Mark McCourt, VP, Innovation and Engineering, Warren Rupp Inc.
The use of mobile applications on phones and tablet devices has grown exponentially since the introduction of the smart phone. Presently, the majority of mobile phone users own a smart phone and utilize the power of the device to share personal photos and videos, engage in entertainment with games, movies, etc., communicate via email, surf the internet and have live video conversations between two smart devices.
Our culture has adopted these devices as the norm and it has become commonplace across the spectrum of society with respect to both age and economic status.
Data acquisition applications are also now available that will allow instant access to information such as product details and comparative pricing for retail goods in stores. These applications accept the inputs from reading a barcode, QR (quick read) code, or manual inputs to link the consumer to product information. It is a natural migration for this technology to extend into the industrial world.
Industrial product data, including accessories, service manuals, instructional videos, application information and spare parts lists, can be stored on cloud databases globally and linked to machinery identification numbers for easy access by equipment service personnel.
The Sandpiper and Versa-Matic brand mobile apps for air operated double diaphragm (AODD) pumps are examples of this technology. Spare parts quotations for a specific pump can be requested instantly simply by scanning the QR code on the pump tag, checking a box and hitting send. The user can also view the spare parts installation video and service manual for that specific pump without searching through lists of information.
Everything that the pump user needs to service a particular pump is right at their fingertips. This ease-of-use functionality, which is applicable across all industrial products, reduces the inefficiency of searching for reference data during routine and emergency maintenance situations.
A smart device utilizing ‘the cloud’ can save customers time and money when servicing equipment. I’m sure that we will see many more innovations for industry utilizing common handheld devices in the very near future.
