Smart working in SMT factories

With the ASMPT Academy and its Virtual Assist app, the market leader in SMT equipment imparts the necessary know-how and makes it available on a wide variety of user devices. ‘Smart working’ is also the topic of ASMPT’s ‘Facts on Open Automation’ show on May 31, 2023.

‘New Way of Work’ (NWoW) is the formula for increasing efficiency in contemporary, flexible working environments. Today, no two SMT factories are alike, and the tasks for operators and technicians are correspondingly diverse and demanding. In order to cope with this situation and keep knowledge in the company, smart tools and intelligent technologies are needed. The aim is to quickly train new operating staff on the SMT line and to provide technicians with the necessary know-how for maintenance and repair tasks without them having to waste a lot of time and effort searching for solutions.

The ASMPT Academy – diverse, target group-oriented, and flexible

Training courses offered by companies play an important role in the NWoW ecosystem – both internally and externally. The ASMPT Academy offers its own specialists and employees of customers in the electronics manufacturing industry a target group-defined, comprehensive portfolio of courses. It imparts new knowledge, refreshes existing expertise, and keeps participants technologically up to date. Whether through face-to-face training, e-learning, virtual reality or blended learning (a hybrid of e-learning for the basics and practical face-to-face instruction) – the know-how acquired at the ASMPT Academy not only enables specialists to work more productively and efficiently but improves employees’ work-life balance, job satisfaction, and loyalty to the company.

Virtual Assist – the AI genius for the SMT shop floor

Just as important as conveying a solid base of knowledge is the availability of supplementary information directly on site, which is why ASMPT has developed its Virtual Assist app. The AI-supported expert system provides support for all onboarding, service and maintenance activities in electronics manufacturing. Browser-based, it runs on all popular mobile devices. And since Virtual Assist is capable of learning, it collects the practical experience of service personnel throughout the company and makes it available quickly and easily on site.

Thanks to natural language processing (NLP) technology, you can simply ask the system questions, which Virtual Assist then answers based on its constantly growing treasure trove of knowledge. The benefits are impressive: the expert system reduces the time required to search for information during repairs by up to 95 percent. Virtual Assist reduces downtimes and production interruptions and increases productivity by up to 25%. And flexible licensing models make it possible to adapt the system to each customer's specific needs.

Online show: Facts on open automation

How to impart knowledge and retain it within the company despite employee turnover is the subject of ASMPT’s ‘Facts on Open Automation’ show on May 31, 2023.

“What is often underestimated is the extent to which valuable know-how is stored in the brains of your most experienced employees – and almost nowhere else,” explains host and SMT expert Laszlo Sereny. “When they leave the company or retire, you suffer a brain drain that can be very difficult to overcome. State-of-the-art training and learning opportunities provide new employees with insider knowledge and refresh it for legacy staff.”

Sereny and his studio guests will demonstrate with the browser-based Virtual Assist app how artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) can provide support quickly and easily during troubleshooting and repair activities. And a look at the diverse offerings of the ASMPT Academy will show how modern learning with the help of virtual reality speeds up the onboarding of new employees.