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We have posted two brand new challenges for you. You can participate now and send us your applications.

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Check out our challenges on the links below:

Damage detection on structural components

E-Truck improvements

At 7th TPV Innovation Day, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Myriam Jahn, CEO at Q-loud and one of the leading IoT experts. Read on to learn more about her view on the industry 4.0.

You are one of the key experts in the industry 4.0 with a lot of experience in IoT. How did you become interested in this field? Has technology always been your thing?

Yes, it has. My father had a sawmill, a very small one with 10 employees. As a small child I was playing around the machines that my father had constructed all by himself. The industry 4.0 was my field before the term was even invented. What happened? First, I studied information technology and after getting a scholarship I switched to business administration. I’ve always been a little bit sad to have given up information technology studies. My PhD was something between business administration and information technology. I worked for an automation technology company for 15 years and during that period I obtained the title Master of Science in electrical engineering. So, my expertise is information technology, business administration and electrical engineering.

How did you start with IoT?

I always wondered, if there are so many sensors in the machinery, why don’t we obtain data from machines in order to help with production planning, manufacturing execution systems and consequently help us understand what happens on the shopfloor? In 2012, the term industry 4.0 came up and I thought that was the exact answer to my question. That was the starting point for me. It started with a vibration sensor that wasn’t necessary for the machine as it was only a condition monitoring sensor. The trouble was we couldn’t sell the sensor. There were two reasons: first, it wasn’t mandatory for the machine, and second, the maintenance people at the production site said they didn’t want lights blinking green and red, they just wanted data on the computer monitor. That was a nice wish, but it cost a lot of money. At the time, the connection to the monitor cost 25,000 € and the sensor was only 250 €, so it was a big issue to integrate it in to ERP or MES. The same issue was with 6.5 € inductive sensor where the connection and integration also cost from 25,000 € up. We noticed that MES was the meeting point and decided to buy MES software support to gain the knowledge to sell this vibration sensor. Then industry 4.0 came and everyone was in awe how we had managed to do that. It was then we started to sell software. We had a successful start, because we sold parametrisation software. We had previously sold hardware with free software, but then we had to start charging extra for the software. The margins were high and we were successful with the sale. The company has been doing very well and has now over 300 employees, but for me it wasn’t a challenge anymore. The biggest challenge I saw was to get the companies to implement cloud. So, I started with QSC, the mother company of Q-loud, that was in a line of business interesting for cloud integration. That was the starting point of Q-loud.

What would you say are the benefits of IoT for manufacturing companies?

There is a discussion going on whether digitalization replaces a lot of people. I don’t believe that. I believe that collaboration with the robots gets easier and that people on the shopfloor can make the decisions by themselves with digitalisation. This is actually more of a threat to the management than it is to the shopfloor. There is proof that productivity of the management will go up because if you get the collaboration right, there is no need for such a number of managers. In the end, the biggest benefit will be an increase in productivity.

Should the implementation of IoT be one of the first priorities for the company and if so, why?

For smart factories and industry 4.0, I think it’s crucial to get all the software on cloud. A cloud-based software should be one of the priorities, followed by application of artificial intelligence (A. I.). A.I. is all about learning, and learning means you need some time to learn. Time is crucial so the companies that implement it first have an advantage. For a company like TPV, where core competence is manufacturing and development, the key priority is also crucial to get all the data out of the machines, which isn’t easy as they have different output data. You need to bypass the PLC and have storage on the machine. You should have the possibility to change algorithms and get the most of the data.

Does IoT present new risks and possible issues?

Starting with the cloud, the data ownership is still not really defined as there is no such thing as a legal data ownership. This means that if you store information in a data center, the data center is officially allowed to take your data and use it. The data centers are secure, but legally they own the data because by current law: who stores it owns it. For this reason, you need to address this with contracts. Then we come to the issue of A.I. If you use an open source A.I. and don’t take care of that with your contract, then they also own the A.I. If you have a product like AGV (automated guided vehicle) and you have digitized connection to the cloud, then it is also crucial to have a certain portability with the cloud, so you can migrate at any moment if necessary and they can’t lock you in.

