Sarlin Balance Smart Management System commissioned via remote support

Sarlin_Vantaa-7881
Written by Heikki Laurila, 01.03.2021

Spring 2020 stopped in many ways. We at Sarlin were worried about how to complete our overseas projects without being physically present on sites. We quickly realized that the commissioning of the Sarlin Balance Smart Management system, for example, is successful remotely with the help of our local partners. This also increases the efficiency of the overseas delivery processes.

Sarlin Balance Smart Management System is a compressed air management system that controls compressors in many steel mills in China, for example. One of the newest deliveries is a medical technology company in Mexico. Sarlin Balance Smart Management System is also used at the two plants of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus in the United Kingdom.

Sarlin Balance is constantly increasing its market share both in Finland and abroad. Especially in large production plants, optimizing the production and use of compressed air enhances energy savings, which is important not only economically but also for the environment.

 

Remote training and continuous communication are the key

Sarlin Balance Smart Management System had also been agreed to be commissioned in 2020 at several steel mills in China. Normally, our experts would have visited on site during the commissioning of such large systems several times to oversee the work and ensure that everything was going as planned.

Travel bans due to the Covid-19 epidemic thwarted these plans. However, we made the projects run on schedule with remote support for the local commissioning work. We increased and targeted training and intensified our collaboration with our local partners.

There are many positive aspects to remote deployment. Installation schedules are flexible on both sides, allowing waiting times to be utilized. Time savings were also obtained from reduced travel times. Remote deployment streamlines the delivery process of our projects and increases our competitiveness in the overseas market.

Our plans are to develop training and orientation materials related to remote commissioning. In this way, we will make Sarlin’s know-how and expertise more widely available.

 

Benefits of remote commissioning:

– increases efficiency in scheduling and time management

– reduced travel, time savings and environmental friendliness

 

Competent partners and smooth communication

Remote commissioning emphasizes careful preparation, planning, scheduling, project-specific remote training, and communication. Taking care of information security is also one of the basic things. For example, the MB Connect Line remote access system in Sarlin’s product range provides a centralized and secure management connection between users and routers.

The equipment and software shipped to the customers are already configured and tested in Finland. At the site, our local partners do the installation and testing together with Sarlin’s remote support professionals. Communication takes place via video messages and calls, as well as messaging apps. The systems are implemented device by device and their operation is confirmed by many tests.

Remote commissioning is successful when local partners have experience and expertise in similar systems. A good result is achieved when persons we already know are involved. On-site commissioning experience of the remote support person in Finland is also important so that he can instruct the local commissioning person. The working language is English. One of the challenges of remote commissioning is the time difference, which requires flexibility in working hours. Sometimes technical problems in remote connections also cause their own challenges.

 

Preparing for remote commissioning:

– careful configuration and testing of the systems

– project-specific remote training

 

Communication in remote commissioning:

– functional and secure communication channels, such as MB Connect Line solutions for remote connections and routers

– effective communication between Sarlin’s remote support and local on-site persons requires experience and expertise from both parties

 

Remote commissioning remains part of the system delivery

The ease of remote commissioning is surprising, although there are also problems that would be easier to solve on site. We believe that remote connections will continue to be used in deliveries of the systems, at least as part of the commissioning package.

Of course, we have long utilized remote consultation between on-site service people and our experts in our maintenance services in Finland. This has proven to be a good and fast way to test the functionality of systems and solve problem situations.

Technological development increases remote monitoring and operation of systems and equipment, so it is natural that the potential of technology can also be exploited during installation and commissioning.