Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has won the internationally recognized InterTech Technology Award 2012 from Printing Industries of America for its web-based service solution Prinect Performance Benchmarking. Last year, this solution also won the IT Innovation Award organized by Initiative Mittelstand. 

Prinect Performance Benchmarking - reliable and anonymous 
The Heidelberg benchmarking network is an anonymous syndicate of Heidelberg customers who are looking to operate their Speedmaster presses as efficiently as possible. The tool offers these customers a web-based solution for anonymously comparing the productivity of their Speedmaster presses with that of other customers' machines. Heidelberg automatically records the print performance of the connected presses online, evaluates this data centrally, and provides the relevant details on the personal Prinect web portal. Participating customers have individual, protected Internet access to the productivity server. The performance comparison, which covers aspects such as OK production speed and overall equipment efficiency (OEE index), provides a transparent indication of how productively the presses are operating at any given time. The same IT infrastructure is used as for the Heidelberg Remote Service diagnostic tool, which customers are already familiar with. 

Production reports from customers' presses are displayed along with anonymous comparative data from other presses in the Prinect online portal. This enables customers to track the development of their own productivity in comparison with the average figure and the top performers in the comparison class selected. 

Identifying potential for improvement and introducing specific measures 
The analysis of OEE values and their development offer an initial indication of where potential for improvement exists. The ongoing evaluation also enables the impact of improvement measures to be monitored over time. If customers wish, Heidelberg provides a comprehensive service portfolio ranging from technical and press-related services to consumables and extensive consulting to improve their efficiency and thus their competitiveness. 

Customers purchasing a new Speedmaster press from Heidelberg benefit from one year's free use of the Prinect Performance Benchmarking premium account. A demo version of the premium account is available on the Heidelberg website ( www.heidelberg.com). 

"Prinect Performance Benchmarking offers users a tool that is unique in the sector for real-time efficiency comparisons between their own print shop and similarly structured businesses the world over. Winning the InterTech Award 2012 underlines the innovative strength of Heidelberg in the services growth segment," says Marcel Kiessling, member of the Heidelberg Management Board responsible for sales and services.

Heidelberg demonstrates its credentials as an innovation leader in the sector by winning around 30 InterTech Awards 

The InterTech Technology Award is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It is presented annually by the U.S. print media association Printing Industries of America. To date, the association has presented a total of 230 awards in various categories. Heidelberg alone has won around 30 of these for a variety of prepress, press, and postpress innovations. This puts the company some way ahead of its market competitors and underlines its many years of innovation leadership over the entire value-added chain in the printing industry.