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Published: 08.09.2022

Reading time ca. 4 Min.

1 day with... the Service team

In our "1 day with" series, we accompany the Service team to their place of work. Although "to their places of work" would be more accurate, because the service specialists perform tasks like commissioning, maintenance work and upgrades on site at customers’ locations.

7 am, assignment scheduling

A new working day begins for the Service team of eight. The assignment schedule has to be adjusted every morning to fit in urgent cases. Commissioning, maintenance and upgrade work as well as repairs are on the agenda at various customer locations. “The range of tasks performed by a Kubota Brabender Technologie service technician is diverse, but that is what makes the job so varied and exciting,explains Dominique Python, who mans the Hotline and works as a field service technician, so he knows both sides of the service coin.

8 am, meeting to discuss scheduled assignments

Dominique Python talks through the details of an assignment at a major customer from the plastics processing industry with a colleague over a first cup of coffee. The reason: the feeding equipment on site is to undergo routine maintenance. To complete this, all settings have to be checked and the latest software updates have to be installed. “We can plan such assignments efficiently and they are on our team’s everyday agenda,” the experienced service specialist explains. Maintenance contracts, which are designed to trigger maintenance work at reasonable, fixed intervals and avoid foreseeable malfunctions keyword “predictive maintenance”, are helpful in this respect.

Unscheduled on-site assignments in Germany

Other on-site assignments have to be organized quickly, in order to keep downtimes as short as possible. “Whenever a technical problem at the customer’s location can’t be solved beforehand via the Hotline or via remote maintenance, we then act as the rapid reaction team, so to speak,” says Dominique Python with a grin and adds: “If required, we are also happy to upgrade the feeder to handle other bulk materials and production processes. We may then need to provide the customer with advice on process engineering problems and issues. Such tasks can extend all the way to providing training at the customer’s location.

Service Worldwide

Basically, the team’s operational assignment area is not restricted, and Kubota Brabender Technologie service specialists go on assignment all over the world. “Whenever feasible, we try, of course, to cover assignments in other countries through our subsidiaries or agents. If necessary, we can pick up the slack from here in Germany,” Dominique Python states. “The number of monthly assignments depends on their duration and on customers needs – sometimes two, sometimes ten.”

Kubota Brabender Technologie has its own service teams at its subsidiaries in China, Canada, India, Russia and Dubai. But a high percentage of our agencies worldwide also employ technicians, who can handle such jobs. As a rule, communication is by phone and email. “Now and again, we conduct training sessions and every three years all the service technicians from all over the world gather at our Duisburg location for the Service Seminar, practical training in the course of which all service technicians are brought up to speed with what is state-of-the-art at Brabender,” Dominique Python explains.

11 am, repairs are pending

The Service team has their own repair service space in the plant, which is available to every customer. Today there are a number of repairs on the agenda. Peter Dümpelmann, who in manning the Hotline and working as a service technician is also familiar with all facets of the work involved, guides us around. “If a component is defective, it can simply be sent to us, if the customer gets in touch beforehand. We then return the repaired component as quickly as possible. We can also offer the customer replacement parts without delay, depending on what machine and fault are involved.

3 pm, commissioning and briefing on site

The team also handles upgrades, because electronic devices and components in particular are subject to rapid technological progress, which likewise impacts on control systems. Peter Dümpelmann explains: “Despite long service lives, an upgrade can occasionally make sense. Even a change in production processes can make a modification necessary.

A service technician has driven to a customer to commission some plant and equipment. The customer has installed their equipment and completed the electric wiring and the service technician can now commission the plant. Another task that is completed this afternoon: the operators are briefed on how to handle and operate the equipment professionally.

5 pm, time to go off duty

A busy but satisfying day draws to a close. All assignments have been completed successfully: the commissioned plant and equipment is working perfectly, and thanks to the Service team’s rapid reaction, the malfunction in the other plant was also remedied quickly. “The great thing about our job is that we are really close to customers,” says Dominique Python in summary. “As problem solvers we provide valuable assistance and ensure that customers benefit from improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness through short reaction times and a minimization of plant downtimes. Over the years we have established close relationships with many customers. That’s what makes the work we do so special.”

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