If you had told a printer 20-odd years ago that in the future, when a machine went down, an engineer could be tinkering with it in a matter of minutes, they might have imagined speedy, futuristic modes of transport or fantastical teleportation devices. If you had told this same printer that the engineer would also be able to identify a problem with a machine before anyone realised it needed attention, it might have blown their mind.
This future has, of course, very much arrived. The advent of broadband and software-driven machines means that remote maintenance is now a feature of many service contracts for new equip-ment. In the past, a malfunctioning machine would have pretty much always required an engineer call-out from the manufacturer or its local agent, but today, this same engineer can use data sent directly from the machine to diagnose the root cause of a problem, and perhaps even resolve it, by proxy.
And the latest offerings go even further; for example, Heidelberg announced at Drupa that it is to introduce a service whereby it continually monitors data sent from new machines to identify anomalies before they become problematic.
The range of services on offer varies from one manufacturer to another. Some offer just remote diagnostics, some offer remote repair, where possible, and some offer a preventative analysis service, similar to the one Heidelberg is planning to introduce.
So, when deciding which manufacturer’s equipment to go with, printers would do very well to consider exactly what level of service they require and explore what each of the potential suppliers has to offer.
The most desirable option might appear to be the full bells-and-whistles service, whereby the machine’s manufacturer monitors production data in order to spot any warning signs as soon as they occur.
Heidelberg has resolved a number of major issues at Australian printers thanks to the remote diagnostics and servicing. For instance, it fixed a problem on the Autoplate XL on the 10-colour Speedmaster XL 105 at Geon’s New South Wales site. Ditto when there was a main drive issue on the SM 102 perfector at Paragon Printers in Canberra.
Heidelberg Remote Services (HEIRES) is available for a whole range of pre-press, printing and finishing technology, including presses with Prinect Press Centre, CP 2000 presses with later software versions, Image Control, TH and KH Stahlfolders with later software versions, Stitchmaster ST 350 and 450 and Dymatrix 106 diecutters.
Andrew Biddolph, the technical support manager who oversees remote diagnostics at Heidelberg Australia & New Zealand, says HEIRES is particularly attractive to customers the more remote they are.
Mark Palmer, pre-press team leader at Heidelberg, agrees. “This is the same for pre-press. It comes down to ease of mind to the customer knowing that the equipment or software can be logged on remotely if support is required.”
But Heidelberg’s all-singing and dancing Remote Monitoring service will not launch for at least another 12 months, so anyone wanting a fully comprehensive preventative monitoring service will have to wait.
Broader options
For those who want remote services now, the two broad types on offer – ones that diagnose problems and repair them and ones that just diagnose them – will be of more interest. Where a breakdown can be resolved remotely, this will save the printer hours, or perhaps even days, of downtime. And when a tech does need to be called out, running a remote diagnostic in advance will give them intimate knowledge of the problem, ensuring they show up fully briefed and carrying the correct parts.
These days, some level of remote servicing is available on even the most entry-level machinery. Tracey Watts, manager at Black Panther Printing in Windsor, Sydney, says Fuji Xerox saved her company from some costly downtime only recently.
The small digital printer runs a Xerox C6550, and when it went down due to a missing driver, a Fuji Xerox tech logged in remotely, downloaded the software and had the machine up and running in no time. She says service is the deciding factor when the company invests. “A lot of machines do the same thing, but the back-up is the important thing.”
Lloyd D’Souza, national technical support manager at Fuji Xerox Australia, says the vendor’s remote desktop tool, LogMeIn, allows technicians to log in to customer’s machines from its support centre in Sydney. He says that while the technology is useful, it is really about the expertise of people on the other end of the line.
“We believe it is important, but more important is the skill and knowledge that our support agents have to isolate and investigate issues. The tools provide us with access to a customer’s environment, but it’s the skill of our people that allows us to succeed.
“Remote services provided by highly skilled support representatives enable the prevention and effective resolution of technical issues in minimum time, without needing to wait for an on-site engineer. This is especially valuable for our customers in remote or non-metro locations,” says D’Souza.
He says that sometimes, actually servicing the machine remotely is not appropriate. “Sometimes, a skilled engineer is required to diagnose and replace parts – for example, a circuit board requires electrostatic discharge handling practices applied. Also as required by Australian Health and Safety laws, some activities need to be performed on-site, by a trained service engineer.”
But even in this situation, remote diagnostics come in handy. “Remote diagnostics can certainly help in identify-ing problems that ultimately need to be solved by a person on-site,” says D’Souza.
As up to 40% of service calls don’t actually require a spare part, remote maintenance can save enormous time and effort, according to Konica Minolta, which offers these services under the name CS Remote Care.
“Examples of problems that can be resolved remotely include errors relating to paper dust, static fusing, temperature irregularities, consumable thresholds, some repeatable image faults and specific paper jams,” the company tells ProPrint.
“In the case of an identified part failure, a remote engineer can ensure the correct parts available prior to a field service call.”
Konica Minolta says the CS Remote Care helpdesk is manned by engineers rotated from the field “to ensure their knowledge and skills are fresh”. The vendor stresses the importance of these remote services to on-demand digital printers based outside of the city centre.
“Machine uptime is critical in the print-for-pay, just-in-time digital market. With fast engineer response times, some problems can be remotely resolved in minutes. Customers located outside the CBD also greatly benefit having expert support via our web tools.”
Reducing downtime
One such customer is Brian Coyte, owner of South East Printing in Cooma, near the New South Wales snowfields. The company, which runs four Konica Minolta Bizhubs, is almost an hour and a half from the closest service hub in Canberra, and Coyte reckons remote diagnostics “is saving them a lot of travel time and saving us a hell of a lot of downtime”.
