Micropower chooses Sigma to Develop Predictive Maintenance Solution

With the increased usage of battery units in vehicles and equipment, their producers and operators face the growing number of customer support requests. Smart technology and information systems can minimize customer support efforts for battery chargers and power supply operations. Micropower Group chooses Sigma Technology for the development of its customer support solution.

Micropower Group in Växjö develops and manufactures advanced battery chargers and modular lithium-ion battery units for industrial vehicles, trucks, and material handling equipment. The battery technology moves into high gear, and Micropower Group sees increased demand for powerful battery and charger solutions on the market. In October 2018, the Swedish business magazine Veckans Affärer and Bisnode AB named Micropower ED Marketing AB as a Super Company 2018 (Superföretag 2018 in Swedish).

Growth sets demands on innovation

”If we can simplify the installation, service, and customer support of our products, we can create more value for both our retailers, clients, and the end user of our products,” says Torbjörn Gustafsson, CEO of Micropower Group.

The business growth gives Micropower Group the opportunity to provide innovative product development and effective support to their customers, and thereby further strengthen the Micropower Group brand. To achieve this, Micropower Group chose to work with the latest technologies and decided to implement predictive maintenance principles in cooperation with Sigma Technology.

Predictive maintenance is important for companies that choose to operate in a more time- and cost-efficient manner. It prevents problems instead of troubleshooting and repair. Predictive maintenance also gives a great opportunity to plan and perform maintenance and repairs at the right time.

Sigma Technology´s solutions support the development

Sigma Technology is one of the leading actors in the Swedish market for predictive maintenance. The maintenance concept and methodology are handled in the DocFactory platform, which has been developed for over a decade together with leading scientists in Sweden.

DocFactory and IoT allow machines, products, and functions to be serviced in the most effective way from the cost and operational perspectives. This means that machines, for example, will report when they need attention and thus maximize the uptime (operating time) for the lowest possible service cost. In addition, the operator would get the exactly right instructions to make relevant repairs.

Micropower’s cloud-based IoT system GET

The Micropower Group’s technical solution is called GET and aims to provide users with the right information in a simple, effective, and intelligent way. This is done through the following IoT concept:

• There are NFC tags in battery monitoring units that are mounted on batteries and in the battery chargers. With Micropower´s newly developed GET app for smartphones, the NFC-tags can be scanned and show the data about the product type, service status, and conduct troubleshooting. Configuration can also be performed through GET app.
• The batteries monitoring units and the battery chargers can communicate with the cloud-based service GET Cloud, which is used for predictive maintenance and allows users to optimize operating time and get recommendations on needed actions. GET Cloud is also used to get statistics and adjust parameters. Micropower can analyze and troubleshoot machines, which makes the maintenance easier for their clients and saves time for Micropower customer support.
• DocFactory gives the user the right product information, recommended action, and error code. The user can work efficiently and doesn´t have to search for information.

“Micropower is an exciting company to work with. We are very proud that our DocFactory system will help Micropower to anticipate the future—optimize battery operating time and prevent problems at the right time. We have several customers who are investing in the predictive maintenance and see it as a positive trend,” says Niklas Malmros, CEO of Sigma Technology Solutions.

For more information, please, contact:

Torbjörn Gustafsson, CEO of Micropower Group, torbjorn.gustafsson@micropower.se

Niklas Malmros, CEO of Sigma Technology Solutions, niklas.malmros@sigmatechnology.se

Micropower's Technical Solution

• GET: Cloud-based IoT system for optimizing of battery and charger fleets.
• NFC tag for fast and simple access to support center and documentation.
• Predictive maintenance for optimized operating time.
• DocFactory information system with web access (Sigma Technology).

About Micropower Group

Micropower is an independent manufacturer of battery chargers, Lithium-ion batteries, and systems for industrial use. The company was founded in 1984 and today is a market leader in Northern Europe for battery chargers in forklift truck applications. Every year, Micropower ships more than 500,000 battery chargers, Lithium-ion batteries and power supply units to customers and retailers all over the world. Micropower Group is run by operational owners who guarantee continuity, quality, and know-how in all companies.

For more information, please visit https://micropower-group.se/