How is the data processed and how much maintenance is needed?

First of all, you shouldn’t store all the data in the cloud, because it’s too expensive and there’s too much data. What you should do is pre-process the data at the site or preferably on the machine. It’s crucial that whatever is on the machine should be in total access of the cloud. This way you get only the crucial data into the cloud. I can give you an example why you should have processing on the machine. You might be familiar with the fatal accident of the uber autonomous car. The uber car driver didn’t pay attention, but the car detected a woman with a bicycle and a bag. At that point, the car couldn’t decide whether it was a human or a bag. The core A.I. was stored in the cloud and the car had only algorithms. The car couldn’t make a decision and asked the cloud what to do. It took 6 seconds to get the data across from the car to the cloud, which was too long. The point is A.I. should be in the car and you should be able to upgrade the A.I. in the car from the cloud. The decision-making part of the A.I. should also be in the car.

What is your experience with companies that have implemented IoT? Can you provide examples of good practice?

The cloud approach is used by Techem, a big supplier of heating monitoring. In apartments for rent, you need to monitor who is using how much energy for heating. They have about 2 million devices in the apartments, all in the cloud, because you have to have all the data distributed. The cloud is done by us (Q-loud). They will also implement more intelligence on their devices and we will be a part of that. We have a lot of construction companies with precision tools which have installed beacons in tools in order to receive the information whether it is on or off and where it’s located.

In what way could a company like TPV make use of IoT?

Firstly, I’m very impressed with TPV. I got the impression that there is a can-do mentality which companies often lack. The leap that you have already made from manufacturing mechanical parts to AGV is huge and incredible. You are a perfect example of all the benefits. There are a lot of synergies between R&D, manufacturing, and developing digitized products, which is essential for a smart factory. You could benefit by digitising the AGV a little bit more. Connecting the machines to the cloud will be the next challenge.

How can we change the mentality of people and prepare them for work in smart factories?

I think that is the easy part if you give people transparency on what their machine is doing. Normally, the workers are a team with their machine and you need to give them transparency what happens with their machine. That way, they can decide what steps to take next.

I can give you an example from the shopfloor. I made a presentation for machine tool builders and told them it shouldn’t take more than 6 months to learn how to handle their machines. They laughed at the time. They aren’t laughing anymore, because the machines should be easy to handle and the user interface should be fun and easy to learn. This is a key factor for people to accept it. Working with the machine should be fun just like applications on our phones.

At the solemn ceremony held in Kulturni center Janez Trdina in Novo mesto, where the speaker of honour was Zdravko Počivalšek, the Minister for Economic Development and Technology, the TPV Group celebrated its 30th anniversary of existence.

Over the last thirty years, TPV has grown from a company to a group which today is an important player in the global market of the automotive industry. They sell their products on 4 continents and in 26 countries of the world. With about 1.200 employees, they are located in five sites in Slovenia, they also have a production site in Serbia, and in the coming years they are going to expand their production facilities to the new markets. Year after year, they have been promoting innovations and therefore connecting themselves into development partnerships with other companies and institutions of knowledge. Today they develop products installed in the most high-end vehicles and premium car brands using the most advanced materials and breakthrough technologies of their own development, enclosed in the so called factory of the future. This makes them one of the most distinguished players in the trend of Industry 4.0. In partnership with Böckmann, they are one of the leading and most innovative manufacturers of light car trailers in Europe, and they also have one of the biggest car dealership and service centre in Slovenia.

At yesterday’s ceremony, the guests were first addressed by Mr Marko Gorjup, President – CEO of TPV GROUP, who pointed out that on the 30 year long successful journey TPV has grown from a supplier to a globally recognized development and even pre-development supplier, so their big responsibility now is to continue to develop, enhance and build an even stronger TPV Group. At the end of his speech he especially thanked Mr Vladimir Gregor Bahč, the long-standing Board President and today’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TPV GROUP for his determination, courage and a clear vision he demonstrated to take the TPV Group, over the 30 years of operations, to the very top of the automotive industry, in recognition for which he conferred the award of honour on him.

