MAN PrimeServ, MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales division, has successfully expanded the reach of PrimeServ Assist – its remote-service solution – for Mexican customer, Productora Nacional de Papel S.A. de C.V. (Pronal). Pronal is a paper recycler that produces craft paper and whose mill is powered by an MAN 20V35/44G engine.

While Pronal had previously entered into a long-term service agreement with PrimeServ for the provision of spare parts and maintenance services, PrimeServ Assist has now been able to secure Pronal as one of its first commercial customers for ‘write access’. This enables MAN PrimeServ superintendents to adapt parameters in the engine’s control-system remotely and actively intervene where necessary. Ultimately, this access is controlled by the customer and secured against unauthorised intervention.

Located over 416 km north-west of Mexico City, a service call to Pronal’s mill by MAN Energy Solutions personnel would typically have required a 5-hour journey by vehicle through local roads. The new arrangement saves travel and service costs, helps to increase the uptime of the power plant, and continues the optimal customer-care even during a time of pandemic travel-restrictions.

Dr. Michael Filous, Vice President and Head of PrimeServ O&M, said: "Remote write access will radically change our service business and offers enormous potential for cost and time savings, as well as new business models. In these times of rapidly growing digitisation, the services we offer and the way we communicate with customers are changing fundamentally. Ultimately, our customers benefit significantly from this technology and many have already expressed a keen interest in employing PrimeServ Assist to aid their operations.”

Günther Glas, Vice President and Head of Systems Automation & Control, MAN Energy Solutions, said: “Remote access is becoming increasingly important. It serves as the basis for monitoring functions such as performance checks, operational optimisation and 24-hour monitoring, which we can carry out using intelligent algorithms, enabling advanced condition-based maintenance. Our remote-operation centres will play an increasingly important role in the future as the central support-point for global operations.”