“In one instance, something was tripping over in a drum. They were able to isolate that issue and they then guided me to identify the part that I needed to trip back over in the drum. That got us going and kept us printing that day and they came the next morning. So instead of me being out of action for four hours, it only took me 15 minutes to fix and then I knew that if it tripped over again, I could fix it.”
As well as this kind of collaborative remote servicing, Coyte says the other big advantage is preventative maintenance, which means Konica Minolta is checking up on the machine whether Coyte’s team has noticed an issue or not. “Sometimes they have rung me before I even knew there was a bigger problem than we thought,” he says.
Coyte admits it is impossible to quantify how much downtime and money that remote diagnostics and servicing has saved South East Printing over the four years since it installed its first Bizhub, but his gut feeling is that the preventative maintenance has meant far fewer machine glitches. “We have very few breakdowns between preventative maintenance, because they continually stay on top of it. I have to believe that is why we have fewer downtimes.”
But he echoes other sentiments when he says the real benefit is the people, not the technology. Coyte praises Konica Minolta techs for always giving him a ring before they jump in the van and head for Cooma, so they show up at the right time, with the right part and with an idea of the problem and how to solve it.
Deciding factor
Fujifilm says that remote services have become so important that winning a customer might depend on them. “In some cases, remote support can be a condition of the sale. This is particularly important to our customers that are in non-metro and regional areas.
“To regional customers, not only is it important that we can diagnose software and some hardware issues as they arise, but it also helps when there are software upgrades or upgrade training to be done [remotely],” says Fujifim marketing manager Matt Ritson.
Customers can access Fujifilm’s suite of remote service for one Annual Maintenance Licence (AML), he explains. “Especially in regional areas, remote diagnostics are a crucial deciding factor in a customer’s purchase. If issues can be fixed remotely, the printer can be back up and running much sooner. Less downtime means more revenue and, therefore, more efficiency.”
This is the hope for Tony Gallagher from Special Binding in Brisbane. The trade house is waiting for a whole new fleet of finishing equipment to arrive after a devastating fire in February wiped it out. Following the $8.5 million insurance payout and a shopping trip to Drupa, the company has ordered a whole new bindery battery, including a pair of Kolbus perfect binders with remote diagnostic features.
According to Ferrostaal, the local agent for the Germany finishing manufacturer: “Kolbus Portal is the remote diagnostic centre for Kolbus customers. The internet-based Remote Service and Maintenance Module permits live and simultaneous communication between customers around the world and the service experts at Kolbus… enabling online diagnosis of the electronic control systems.
“The system ensures maximum machine availability with faster reaction times, reduced work and travel expenses for service technicians, as well as the provision of troubleshooting assistance.”
Ferrostaal also distributes the Wohlenberg range of perfect binders, which come with a similar remote facility. “As with the Kolbus system, the Wohlenberg remote maintenance provides the facility for remotely located technicians to quickly identify a fault, hence reducing on-site engineer costs.”
Local companies that use this service from Wohlenberg include Sydney-based Caxton Web and Perth-based Print Finishing Line. The Wohlenberg Champion e6000 system was installed at the Perth bindery four years ago, and manager Chris Dunkin says he was excited about the prospect of remote services but admits that the promise has not always lived up to his expectations. “When you buy a high-tech machine, so much can go wrong,” he says.
Dunkin says the main problem is that with the helpdesk based in Germany, he may have to wait most of the day before the call centre comes online. Combined with a general lack of service availability in Perth, it can be frustrating. He isn’t picking on any one supplier, but says that vendors have generally pulled out of Perth.
“It is getting harder because there are fewer engineers and electricians here. CPI used to have three full-time on their books here, so if I have a breakdown and call Ferrostaal and the sub contractor is on another job I have to wait. Heidelberg are the same: they don’t have as many staff on their books,” says Dunkin.
The problem isn’t reserved to Perth. Across Australia, many global vendors are reducing the level of technical support to offset the difficult business climate. Many of the biggest manufacturers have announced widespread international redundancies. Local, on-the-ground support is a big expense.
Mike Shannon, managing director of Caxton Web, says this unfortunate trend proves the importance of remote maintenance. “One of the reason this will become more important going forward is all the OEMs have a reduced technical footprint on the ground in Australia so if the technology allows global support, bring it on.”
He raises one caveat about granting suppliers remote access to machinery – IT security. It is highly unlikely any supplier would try to access confidential data, but remote diagnostics could technically be classified as an outside party breaching the firewall. “While we trust our supply partners, at any point you open up your network to someone you don’t know,
you must be mindful,” says Shannon.
The Sydney-based heatset web offset printer has a range of gear with remote capabilities, such as its Goss presses and its Wohlenberg finishing gear, including that Champion e8000 perfect binder.
Shannon says remote servicing has got the company out of more than one sticky situation. He gives one example: “In late 2010, we had a significant malfunction with our Wohlenberg three-knife. The local Ferrostaal technical people couldn’t resolve the issue so we go them wired in via the internet and the Germans came in and assisted the local techs, found the problems and fixed it.”
The most pressing question a printer should be asking of its service provider is not just how extensive its diagnostic capa-bilities are, but how effectively it backs this up. Remote services can provide a link between a troublesome machine and a service centre, but the skills of the tech-nicians will still be of vital importance. Printers would be really well advised to look at is just how comprehensive a manufacturer’s remote diagnostic capabilities are. Crucially, printers will need to ask the same questions about engineer staffing and skill levels as they always have. While replacing some aspects of a maintenance procedure with data analysis and regulation is helpful, there is it seems still no beating a human touch.
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