JCB LiveLink & Industry 4.0 for Connected Machines & Smart Manufacturing
JCB India leads the way in digital construction with JCB LiveLink for their iconic Backhoe Loaders and other machines, offering real-time data, improved efficiency, and Industry 4.0 adoption for smarter manufacturing.
Integrating digital technology in JCB machines will continue to be at an organisation-wide level, which includes people, processes and our products, and the digital footprint will increase over the next few years; in fact, we have built a robust IT landscape that supports the organisation in making informed decisions.
Deepak Shetty - CEO & Managing Director, JCB India
JCB entered India over four decades ago and has since brought in products with state-of-the-art technology. It introduced the iconic JCB Backhoe Loader in 1979, a machine that has since revolutionised the way construction is done in the country. The company has integrated innovation and technology across the organisation – in its products, manufacturing, and equally in its product support and services, and has made significant advancements in fuel efficiency, reliability and lowering of operating costs over the years.
Digital Technology: JCB LiveLink
JCB pioneered the integration of Digital Technology in its range of machines through advanced Telematics called JCB ‘LiveLink’. Introduced in 2015, LiveLink connects the machine with customers, dealers and JCB on a real-time, 24x7 basis for better asset management. This technology helps users increase productivity, control costs, and ensure asset safety. JCB machines can be monitored for – Security, Operations and Service (SOS) on mobile devices. Machines can be geo-fenced and time-fenced. Customers can remotely get to know about almost all the critical parameters of the machine such as machine health, fuel level, battery condition, enabling better site management and equipment utilisation.
Early warnings with detailed machine history enable users to plan work effectively. This cutting-edge technology can help reduce servicing and running costs by ensuring machines are operated optimally, reducing fuel consumption and unnecessary machine wear. By monitoring idle-time and real-time fuel consumption, LiveLink helps manage the whole life cost of ownership, driving down costs, and increasing productivity.
LiveLink has transformed the way machine-to-machine and machine-to-customer communication is done. Additionally, the system also sends out alert SMS(s) to registered mobile numbers. It incorporates GPS, telecommunications, machine electronics and IoT, enabling the equipment to remain in contact with the owner, dealer and JCB.
LiveLink 4.0
We recently launched LiveLink 4.0 enabling machine users to make quick and informed decisions that maximise machine's uptime, productivity, and profitability. With next level of control and efficiency, LiveLink 4.0 renders advanced machine insights and analytics which enables users to optimise machine productivity and performance. Instant critical health and service alerts ensure that the machines are always up and running and are warned of failure and breakdowns before they happen.
Improvements in ease of operation and safety
In 2019, with the ‘Intelli’ series of Construction Equipment, we further improved the productivity, reliability, and efficiency of our machines to ultimately benefit our customers with ease of operation and cost profitability. JCB also implemented Sales Master to connect with the dealers and customers. This software is now widely accepted and is used for product outreach to remote places.
Continuous improvements are made on the shop floor for the safety of people working in our factories. Various dashboards are available on the floor for sharing live information about the production and progress of operations. With SAP ERP implemented across all our plants, we are working towards an integrated manufacturing process. We have built a robust IT landscape that supports the organisation in making informed decisions.
Industry 4.0 ecosystem
From a manufacturing standpoint, JCB machines are made using cutting-edge technologies. The company has a strong robotic footprint in manufacturing, thus ensuring One Global Quality. We are working towards an Industry 4.0 ecosystem in our plants, which helps in real-time monitoring of manufacturing processes. It also helps in making processes more efficient, helping us manufacture machines smartly in lesser time.
JCB will continue to invest in technology as we go further. We have pioneered the integration of digital technology in our machines that are helping build infrastructure across the country. The digital footprint of the organisation is set to increase over the next few years. This integration will continue to be at an organisation-wide level, which includes people, processes and of course our products.
Our design centre at Pune is helping build technologies not just for the domestic market but also for markets across the world. In fact, almost every product that is developed has inputs from the JCB India Design Centre, which is a matter of pride for us. These designed and made in India machines are exported to over 130 countries around the world, thus contributing to the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
From a product perspective, we have been utilising IoT, machine learning and big data ever since we introduced our advanced Telematics ‘JCB LiveLink’. This focus on data analytics will bring us more insights and will also help us provide predictive analysis to plan as an organisation. As we go along, we will continue to integrate digital technology into our manufacturing processes and in our operations. Our dealers and suppliers are also part of this journey for even greater cohesion.