Then Mr Vladimir Gregor Bahč shared his memories with all gathered of the thorny path they walked through in the early years. He said how proud he is of his colleagues and partners who stayed by his side, because »in such bad conditions for doing business, sometimes on the very edge of survival, not even the boldest would have dared to dream that our 30 year old story could have such a happy outcome as that which we are witnessing today.”
The speaker of honour, the Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Mr Zdravko Počivalšek, commended the development and associating orientation of the TPV Group and announced that within the Investment Promotion Act the Ministry of the Economy has approved a support to the comprehensive investment of TPV in the territory of the municipality of Brežice. The total amount of the investment is 49 million €, of which the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology will grant 6,5 million € according to the Investment Promotion Act. The investment will create 50 new jobs, of which at least 20 highly qualified jobs, and therefore represents an excellent opportunity for the development of this border region.

In the name of the Municipality of Novo mesto, Gregor Macedoni, the Mayor of the City, also congratulated the TPV Group on its anniversary and pointed out that whenever he represents the city of Novo mesto at home and abroad, he »is repeatedly confirmed that TPV is, with its quality products, innovations and reliability, an internationally recognized partner of many reputable companies worldwide.”

Tomaž Kordiš, the Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Dolenjska and Bela Krajina, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of TPV Group, conferred a special recognition of the GZDBK for its contribution to the economic development of the region, for its export-based operations and for its global performance in the industry.

Among numerous activities the TPV Group has been performing during the jubilee year, they did not forget their social responsibility. In the spirit of their vision »Creating mobility of the future«, Mr Marko Gorjup and Mr Vladimir Gregor Bahč offered a modern sports wheelchair to a disabled basketball player Milan  Slapničar. Milan is a permanent member of the Slovenian wheelchair national basketball team, and he also plays in the regional NLB wheelchair league. According to the national team coach Žiga Kobaševič, Milan is currently the best player and the strongest link in the national team. Milan is an example to many, but above all he is a great encouragement to the disabled who, in the beginning, face unimaginable traumas.  The new sports wheelchair, which is specially adapted for basketball,  is lighter, quicker and more agile, so it will provide him an even better mobility in the future.

The ceremony was led by the always charming Bernarda Žarn and enriched by musicians from the Dolenjska region Irena Yebuah Tiran, the accordionists Katarina Štefanič Rožanec and Tomaž Rožanec, and finally by a young percussion band MuwaRuwa Gruva from the Music School of Marjan Kozina, Novo mesto who performed on the TPV Group products.

ABOUT TPV GROUP:
TPV Group is one of the leading development suppliers operating on the global market of automotive industry. Their core activity, whose main driver is the company TPV d.o.o., is development and production of different components for automotive industry, such as body and chassis assemblies, car seat components and parts, and engine gaskets. Moreover, they develop and provide comprehensive solutions for production logistics management, where the automated guided vehicles, which are result of their own development, are one of the key products. The company is located in five sites in Slovenia– Novo mesto, Brežice, Suhor, Velika Loka and Ptuj – and one site in Kragujevac, Serbia. Due to the needs of customers, they intend to extend their production processes to new markets in the following years.
They are globally recognized as a development and pre-development supplier in the automotive industry. Their development services are purchased by most demanding OEMs for their premium brands like BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Land Rover, Renault etc. TPV develops products which have a significant impact on the driving dynamics, safety, ecology and driving comfort.
The TPV Group is besides TPV d.o.o. composed of TPV Prikolice d.o.o., TPV Avto d.o.o. and TPV Šumadija d.o.o., extending their field of operation to sales of new and used cars, program of comprehensive services for car users and program of light car trailers. The latter are developed and produced jointly with the German partner Böckmann. TPV is also one of the partners in the development company called SiEVA, who develops technological competencies and takes part in various research projects.

At TPV Group we aim to support local!

We have started our cooperation with Development Centre Novo mesto LTD in order to share projects in the field of robotics, technology, industry and modular solutions in industry 4.0.

Do you have your own idea or a solution in these fields? We can help you develop your ideas and achieve your goals.
Contact us via our contact form: https://www.tpvinnovationstation.com/#contact-us.