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LESER Digital ID - information at any time directly on the component

Starting at the end of May, LESER will offer additional valve tags to provide plant operators with digital information on the safety valve quickly and directly on the component.

Plant operators have many documents for all plant components. However, a large proportion is only available in paper form. If necessary, important information must be copied or scanned. This results in errors, or data is only available as non-machine-readable image files. Finding the papers in the archive is complex and takes a lot of time.

Together with plant operators such as BASF, LESER has addressed this issue and participated in the DIN standardization committee. Here the participants wrote DIN SPEC 91406. 
The content of this standard is to define the clear, manufacturer-independent and machine-readable marking of equipment.

"What sounds like a small step, however, opens up opportunities for equipment manufacturers, such as LESER, and plant operators, such as BASF, to take big steps towards the digital twin," says Volker Kapune, Head of LESER ICT and member of the standardization committee. "The digital twin with unique identification, forms the basis for new customer services - on our website and on digital platforms such as SAP AIN". Based on the new standard, LESER developed two possibilities for machine-readable marking.

1. a stainless steel plate with a lasered-in QR code
2. a stainless steel plate with QR Code, which contains an additional RFID chip 

The RFID chip has the advantage over the QR code alone that dust and paint do not make it unreadable. The QR Code is more heat resistant.

Both variants were tested by LESER. So different marking variants were tested and durability tests were carried out. This is because the badge on the safety valve must be "weatherproof", regardless of whether it is 55°C sunshine in Dubai, -50°C in Siberia, rain in Hamburg or snow in Canada.

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Where does the data come from and what information does the user receive from LESER?
Regardless of whether a QR code or RFID chip is used, the global identification is unique and identical on both options. The identifications of all valves are globally managed by LESER in its own ERP system. This ensures that the character string can be assigned to exactly one valve.

The identification on the tag is then implemented in the form of a URL. This enables LESER to display information on the respective valve directly after reading the Digital ID. This prevents data manipulation.

LESER offers two ways to retrieve the data: The user decides which option or which system is used by selecting the respective app. If the user scans the LESER ID with a normal mobile device, he is directed to the LESER website. There he will use the LESER web services.
If the user scans the same tag with an AIN app, such as the SAP AIN app, the corresponding object opens. AIN means Asset Intelligence Network. On such platforms, manufacturers, operators and service providers can log on and exchange information on products.

What to do with safety valves already installed?

LESER offers the possibility of re-labeling. Valves that were delivered after 2005 can be re-labelled with the "LESER Digital ID".
This re-marking can be carried out by the operator or by repair workshops. Unassigned Digital IDs are purchased in the form of stainless steel tags. To link the valve with the identification, the maintenance engineer retrieves the Digital ID. If a valve has not yet been assigned for the label, a connection can be made with the serial number and the article number from the nameplate. The data from the LESER system can then be retrieved automatically.
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Users reduce their effort and save time

  • Automatic identification enables customers to access relevant documents directly at the physical product. This saves employees from having to go to the archive and search for documents.
  • Information can already be digitally recorded and filed at the goods receiving department. Savings can also be made during commissioning.
  • If a designated authority wants to check certificates for a specific valve, these can be called up directly during a tour of the plant.
  • During operation, the plant operator may need the operating instructions. These can also be downloaded.
  • During maintenance, personnel can directly access spare parts information and spring tables for pressure adjustment.
  • At the end of the equipment life cycle, material certificates can help to dispose the safety valve properly.

"We have developed LESER Digital ID in close cooperation with our customers," says Hendrik Wormuth LESER Product Manager, who played a leading role in the development of the ID. "We save our customers tedious searching and support them in reducing the size of large paper archives."