Manufacturing industry up to speed with competition
Machinery manufacturers, who supply automated production machinery to other manufacturers Europe-wide, face the problem of supporting this machinery for their customers. A consortium of European software systems development companies and research institutes have developed the REMOTE system as a means of supporting products away from the user's site. Its aim is to extend the manufacturers' knowledge base out to the customers via the internet. The results will have a Europe-wide impact on the industry by bringing the manufacturing sector up to date with methods already being used extensively in other sectors. Companies will be able to reduce the difficulty of supporting customers in different geographical locations and so enable manufacturers to seek new markets. The REMOTE project also incites innovative methods for business-to-business cooperation. The project has partners with an extensive reach across Europe. Furthermore, encouraging the use of internet technologies would enable businesses to derive many extra benefits from the internet over the long-term. The REMOTE system for accumulating knowledge on products will mean it will be easier to employ women, people in countries approaching the EU and first-time employees as well as promoting higher mobility of workers across Europe. The effective use of the solution will, in all likeliness, also contribute to reducing environmental damages such as spillages, leakages and fumes. These problems, caused when equipment or the plant goes wrong, currently rely on the speed of delivery on the manufacturer's part, to provide the right level of service to the consumer. The REMOTE system would help the consumers themselves deal with any concern over machinery before it becomes a problem.
