Finishers tend to trust their hands. While automation has become de rigueur almost everywhere else in the print process, phrases like semi-automated or hand-finished are still very much the language of the bindery. This world is still more physical than digital. It’s unsurprising, then, that for finishers, remote diagnostics tends to arouse suspicion rather than enthusiasm.

But things are changing. Every new launch in the post-press arena boasts ever-more complete automation and that means more that could go wrong. Where once a spanner was the easy fix, the problems are now more likely to be software based.

Remote diagnosis is therefore coming to the fore in finishing, with companies increasingly seeing it as an effective option financially and practically. That’s not to say, however, that concerns over levels of service, lack of physical interaction and connecting a guillotine or folder to the ether have vanished.

The latter concerns are among the many reasons why, despite pretty much every post-press kit supplier offering remote diagnosis, it has yet to take off in any substantial way. Watkiss Automation communications director Jo Watkiss says remote diagnostics have been available on her company’s range of collators and bookletmakers for a number of years, but feels there is a "marked reluctance" among customers to connect their machines to the outside world.

"In our experience, we have found that customers don’t like the idea of an external source monitoring their equipment," explains Watkiss. "People just prefer we come out and repair faults instead."

Neil Elliott, marketing manager at Friedheim International, adds that remote diagnostics come as standard on some of the company’s kit and though a reasonable number of customers are using the service, "it’s still in its early stages".

Early days
This is an opinion shared by Graham Glynn, owner of Leeds-based Glynn Print Finishers. He says that you’d be lucky to come across more than a select few trade finishers currently running remote diagnosis, but he adds that this is set to change.

"Finishing has been a bit slow with remote diagnosis," he explains. "Very few trade finishers in the country will have it. But going forward, as you replace kit with new, remote diagnosis just makes more sense. Your overheads walk around on two legs. For the cost of an engineer, you can get a service contract that includes remote diagnosis. So it’s starting to make financial sense to go with the latter."

Glynn puts the price of an engineer at between £30,000-£40,000, which he says costs the company around £70,000 when all elements of that employment are considered. For that sum, he says he could get his whole bindery signed up to a service contract with remote diagnosis included.

Muller Martini’s remote diagnostic technology, MMRemote, comes with an initial hardware cost between £8,000 – £12,000 and a MMRemote software licence costs £1,500-£2,500 per year depending on the support package. However, technical manager Reto Hofer says a single software licence can cover up to four machines.

"Whether to take that up is, of course, a commercial decision to be made by the customer," he says. "It really depends on how many machines they have, and how frequently those machines are used."

The cost factor is an important one and something that benefits the manufacturers and suppliers, as well as the print company, according to Autobond managing director John Gilmore. In 2007, Autobond claimed to take remote diagnostics to a new level by providing its laminators with webcams and built-in microphones.

"There aren’t any circumstances in which remote diagnostics wouldn’t be helpful in solving a problem," claims Gilmore. "The only person who would say there is no substitute for an engineer is someone who doesn’t have remote diagnostics. It saves us and our customers thousands, both in terms of money and time."

To demonstrate his point, Gilmore gives the example of RR Donnelley in the US, which rang Autobond to report a fault on one of its Autobond machines. Due to the on-board camera sending remote pictures back to the UK, the Autobond team were able to see that the guard switch wasn’t working properly as a screw had vibrated loose. The US printers fixed the problem and were back in business within the hour.

It is this preference to remotely diagnose and fix problems that is the crux of many a finisher’s apprehensions. Watkiss concedes that the majority of customers’ problems are application-based rather than component failure, and for that a hands-on, rather than remote, approach often works best.

"Field issues normally involve things like paper handling or stretching, and for those kinds of problems you really need someone on hand to show the customer what they may be doing wrong," she advises.

Hands-on approach
Friedheim’s Elliot agrees that where "skilled manual adjustment" is required to fix the problem, remote diagnosis is not the best option.

Glynn believes the requirements of finishers are changing, however, that the majority of problems that occur on modern finishing machines are software or electrical based, rather than mechanical.

"If it is a mechanical problem, you can generally fix it yourself, but the electronic or software problems are more complex and you need assistance," says Glynn. "These problems don’t necessarily require an engineer on site looking at it. Often, the engineer will come and take away the data readings on a laptop and diagnose the problem back at the office anyway. We’ve had that problem a couple of times, it has been a software issue and a lot of it could have been solved remotely."

Bradford-based Alpha Media Solutions operations director Michael Ridgeon argues that mechanical problems are still an issue, but that these too can be aided with remote diagnosis. The company has remote diagnostics on its Bobst E Press folder-gluer and the benefits of the system are often that if an engineer does need to be sent out, the right one is deployed.

"There are two types of engineer: electrical and mechanical," Ridgeon explains. "You don’t want an electrical engineer to visit you for a mechanical fault, or vice versa. If you’re sent the wrong guy, it could cost you half a day’s work."

