Software solution proSVIFT from Fraunhofer IGD and LBF: Optimization of operational and process reliability.
Quantitative Safety Analysis
Whether autonomous vehicles in intralogistics or machine tools in industrial production: Errors and failures of individual devices and components cannot always be avoided. It is therefore all the more important to assess their probability and to optimize the structure of technical systems with regard to their operational and process reliability. With proSVIFT, researchers at Fraunhofer IGD have developed a new analysis tool that is based on a probabilistic Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and can be controlled intuitively. In this way, users reduce production downtime, critical effects and follow-up costs.
A screw has come loose and the wheel of the driverless transport vehicle has come loose. The onward journey is delayed, subsequent processes stagnate. A realistic scenario that no user would like to be surprised by. In a joint project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD have therefore created a technology that further develops the previous form of probabilistic, i.e. probability-based, FMEA on the basis of Bayesian networks. By means of application-oriented visualization, the researchers increase user-friendliness and thus transfer the methodical concept of probabilistic FMEA to practical application.
In addition to the original area of application of intralogistics, the software can also be used in all other areas of product development in which the reliability and safety assessment in technical systems is relevant – for example in the automotive industry.
Clear graphical representation
“With our solution, we combine various tools and simplify the modeling and evaluation of risk potential,” explains Lena Cibulski, project manager for Fraunhofer IGD. It minimizes the need for expertise in FMEA and reliability theory as well as software operation. “In addition, our tool supports the systematics, for example by pointing out previously unspecified (conditional) probabilities.”
Furthermore, the technology enables the step from qualitative to quantitative risk assessment. “The former is more observational and descriptive. The Fraunhofer evaluation, on the other hand, is data-based and specifies the risks, their probabilities and consequences,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörn Kohlhammer, Head of the Information Visualization and Visual Analytics department. This is particularly important in security-relevant sectors such as the aviation industry.
Practice-oriented application in the next step
Which errors most often lead to failures or critical situations? What are the key levers for risk reduction? Does another sensor as a diagnostic option bring the desired success or do false-positive error messages lead to avoidable downtimes? The software helps to weigh up the conflict between security requirements and freedom from interference, thus minimizing costs.
In a follow-up project with the Fraunhofer LBF, Cibulski and Kohlhammer create an even closer connection to practice. The modeling should then no longer just relate to the engineer’s inputs, but also evaluate live data and thus intensify condition monitoring during operation. “Our aim is to align research as closely as possible to the needs of companies. That’s why we’re looking for industrial partners to integrate the technology into their processes,” says Cibulski, explaining the upcoming steps.
The research team will be presenting the proSVIFT software at HANNOVER MESSE from April 17 to 21, 2023. It is the result of a project in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) via the AiF Working Group of Industrial Research Associations “Otto von Guericke” eV.
Additional information:
For this and all other Fraunhofer IGD exhibits at HANNOVER MESSE: https://www.igd.fraunhofer.de/de/veranstaltungen/hannover-messe.html
Fraunhofer IGD at the HANNOVER MESSE – April 17th to 21st, 2023
– Joint Fraunhofer booth – Hall 16, booth A12analyse
Fraunhofer Smart Ocean Technologies (SOT):
The interdisciplinary research group of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft “Smart Ocean Technologies” (SOT) at the Rostock site develops pioneering marine technology and new solutions for a more sustainable use of the seas. The employees of the Fraunhofer Institutes IGD, IGP, IOSB and IKTS act as a research network for underwater technology that is unique in Europe in the context of the “Ocean Technology Campus Rostock” (OTC). As an innovation campus, it creates a productive environment for the development and testing of high technology for the sustainable use of the seas. In close cooperation between research and industrial application of different disciplines, the Rostock location is to be developed into the leading center of technological underwater research in the coming years. The heart of the OTC is the planned “Digital Ocean Lab” (DOL) of the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD, a versatile underwater test field near the coast, which is pre-equipped for different application scenarios and is unique in this form. It will serve to test, evaluate and optimize materials, modules and complete subsea systems under controlled conditions in a real environment.
About Fraunhofer IGD:
Since 1987, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD has been setting international standards for applied research in visual computing, image and model-based computer science. We transform information into images and images into information and support industry and business in developing strategically. Keywords are human-machine interaction, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, interactive simulation, modeling as well as 3D printing and 3D scanning. Around 190 researchers at the three locations in Darmstadt, Rostock and Kiel are generating new technological application solutions and prototypes for Industry 4.0, digital health care and the “Smart City”. Our products develop international relevance through cooperation with our sister institutes in Graz and Klagenfurt. With the help of our matrix organization, we serve our customers from a wide variety of industries with relevant technical and competitive services. For this we have industry-experienced, cross-functional teams of experts who also take over planning, management and evaluation for all project sizes.
Contact
Fraunhofer Institute for Graphic Data Processing IGD
Daniela Welling
Fraunhoferstraße 5
64283 Darmstadt
+49 6151 155-146
https://www.igd.fraunhofer.de