A leading player in machine safety, Schmersal India recently celebrated a decade of its existence in India. The company is extremely bullish on the Indian market and is concentrating on more localized R&D, developing new products for the local market. In an exclusive interview Sagar Bhosale, MD, Schmersal India talks at length about the company’s future vision and plans to Ms.Shweta Nanda -Asst.Editor, MACHINE TOOLS WORLD . He updates us about key technology trends, such as automation and IIoT and prime challenges for safety technology with the rapid adoption of these trends. Excerpts:
Q. What are the market requirements that are driving the usage of automation & robotic technology? Please shed light on how machine safety becomes critical as automation trend continues to become mainstream.
Automation is the future of manufacturing. There are no two ways about it. As automation continues to gain steam, safety aspect needs to be taken care of. Today, robotics are taking over the manufacturing floor. There is little doubt that robotics bring several advantages and is slated to witness further uptake in the days to come. That said, it is of utmost importance to address security issues with robots. For instance, we need to make sure that robots and humans are working together without endangering the human life and the process. With automation becoming widely prevalent, safety basics need to change completely. Direct Safety should be employed in the basic stage when the systems are being designed. We at Schmersal are sensing tremendous opportunity in the automation segment and are committed to addressing the safety aspect.
Q. In your view, are factories in India showing readiness to adopt advanced technologies? Which key technologies are being evaluated currently?
Yes, the factories in India are slowly and surely showing readiness to adopt advanced technologies.
Technology wise, there is a varied range of products for automation & safety sectors, from simple electro-mechanical devices to non-contact type of sensors to high-end products with RFID. The MSMEs have started incorporating simple electro-mechanical devices, non-contact type of sensors and simple safety relays in their plants, whereas the large scale industries integrate high-end RFID products along with Safety PLCs making the most use of the technological advancement.
Q. IIoT or Industry 4.0 is being termed as next big game changer for manufacturing. How will the requirements of your customers and their design departments change with the adoption of IIoT?
Industry 4.0 / IIoT is an evolutionary process, so we are wary of assuming we have finished off-the-peg solutions ready – it is much more a question of permanent further development. The prevailing issues of Industry 4.0 are communication and data exchange, intelligent networking and flexibility. In this respect, our safety controller PSC1 is Industry 4.0 compliant as it enables the construction of modular safety architectures. Our new safety installation systems also represent a flexible Plug-and Play solution which can deliver comprehensive diagnostic data. We have also developed a range of safety solutions, including our established safety controller for human robot collaboration to meet the increasing demand for robot use.
During the design process, machine constructors will increasingly be relying on simulations using 3D models. This requires a faster exchange of process information among the suppliers and all the companies involved in the production process. In order to achieve the best possible safety solution from an economic perspective, machine safety specialists should be involved as early as the design phase. This is where knowledge transfer and engineering support become increasingly important. We have taken this development into consideration with the foundation of our service division tec.nicum.
Q. According to you, what will be the prime challenges for safety technology in Industry 4.0 era?
The challenges include questions of data security – the key is: security, the standardization and also the further development and adaptation of the standards to accommodate the new requirements of Industry 4.0. Another challenge lies in working with our customers to find out what developments, product applications and business modules are actually relevant to their own companies in line with Industry 4.0. After all, Industry 4.0 is no end in itself, it is a factor in business success.
Q. Please tell us about Schmersal’s products and services for the factories of the future?
Schmersal develops and produces an extraordinary wide range of more than 25,000 products, from basic door and limit switches, simple product like Two hand control for press safety applications manufactured in India, to advanced non-contact type safety sensors and RFID safety solenoid interlocks like AZM400 for complex applications. Our range also includes, high-quality switchgears, customer specific products, Tailor-made systems and industry solutions for the protection of machines and plants in industrial automation and lift industry.
With Schmersal’ s extensive range of services – comprising training courses, consultation on risk assessment, engineering and implementation – our service division tec.nicum contributes decisively towards our range of solutions. The chief aim of tec.nicum is to develop optimum approaches based on manufacturer-independent knowledge transfer and consultation. Our definition of systems is the sophisticated selection and combination of in-house and third party components to achieve the best possible, safe and compliant design of the machines and systems of our customers which, at the same time, boosts productivity.
Q. What would you describe as Schmersal’s value differentiator? How do you stand out from competition?
Schmersal is the only company to have a safety product manufacturing plant in India. The idea is to provide our customers with newest technology features and cost effective solutions in the competitive Indian market. Also, Schmersal provides services as well as solutions. For instance, we provide services in risk assessment on machines and identify the possible hazards. As a solution to this, we either suggest the client or ourselves design and support the client to implement safety measures such as fencing or guarding. This job is carried out by our Functional Safety Engineers who are specialists in the field of safety technology. They plan and implement complex safety solutions – worldwide and in close collaboration with clients.
Our tec.nicum service portfolio incorporates four segments:
- Sharing of knowledge – tec.nicum academy
- Consultancy services – tec.nicum consulting
- Technical planning – tec.nicum engineering
- Implementation – tec.nicum integration Since Schmersal provides Safety services right from Risk analysis to Implementation to a final Validation, it is a ONE stop solution for all our customers who wish to upgrade their safety to the latest International Norms.
Q. Please update us about Schmersal’s future vision and growth plans?
With the changing scenarios and market requirements, our main aim is localization. As a support to this, our R&D & Product Management team is working diligently to come up with new products for the local market. We are concentrating more on localized R&D in India, while focusing, validating and refining innovation to meet customer requirements and expectations.
We are also working upon re-exporting certain products to Germany, as some of the manufacturing lines are shifted to India. Further, we have started to export to the neighbouring SAARC and Gulf countries.
Other major efforts lies in increasing the safety awareness by doing more safety workshops, arranging safety trainings & building a range of simple to high end products & services which will be beneficial to the customers from cost, technology and application point of view. So in short, we wish to have a product and solution for every kind of requirement.
