In the last issue we introduced FSP’s Development Manager Rauli Yrjänä. He discussed the possibilities of applying digitalization in different areas of the surface treatment industry. What kinds of development projects are now ongoing at FSP?
– We are on our way towards industrial internet, or the Internet of Things. We have had numerous exchanges on the subject, both internally and externally, Rauli Yrjänä relates the latest digital news.
– Business requirements of industrial internet have been scheduled as individual phases and functions. We are currently looking for a suitable system partner. We have also surveyed the key needs of our customers. In summary, quite a lot has happened since last summer, Yrjänä says.
He will not go into detail about customer discussions, but says their interests include the transparency of the surface treatment process.
– We are seeking solutions that make it easier to track processes.
For several years, FSP has had an internal channel for feedback and development initiatives. It has yielded a lot of findings and ideas.
– A benefit of the system is that we have been able to store and make use of tacit knowledge. However, its use has been cumbersome, requiring logging in on a desktop computer, which is slow and laborious, Rauli Yrjänä says.
Now the initiative system is updated to meet today’s needs with an easy-to-use mobile app.
– With the app, you can report a finding or initiative right then and there. One advantage of the new app is that it streamlines information flow for example on quality deviations, enabling us to fix them a lot more efficiently. The app also gives us observations which we can use to improve occupational safety.
The mobile app has been developed in cooperation with Tampere-based Toyme Lab. It is based on an existing app but has been tailored for FSP’s needs.
– We are already used to the machines in restaurants that enable us to give feedback on food and service at the push of a button, Rauli Yrjänä says. – Why shouldn’t this be as easy in surface treatment? The main goal of the app was all along to make reporting straightforward. For a surface treatment worker, it can be as simple as scanning a QR code indicating a quality deviation from a list on the paint shop wall, filling out an information form that opens up and sending the report right away.
This autumn, FSP has taken part in an innovation project of biotechnology and chemical engineering students at the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
– We asked the students to come up with ideas for increasing the efficiency of waste management. In the project, they are assessing the current status of waste management – the starting point – and trying to find more efficient and environmentally sustainable ways of managing waste. Goals of the innovation project include cutting the amount of waste, increasing recycling and developing uniform procedures in waste management facilities.
It is an important subject, because surface treatment facilities handle vast amounts of shot blasting materials, paints and solvents. Waste is created in the form of paint containers, dried paint and protection materials like plastics and tapes.
Rauli Yrjänä is feeling positive about student cooperation.
– The student group has been active from the start, immediately finding its own role in the cooperation. They have for example conducted a survey on waste containers in our facilities with a response rate of almost 100 percent.
Last summer, Rauli Yrjänä became the chair of FSP’s internal innovation team. Yrjänä says that digitalization also shows up in the team’s activities.
– Whatever the subject, we are assessing potential digital solutions. When we took acloser look at our innovation activities, we came to the conclusion that the possibilities of digitalization should be taken into use in that area as well. We are especially interested in how to engage our customers in innovation activities,
Rauli Yrjänä says.
He encourages customers to actively be in contact about subjects both big and small, whether it is about digital or other development.
Read the previous interview:
Development manager Rauli Yrjanä: We want to use digitalization for the benefit of our clients and the entire surface treatment industry
