BENTELER Automotive and Fraunhofer IEM invest EU funding in “Big Data” solutions
Paderborn, March 13 2018. BENTELER is implementing the EU project BOOST 4.0 at the company's plant An der Talle, Paderborn. This project is one of ten pan-European pilot projects for Big Data. To implement this project, BENTELER will receive funding from the European Commission to foster the topic of Big Data with a focus on predictive maintenance. BENTELER's partner in this project is the Fraunhofer Institute for mechatronics design methods (Fraunhofer IEM). In addition, the cross-company network "it’s OWL“ ("Intelligent Technical Systems" OstWestfalenLippe) will contribute its experience in technology transfer for this project. BENTELER is an active and long-standing member of this cluster.
Funding permits evaluation of large data volumes
Big Data is a term used to describe very large data volumes, which are too complex to evaluate them through manual or conventional methods. Data volumes of this magnitude are, for instance, generated in production. BENTELER and the Fraunhofer Institute use methods of machine learning and models for handling Big Data. Thanks to the funding, these can now be pushed further and implemented in the Automotive site Talle, Paderborn, and at other BENTELER locations. Specifically, this pilot project is used in industrial data analysis related to maintenance. Preventing downtimes through "Predictive Maintenance" The aim of the project is to prevent future operating downtimes. "For this purpose, the Fraunhofer IEM is developing a model for anticipating required maintenance work - referred to as Predictive Maintenance," explains Daniel Wienhusen, director Industry 4.0 of BENTELER Automotive. "Understanding the relevant data enables us to assess the state of health of the corresponding machine. On this basis, the teams can detect imminent disruptions and take preventive measures early."
A way to unearth the data treasure
Martin Weidlich, Executive Vice President Region Western, adds: "We want to use technical production data constructively, because it contains important information for making production processes more efficient. These Big Data solutions link large data volumes and evaluate them. In the long-term, this will contribute added value - and secure our position as a leader in technology."