Duplo would add that it can also prevent an engineer being sent out unnecessarily. Its e-Tandem remote diagnostics service is now standard on all DC-645s. Andy Pike, UK marketing manager, recounts one example of an operator that had consistent paper jams and so requested an engineer from the manufacturer. Duplo duly sent one out on a 60-mile round trip only to find that the operator had failed to empty the machine’s waste bin. With e-Tandem, this would have been identified instantly saving everyone a lot of hassle – and the operator a lot of embarrassment.

Pike says that e-Tandem can forsee many problems before they occur and, because the company has the data to hand when problems are reported, issues are rectified quicker and with more accuracy than has ever been possible before.
"The system is a fantastic way of improving the efficiency of our service support," claims Pike. "Traditionally, when there is a machine problem, the user has to describe the problem to the best of their ability, and the service engineer will then order the appropriate part based on this discussion. This then leaves us open to ordering incorrect parts, which can then further delay the resolution of the problem. Duplo is able to guarantee 100% correct parts when e-Tandem is used."

Encore Machinery managing director Mike Biggs agrees that remote diagnosis enables a much more comprehensive service arrangement. He says his company is able to see the complete operator’s panel, select all functions and software settings and apply software updates. In the service menu, it’s also possible to remotely monitor the function of all sensors and servo motors and detect if any of the servo motors are under unusual stress, which could indicate a belt or bearing problem.

Tough lessons
Ultimately, the aim of all these features is to limit downtime. Heading off a problem before it occurs or fixing a problem quickly when it’s reported, is crucial. Purfect Binding Company managing director Reg Walwyk says he learned this the hard way.

"Our old binder didn’t have it, and on one occasion there was a problem were we waited five days for a German engineer to come over. Once he was here, it took him all of 15 minutes to fix the problem," Walwyk adds. "That made me decide I would buy a machine with a built-in modem the next time."

Muller Martini’s Hofer explains that this just shows that where delivery times are tight and there are penalties involved, remote diagnostic backup can make a valuable difference. He claims MMRemote can reduce the average downtime of a machine by up to 50%, in part because, if necessary, a Muller Martini service engineer at the company’s headquarters in Iver, Bucks, can look at the machine in conjunction with a factory engineer in Switzerland.

"We can hook onto the control systems of the machine –  its dials, its temperature, its CPU usage – and these technical details allow our service and software technicians to hopefully find out in a very quick space of time what the problem is," says Hofer.

Despite the obvious benefits, cynicism still prevails among some, with suggestions that remote diagnostics are just a way of reducing the pool of engineers a supplier has to employ. Duplo’s Pike refutes this: "We boast the largest team of print finishing engineers in the UK and these guys are busy. Where the benefit comes is in our efficiency. Instead of wasting time, resources and fuel on visiting a customer blind, we have advanced intelligence that enables us to bring the parts they need, and allows us to solve the vast majority of issues on the first visit."

Glynn adds that worries of this nature should not be necessary if you have the right service package. He argues that a good service package will include remote diagnostics as part of a wider package for spares and engineer assistance and so it would be in the interests of the supplier to fix the problem the best way possible, as it is out of the service provider’s pocket that costs for any delays and wrong diagnosis will come.

While some will remain unconvinced and opt to stick with the offline option they know best, it’s clear remote diagnostics are going to be increasingly hard to ignore. As the technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, those most in touch with how well their equipment works, and those quickest to respond should any faults arise, will be the ones who will stay one step ahead of the game.

As Glynn concludes: "I don’t think there is anyone tighter than me in the industry, but I’m leaning towards remote diagnosis now as it is simply the more cost effective way to do things."

CASE STUDY: SOUTHERNPRINT
When Southernprint’s Muller Martini Normbinder was severely damaged following a fire at its production facility in Poole last year, the web offset printer decided to replace it with a Corona C18 perfect binder.

Already impressed with Muller Martini’s support service, managing director Paul Toms decided the new investment was an ideal time to start using the Swiss manufacturer’s remote diagnostic service, MMRemote.

"We operate on a 24/7 basis, meaning our machines need to be running around the clock," Toms explains. "Our customers not only want high-quality products, they also expect that we deliver these products by the deadlines agreed in the contract. Equipment uptime is therefore vital and that’s why it was clear to me that we needed a remote solution to further back-up our in-house team of technicians."

Southernprint has a good in-house team of technicians, claims Toms, but he believes support from Muller Martini’s highly trained specialists is still needed. "We need to consider that it always costs money to call out a service engineer," he says. "But the time you save with an online solution considerably outweighs the negative aspect of the engineering costs."

Toms says it’s difficult to quantify the increase in productivity on the Corona as a result of MMRemote, but believes it has prevented "potentially days" of non-productivity. "It also has given us a psychological advantage as it gives us greater
confidence during our day-to-day work," Toms adds. "All in all, it makes a significant contribution to our business and in our ability to provide a reliable service to our customers."