Data is more important than ever for accurate and valid decision-making. In its annual strategic technology trend 2022, Gartner names "decision intelligence" as one of the most important technology trends. Good decisions protect a company in times of crisis. According to Gartner, three factors are important for making well-founded decisions: Interconnectedness, contextualization and continuity. "It is precisely these three factors that are also needed in mechanical and plant engineering - after all, it is heavily dependent on external influences and, if necessary, a decision has to be made at lightning speed," says Jürgen Greger, Product Manager Industrial Communication at Lapp. He warns that wrong decisions or a lack of decisions can cost companies dearly: "If the machine fails spontaneously and comes to a standstill, I can only act reactively, and every minute I spend troubleshooting costs me a multi-digit sum - depending on the industry." The specialist in integrated connection technology has realized that he can only act as a strategic consultant if he is involved in the customer's machine planning and has an all-round view of their networks - in order to protect customers from reactivity and pave the way for better decisions in the long term.

Networked decisions need networked systems

The fully networked and automated factory is a reality today - but it is not without its pitfalls, as sources of error can be practically anywhere. However, monitoring the condition of every single device in a production facility is neither sensible nor economical, and this also applies to cables. Plant managers therefore rightly ask themselves which devices they should check first - and often make the wrong decision. They usually buy predictive maintenance for the devices that are most expensive, such as drives. However, the Vortex Report 2021 shows that more than half of machine failures are due to connectivity errors. Cables and connectors - components where budgets are often saved - cause the most damage because they can bring an entire production line to a standstill. It is therefore not the price that determines what should be monitored, but the probability of failure and the importance of the component.

"When it comes to connectivity, particular attention should be paid to the cables that are moved, for example in drag chains," recommends Jürgen Greger, who was involved in the product development of the Etherline Guard. This device is looped into an Ethernet cable and monitors the drop in transmission parameters. This provides decision-makers with information on when a replacement is advisable in this specific application. "In networked production environments, it's all about making equally networked decisions - only when data from all areas is collected, organized and analyzed in terms of its priority in the plant can a good decision be made from the big picture."

But when is a decision a good one? It may be the right one for the moment in one area, but it may have an unforeseeable impact on another area that is just as important. This makes it all the more essential for decision-makers to ask the right questions in order to gain an overall view. "It is unreasonable to expect one person to have an overview of every detail and every connection in the plant in its entirety at all times - this is where large-scale data exchange and automation are needed," emphasizes Dr Patrick Olivan, Senior Manager Business Development at Lapp. To this end, the company has launched the Health Check Service in its FutureLab - a research and innovation format for identifying and developing new services and products. According to Olivan, who was instrumental in the development of the service, the reason is simple: "Our customers are specialized in their day-to-day business and their industry - why should they also be concerned with optimizing their connectivity? Our Health Check service brings together our knowledge from over 60 years and addresses precisely this issue."

The Health Check Service can be an acceptance test or a preventive inspection for machines and networks, from examining the network typology and analyzing data packets and electromagnetic compatibility to checking the real-time stability of the network. Production maintenance or machine manufacturers receive a complete overview in the acceptance report, including suggestions for improvement in the design and planning of their machine networks. Machine manufacturers in particular have an interest in proving to their customers that the entire machine network is planned, installed and operational in a secure and robust manner, thus ensuring high-availability operation. Machine manufacturers can thus offer their customers additional security. "Of course, you can also do this yourself if you have the appropriate knowledge among your employees - but experience shows us that hardly anyone has the time to do this, especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers," says Jürgen Greger.