SHARC Use Cases
Our use case for the SHARC was mostly generated while implementing a client’s digital transformation strategy. The customer wanted to capture part counts, contextualize and historize the data, and dashboard it for managers and operators. While some of their machines were newer and this information was readily available, there were just as many, if not more, legacy machines that had no connectivity options or part count sensors. With this in mind, we decided on a single solution that would be shared across all machines. However, the process seemed more complex and involved than it should have been. The project was successful, but we took the knowledge gleaned from that experience and began our journey of creating the SHARC.
Now that we are in our fourth prototype iteration and have introduced the SHARC to numerous participants in our industry we found many more use cases for the SHARC than we had originally anticipated. I wanted to share some of the suggestions we have had since our product announcement.
Part Count
This has been, by far, the most popular aspect of the SHARC. With so many manufacturers still running legacy equipment it makes the most sense for quickly capturing part counts and presenting this in a data representation of the customer’s choosing.
Production Stoppages and Slowdowns
Understanding and classifying durations of production stoppages and slowdowns help our customers isolate recurring issues. Even the smallest of changes can be detected by the SHARC.
Diagnostics
The SHARC can be used as a diagnostic device to troubleshoot connectivity or hardware issues for discrete input and analog input.
Proof-of-Concept and Pilots
This is usually a drawn out and complex process consisting of numerous parties involved and a number of months. With the SHARC alone, this can be sped up to capture sensor data and ingest it into an MQTT broker and into presentable data in less than a day. With the SHARC Frenzy (under development) an entire solution could be stood up in under an hour that could be scaled to on-premise or cloud virtual machines when needed.
Benchmarking / Troubleshooting
Customers can take advantage of the simplicity of implementing a SHARC to benchmark the performance of a machine or process. If a machine doesn’t seem to be performing to its full potential a SHARC or a SHARC Frenzy (under development) can be installed for a determined length of time to help determine what the issue is with the sensors installed.
Preventative Maintenance
Another typically long and complex process to implement. This can be simplified and implemented in less time using the SHARC to capture and contextualize sensor data. Combined with the correct sensors and algorithms, automation of PM tasks and failure prevention becomes a reality.
With many of the use cases above being something that most sensor manufacturers or software platforms advertise, with the addition of the SHARC these use cases have never been easier to implement.
