Beyond Products and Solutions: How the Transformation of Industry can be Successful in 2023 and Beyond

May 24, 2023

Beyond Products and Solutions: How the Transformation of Industry can be Successful

Industry is under tremendous pressure to transform. How is the manufacturing industry progressing toward smart production? How can we move from crisis management to long-term transformation in energy, efficiency and sustainability? How can we speed up the much-needed scaling up of infrastructure? How are companies countering the shortage of skilled workers? Rittal, Eplan, Cideon and German Edge Cloud discussed these questions with visitors to the Hannover Messe, showing how expertise can be used to create comprehensive solutions in the relevant ecosystems.

“The digital transformation of factories, a secure and economically viable long-term energy supply, and the establishing, measuring and reduction of industrial products’ carbon footprints are major challenges that cannot be solved in isolation,” says Markus Asch, CEO of Rittal International and Rittal Software Systems: “Innovation that goes beyond products and solutions is needed. We need to understand the various processes surrounding our customers’ value chains, consider new ecosystems and develop overarching solutions. We are convinced that this is only possible via standardization. The Hanover Fair is the forum for industry-wide dialogue on this subject.”

Markus Asch, CEO of Rittal International and Rittal Software Systems

Digital Twins for Smart Production and Power Management

One thing is clear, industrial companies are moving towards smart production – economic production with highly automated and efficient processes is required. At the same time, this must be managed in an energy-efficient way, and with flexible solutions that can be adapted to individual customer needs. And all this against the backdrop of a shortage of skilled workers. “Nowadays, real and genuine innovation simply just means making the customer’s overall performance more efficient and successful,” Mr. Asch says: “If we no longer think in terms of products and solutions, but rather in terms of process optimization, we can only do so by cleverly combining both hardware and software.”

As enablers of smart production, Rittal, Eplan, Cideon and German Edge Cloud demonstrated at the trade fair how, in the future, it will be possible to connect the three ecosystems of automation design and engineering, product manufacturing and manufacturing processes via one respective digital twin. This will make smart production processes more transparent and efficient. Energy flows also become more transparent and can thus be optimized, a critical success factor for transforming industrial companies, both today and in the future. Prerequisite for this: complete transparency along the customers’ value chains, from panel building and switchgear manufacturing to the operator.

How? Eplan and Rittal are working with control, switchgear and mechanical engineering companies to speed up the development of the automation twin and to make the data more usable during operation. Cideon is improving data continuity and consistency in the digital product twin context with its CAD/CAM, PDM/PLM and product configuration expertise. The ONCITE Digital Production System is the platform for the Digital Manufacturing Twin and IIoT-based production management.

Live Insight into the Running Factory from the Trade Fair

Visitors saw how this works in practice – live and in almost real-time – at the companies’ joint booth. In Rittal’s smart enclosure factory in Haiger, energy monitoring has already been integrated into the ONCITE DPS digital production system; a live insight is provided – via the cloud – from the trade fair into the actual energy data of the ongoing production. The energy flows of the associated data centre can also be seen. The RiZone OTM Suite presented at the trade show is showcasing how to manage data centre operating technology. Here, Rittal will be using what its sister company German Edge Cloud has developed and offers to customers: The new Rittal software is based on the ONCITE DPS’s flexible microservices architecture.

More Speed to Transform the Energy Infrastructure

But it is not only manufacturing that faces the challenge of monitoring and managing energy differently in the future. The entire energy sector is also under tremendous pressure to act and cut costs. The expansion of this infrastructure must transform to meet industry requirements. One thing is clear for Eplan and Rittal: The critical factor is the industrialization of the entire process chain, combining both software and hardware.

“Modularization, standardization and data consistency are our driving principles,” explains Markus Asch: “Rittal’s and Eplan’s experience with our customers from the control, switchgear and mechanical engineering sectors has shown that there is considerable potential for optimizing and industrializing process chains. Furthermore, end-to-end hardware and software solutions increase the pace of infrastructure expansion – from energy generation and storage to grid expansion and sector coupling to charging facilities for electric vehicles. The efficiency gain reduces costs, while the data, as the automation twin, opens up further possibilities for use in operation.”

