Innovative Technology a Game Changer for OjiFS
With the types of industrial machinery OjiFS uses across our operations, a manufacturer's engineer is required to be onsite to complete the install. However, with borders closed due to COVID-19, getting Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) into the country, was a challenge we didn't foresee for 2020.
Our options were to delay installs and pay for costly storage of new machinery until OEMs could travel freely (without quarantine), or find a solution to progress with the installs, without the OEMs being physically onsite. Not ones to shy away from a challenge and with innovation as one of our core values, we opted for the latter.
The first project was installation of a new converting machine (EVOL Casemaker), manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Japan, at our Packaging Lansvale site in New South Wales, Australia. With help from our I.T. team, we discovered we could complete a remote install using Microsoft’s (MS) HoloLens technology. HoloLens is the first fully self-contained holographic computer running Windows 10, that integrates with MS Teams and offers a fully immersive mixed reality experience, using Virtual Reality (VR) technology.
There were obvious concerns around safety and warranty of doing a remote install. So together with MHI, we completed a thorough risk assessment, testing, and HoloLens training. This work took about a month to complete and required listing out all the tools, information, personnel, WIFI connections and communication pathways, to ensure MHI would have full control of the installation process - remotely from Japan.
We then contracted a local engineering team to be onsite and undertake the physical install at Lansvale, under the guidance of the MHI remote team in Japan. Every single task performed by our contracted engineers had to be approved by MHI. One of the biggest challenges was the EVOL Casemaker tracks installation, which required a high precision levelling machine (0.2mm over 2 km). The Human Machine Interface (HMI) feature of MS HoloLens allowed the remote team in Japan to see the levelling very well, with absolute precision.
To further add to our challenges, our project manager for the install was based in Victoria, and orchestrated the whole thing remotely - due to Victoria’s elongated COVID-19 lockdown and state border closures with New South Wales. However, everyone pulled together and did an outstanding job at successfully installing the machine.
Due to the speed of the Evol Casemaker, it will double the sqm that our previous equipment ran monthly. This increased capacity positions our Packaging Lansvale plant for growth in 2021, as demand for fibre-based packaging products increases. The Evol Casemaker is now in full production mode and the transition of jobs from other machines is well underway.
Clear and consistent communications between all parties was critical, with safety being our absolute priority. We couldn’t be prouder of our Packaging Lansvale team and everyone else involved! They looked outside the box to find this solution and courageously took on new technology at a time when they were also personally impacted by COVID-19. It is this level of commitment and passion that makes our people at OjiFS a cut above the rest.
