SKF Helps Change the Way We Work and Interact in Manufacturing Today

Matthew Jaster, Senior Editor

 

Mark Hinckley, director, strategic projects, SKF, used to carry a very large work bag to manufacturing sites. This included his laptop, a bulky battery pack and a couple of physical SKF product catalogs. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we all had work bags that looked like this. We stuffed our bagged lunches between file folders, notepads and various books. Our shoulders hurt, our backs were sore and our designer work bags took a beating right down to their deep hidden pockets.

Hinckley only takes his iPad to manufacturing sites today as well as a small, easy-to-manage work bag he can quickly sling over his shoulder. Instead of two large product catalogs, Hinckley has access to SKF’s entire product library right on his tablet. He was simply making a point to show a room full of editors at SKF’s Technical Press Day that technology is making it easier for everyone to do business in 2016.

Today, SKF has developed over 45+ apps for smartphone and tablet users simply because there is an industry-wide need for such resources. Whether its engineering/selection tools, educational apps, trade show support, industry specific apps or condition monitoring/alignment tools, SKF has equipped both its customers and employees with mobility tools that are useful and improve the way we collect and distribute information.

Some of these resources have been available for some time such as SKF’s Bearing Calculator (the most downloaded app from the SKF collection) which simply makes it easy to perform complex bearing calculations. Others like DataCollect by SKF, provide intuitive data collection for machine inspections to help engineers be more efficient on the job. PM Motors from SKF is the company’s first augmented reality app that allows engineers to virtually look inside a 3D magnetic system and examine all the key components.

(To read more about SKF’s growing mobility tools, condition monitoring equipment, custom engineered bearing solutions, proper industrial shaft seal selection and successful maintenance for business critical assets, checks out the August issue of PTE magazine.)

For more information:

SKF USA Inc.

Phone: (267) 436-6000

www.skf.com