or liquid moving through a tube.
[2] Measures the viscosity of a liquid.
[3] Measure the voltage created by rotation of an axis.
[4] SMR Automation has since disbanded. Fieldlab RoboHouse offers equivalent help in doing a feasibility study.
MORE INFORMATION
Are you a South Holland company and also interested in a feasibility study? Then please contact us without obligation, we would like to see if we can help you too. Questions specifically about this pilot can be addressed to Marco Kirsenstein of FME.