Markus Asch, CEO of Rittal International and Rittal Software Systems

New Base Solutions, Platform Updates and Enclosures

This all requires swift action and solutions which is why Eplan and Rittal tackled this at the Hanover Fair using the new “Base Solutions”. With many customer projects successfully completed, the two companies have jointly created “Best Practice Templates,” like, for example with the planning and implementation of charging parks for e-mobility vehicles. This transforms the project via data-consistent standards and modules. The new Eplan Platform 2024 also further simplifies design and engineering. And, furthermore: Rittal also presented a new plastic AX enclosure, with EX approval, for potentially explosive areas of the infrastructure, for example, around liquid natural gas (LNG) or hydrogen.

Source

Related Articles


Latest Articles

  • Celebrating 25 years: Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition) Returns from October 27-30

    Celebrating 25 years: Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition) Returns from October 27-30

    September 27, 2023 By Elle Bremmer Celebrating its 25th edition, the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair is set to illuminate the global lighting industry once again from October 27 to 30, 2023. This highly anticipated event, hosted at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, promises to showcase a wide range of state-of-the-art lighting innovations… Read More…

  • Remembering a Pillar of the Canadian Electrical Industry: Pierre Desilets

    Remembering a Pillar of the Canadian Electrical Industry: Pierre Desilets

    September 27, 2023 It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Pierre Desilets, a committed figure in the electrical industry, who had dedicated a lifetime to advancing safety standards, codes, and regulations. Pierre had been battling cancer with immense resilience for an extended period. His unwavering commitment to his work and his… Read More…

  • Housing Starts Flat in August

    Housing Starts Flat in August

    September 25, 2023 The trend in housing starts was flat in August at 244,507 units, up 0.8% from 242,552 units in July, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada. The monthly seasonally adjusted annual… Read More…

  • Lineman’s Testing Laboratories’ (LTL) Comprehensive Expertise Makes Rexel Aquisition an Ideal Partnership

    Lineman’s Testing Laboratories’ (LTL) Comprehensive Expertise Makes Rexel Aquisition an Ideal Partnership

    September 25, 2023 By Blake Marchand Earlier this year, Rexel announced the acquisition of Lineman’s Testing Laboratories (LTL), which allows Rexel to offer a complementary range of products and services and enhanced opportunities in the value-add market. LTL is a unique company with three comprehensive areas of expertise, Power Technical Services (Electrical Engineering & Substation… Read More…


Changing Scene

  • HPS Announces Ted Simpson as Vice-President of Marketing

    HPS Announces Ted Simpson as Vice-President of Marketing

    September 27, 2023 HPS is pleased to announce the appointment of Ted Simpson to the position of Vice-President of Marketing. Ted succeeds Michael Frayne as Michael transitions to the role of Senior Vice President of Power Quality and Power Conversion Solutions. Ted is a highly experienced marketing professional with over 20 years of expertise in… Read More…

  • New Funding for Apprenticeship in Alberta will Create 2,000 More Seats

    New Funding for Apprenticeship in Alberta will Create 2,000 More Seats

    September 25, 2023 A $12.4-million investment from Alberta’s government will create almost 2,000 new apprenticeship seats across the province. Alberta’s economy has momentum, and more skilled labourers are needed to support the province’s workforce, especially in the construction industry. To meet growing demand for highly skilled tradespeople across sectors, and in response to feedback from… Read More…

  • ABB Expands its Pointe-Claire Installation Products Facility

    ABB Expands its Pointe-Claire Installation Products Facility

    ABB is investing CA$16 million in its Installation Products Division manufacturing facility in Pointe-Claire, Canada. Read More…

  • Enhanced GST Rental Rebate Bill Proposed for Purpose-Built Rental Housing 

    Enhanced GST Rental Rebate Bill Proposed for Purpose-Built Rental Housing 

    September 22, 2023 On September 14, 2023, the Prime Minister announced that the government will introduce legislation to enhance the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Rental Rebate on new purpose-built rental housing, to incentivize construction of much-needed rental homes for Canadians. To build more rental housing, the removal of GST will apply to new purpose-built… Read More…