IGear Connects Genesis Systems Group Customer To Its Machines to Achieve 20% Productivity Increase

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IGear Online, a leading provider of cloud and mobile machine monitoring software technology for the global manufacturing industry, today announced that its IGear Pulse Always On^® technology is driving a major improvement in machine uptime for a customer of Genesis Systems Group, North America's largest robotic arc welding systems builder. The customer, Oshkosh Defense, has realized a 20% increase in robot uptime thanks to its use of Genesis Systems' IntelligenceCenter™ workcell management solution -- a cloud/mobile service powered by IGear Pulse.

Genesis Systems Group, based in Davenport, Iowa, has used IGear Pulse to power its IntelligenceCenter solution since the product's debut in 2010. "IGear Pulse had nearly all the functionality we wanted," said Mike Stoecker, Genesis Systems Group's IntelligenceCenter product manager. "Pulse is able to track critical robot and weld parameters, file backups, as well as statistical data on workcell performance. It also can record, for our benefit as well as that of our customers, alarm histories, frequency reports, diagnostics and a lot more."

IGear Pulse is an online content solution for machine builder OEMs who want to better understand their machine performance, utilization, and service needs. Pulse enables each machine in the field to automatically push data to IGear servers where the information is stored and analyzed by both the OEM and the end customer. Because the information is securely stored in the cloud, any authenticated Web device can access it via the Internet.

"Genesis Systems Group understands that real-time performance data is the future of industrial robotics," said Don Korfhage, President and CEO of IGear Online. "This is critical information that can be used not only to increase machine uptime, but also build revenue by offering value-added service programs and parts replacement programs tied to machine use. Finally, customer satisfaction is increased significantly when OEMs can accurately analyze problems and provide solutions in minutes, instead of days, through remote technical support."

By sharing machine performance data with its customer, Oshkosh Defense, Genesis Systems was able to help produce a marked increase in utilization for its products. Oshkosh Defense, based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is a global designer and manufacturer of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles. The company has installed a number of Genesis Systems welding robots on its production lines.  

Oshkosh uses data from Genesis Systems' IntelligenceCenter to determine root causes for the most common sources of downtime and eliminate them. It also provides performance data to its operators through a simple video display system.

"We have installed flat screen TVs in the lunch room to show how each individual cell is currently performing, real-time and the past 24 hours," said Chris Stedl, Manufacturing Technician at Oshkosh Defense. "This way, the operators can see how they are doing in relation to the previous shifts and their own production from the day before."

Stedl notes that the screens also allow management to see at a glance how everyone is performing. "After the initial install of the TVs we noticed a 20% increase in cell uptime," he stated. "It makes it so we are all transparent, and everyone wants to do better if everyone else can see what you are doing, or not doing."

"Almost instantly, we're able to know the condition of our customer's machine and what attention is needed -- and by diagnosing robots remotely we can often return them to production faster than if we dispatched a technician to the facility," said Genesis Systems' Stoecker. "We believe remote machine monitoring is having a major impact on our competitiveness, as well as our ability to serve our customers."

About IGear Online:
IGear, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a leading provider of remote machine monitoring solutions. The company's Pulse Always On^® technology allows manufacturing equipment builders to monitor performance of their products via the Internet, increasing machine uptime and improving customer service. The SaaS (Software as a Service) application can be private labeled and marketed to end customers as value-added data sharing service. For more information about IGear Online, visit the company's website at www.igearonline.com.

IGear Contact:
John Humphreys
VP Business Development
502-394-3324 (direct)
[email protected]

SOURCE IGear Online