JBT has announced a major expansion to its PRoCARE® Service Agreements for customers to reflect the new challenges many food and beverage processors face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the incorporation of augmented remote support and preventative maintenance features.
Available for both new and existing customers, the PRoCARE packages feature innovations including PRoSIGHT™, JBT’s own augmented remote support service, which makes use of smart glasses to enable JBT technicians to inspect machinery and equipment at a distance. PRoSIGHT was fast-tracked into production in response to the pandemic and will now also be available to PRoCARE customers.
JBT iOPS®, a service offering real-time monitoring and analytics for enhanced machine reporting and preventative maintenance, also forms a key component in enhanced PRoCARE packages. Providing powerful, actionable insights that help prevent costly breakdowns, preventative maintenance from JBT iOPS can reduce the lifetime total cost of ownership, in the process increasing yield, throughput and uptime.
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Ready-made replacements
Keeping downtime to a minimum also forms part of another key element in the new PRoCARE options in the form of Complete Spare Assemblies. “Recently, a number of leading companies in the infant formula industry signed up for PRoCARE as we were able to offer Complete Spare Assemblies as part of the package,” explains JBT Customer Care Sales Manager, Rex Pattyn.
“Complete Spare Assemblies can reduce downtime tremendously. The idea was triggered by powder industry customers who use seamers for cans of infant formula. This is a high value product, so downtime is very costly.”
In the event of a breakdown, JBT Complete Spare Assembles only take on average an hour and a half to put in place and get up-and-running, giving customers the piece of mind of having a ready-made replacement on hand to keep the lines running.
Remote troubleshooting
Of course, one of the most headline-grabbing options now included with PRoCARE is PRoSIGHT augmented remote assistance. “The remote connection allows our experts to feel like they are right there with the customer,” says Pattyn. “This solution is the next best thing to being on-site on the production floor.”
PRoSIGHT can be used for immediate troubleshooting and breakdown repairs, as well as for maintenance operations, inspections and assessments – included as part of PRoCARE – commissioning and on-the-job training of Field Service Engineers. It facilitates these services in quarantine areas, dangerous conflict-zone areas and countries where time consuming entry visa and vaccination requirements are needed prior to entry.
Added value
Such remote services have become increasingly important amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to JBT’s Customer Care Manager for Filling-Closing-Sterilization, Johan Van Riet, who says the development of PRoSIGHT was accelerated to overcome restrictions on most on-site activities, including inspections.
“When the pandemic took hold around mid-March, we immediately started thinking about how we could best support our customers,” says Van Riet. “These options, which can now be included with PRoCARE Service Agreements, bring added value for customers by helping them maintain machinery and equipment in optimal condition and guarding against avoidable wear and tear to components.”