Robust industrial machinery networks through Health Check

Good service is becoming increasingly important in international competition. LAPP already offers its customers over 110 different services – from configurators to customised cables or assemblies and digital self-services on the website to just-in-time deliveries. Now the global market leader for integrated solutions in the field of cable and connection technology is strategically expanding its services portfolio. “As a solution provider, we want to work more closely with our customers. It’s not just about our components, but about added value that we offer, to take of some work and risk from the hands of our customers," says Dr Patrick Olivan, Senior Manager Business Development Services at LAPP, as he justifies this step.

Preventatively minimising the risk of failure

To achieve this, he and his team in the LAPP FutureLab will be presenting the new Health Check at the Hannover Messe. The new service is intended to help customers to prevent the risk of their industrial machinery failing. More than 50 per cent of failures can be attributed to physical connectivity – the causes are often mechanical and environmental stress, ageing, low-quality products, incorrect earthing or poor network. This is where LAPP is an expert as a component manufacturer for the products involved and integrated. The Health Check is used to test the nerve paths of the machine, i.e. the PROFINET networks and their components and to identify optimisation needs. This makes the systems more resistant to errors and downtimes.

The LAPP team is made up of certified PROFINET engineers. They use various special devices for the Health Check that can be used to scan the entire machine network for weaknesses and faults, for example, "Atlas 2" from PROCENTEC or the LEADEC “PN-Quick tester”. LAPP has a close partnership with these two companies. Their many years of experience can be consulted too. There are also visual checks and checklists to check the application-specific selection of products or the design and condition. "We check the electromagnetic compatibility, the mechanical stress, whether hidden errors occur in the network or whether they meet the specific requirements correctly. In this way, we can inspect an industrial machine or production line within one day, find critical areas and make suggestions for solutions”, explains Olivan.

At the end, the customer receives a detailed report on network communication and configuration and on the diagnostic messages from network and devices. The scope of the service also includes a cable certification report for the individually tested cables, an electromagnetic compatibility checklist and a report identifying where possible weaknesses are and how they can be optimised. The target group is for small and medium-sized machine builders or production operators, who usually not have their own personnel. LAPP can support these customers with their commissioning or also carry out the Health Check for older machinery in production operation.

In discussions with customers at the Hannover Messe 2022, LAPP wants to know what the clients‘ needs are for the Health Check. In the pilot phase, the new service is still free of charge to gain as much experience as possible and to be able to put together the most attractive offer for a customer segment. In the long term, the Health Check could become purchasable as an additional service in the portfolio for LAPP customers. This has other advantages besides the network check, says Patrick Olivan: “We could extend the warranty to customers who do such a check with us. Instead of the usual two years, we could then offer five or more years of warranty".