In 1784 the advent of the steam engine started the first industrial revolution. Then at the end of the nineteenth century it was followed by the second with electricity which led to mass production and the introduction of the assembly line. In 1970 it was the turn of the third industrial revolution which, with the birth of information technology, marked the transition to process automation.
Named as such for the first time in 2010, the fourth industrial revolution is still taking place and leading us towards completely automated and interconnected production. “Industry 4.0, the child of the fourth industrial revolution is also spreading in Italy” says Andrea Capoferri, Head of Mattei Group Industrialisation. “The Smart Factory uses interconnected technologies to rationalise resources and costs, makes use of IT tools to share data and create an energy efficient product. It is a process in which increasingly powerful and complex machines interact with man, to where a high degree of specialisation and a strong aptitude for problem solving will be required in the future”. At Mattei change has also been taken place for a few years: “We introduced some important innovations to make our work more efficient. We focused on the dissemination of information in the company, breaking down the barriers between one department and another, creating rational flows, in which everyone is aware of the progress of each project. The introduction of the SAP management system and the Ticketing Freshdesk management platform were fundamental, to which we added planners for more technical aspects, project management tools and business collaboration software”.
These tools exploit the potential of the industrial internet, which also makes dialogue possible between man and machine. Mattei compressors will return large amounts of data, which, through
the Cloud, will be immediately made available. “In the new era, predictive maintenance will allow customisation of service intervals and remote monitoring. Thanks to the latter, it will be possible to have real-time evidence of anomalies, preventing greater damage. Whilst in both cases there are considerable advantages in terms of reducing the lifecycle costs and increasing the durability of the machine”. The Mattei products are also putting Industry 4.0 into practice. The latest compressors are equipped with intelligent technologies, which make them more energy efficient as Capoferri explains: “Mattei XC is a control panel built into the compressor that monitors and transmits data directly to Mattei XCloud. The latter also allows remote control, informing the operator in real-time about the status of the machine making all the operational parameters available. The data will be protected by a personalised and encrypted access system, in line with the new laws on IT data security”.
From Mattei Vane Magazine 15, September 2019
