Flexible Precision
With 2018 marking its 25th year in the UK, Biesse recently held a series of open days at its Daventry Technology Centre, for visitors to see the latest advances in woodworking technology and the UK launch of the SOPHIA digital platform.
Since Biesse UK started its UK operations in 1993, with the sole purpose of providing the best possible support to the UK woodworking industry, the UK team has grown from three employees in 1993 to over a 100 with a fully equipped training facility and a comprehensive range of machines in the demonstration Technical Centre. As a subsidiary of Biesse Group S.P.A, based in Pesaro, Italy – a world leading manufacturer of high technology industrial machines for the woodworking and other sectors – Biesse machines have been familiar products in the marketplace for some years.
As well as having a range of its successful machines on show, the day saw the important launch into the UK of SOPHIA, where Biesse will be making a significant impact on the ‘Internet of Things’ and the platform will become officially ‘active’ in October 2018.
SOPHIA is a digital platform that provides users with access to more machine information and initiates concrete actions to optimise performance and monitor the quality of the work produced, anticipating the causes of faults and providing clear solutions to resolve any anomalies. The data gathered and analysed by artificial intelligence is transformed into useful data to help optimise customer production and product quality, providing extremely valuable opportunities for growth. This information also provides customers with tools to prevent problems that could damage production. Thanks to SOPHIA, Biesse can take proactive steps to contact customers, reducing machine stoppages and inefficient time-wasting.
“Machines are not the same, and never stay the same, so we are continually developing our machines and understanding our customer’s needs,” says Commercial Director, Robbie O’Neil. “SOPHIA is Biesse’s cloud-based platform that creates a connected environment between the machine, the customer and the supplier. It will allow customers to understand how to get the best out of the machine and allow us to create operational data.”
The flow of data is developed solely by the machine to network, never the other way around. The security of the information collected is guaranteed by two different systems: a https communication protocol, namely a protocol for secure communication over a network via an encrypted connection and access to the cloud with two step authentication. This will mean that Biesse’s entire global service network is interconnected and has access to the SOPHIA web portal, ensuring customers all over the world receive quick and decisive responses and solutions. Through this tool Biesse technicians are able to constantly monitor possible problems, generating in realtime the solutions required to solve them. Distribution of the SOPHIA loT software is extremely straightforward and rapid. The platform consists of two powerful areas: IoT and PARTS, integrated with each other. These are connected to two apps that provide customers with easy access to SOPHIA’s capabilities.
The IoT – SOPHIA app, provides a comprehensive overview of the specific machine performance features, with remote diagnostics, machine stoppage analysis and fault prevention. The service also provides a continuous connection with the Biesse control centre, the option of calling for assistance from within the customer app with reports of issues managed as a priority. The second area of SOPHIA is PARTS - the new easy, intuitive and personalised tool for ordering spare parts.
The portal provides customers, dealers and branches with the opportunity to view regularly updated documentation relating to their own machines and allows customers to create a spare parts cart with information on real-time warehouse availability. “Biesse live in a world of constant improvement,” says Robbie. “We align ourselves with our customer expectations and one thing we are really good at is relationships.”
For more information visit: www.biesse.com/uk/
To view this article in ST Mag: ST Mag Summer Issue
