Automation app award 2016 for KBA-Sheetfed in Radebeul 

KBA is one of the proud winners of this year's “automation app awards”, the fifth round of an annual series initiated by the trade magazine “elektrotechnik”. The award was presented at a reception held during the trade fair SPS IPC Drives 2016 on 23rd November. At the first stage, an expert jury had assessed the various automation apps which had been submitted from the perspectives of utility value, originality, usability, relevance and security. Subsequently, the shortlisted apps were offered to the magazine readers for voting. 

The KBA Rapida app enables control and maintenance of the associated sheetfed offset presses via mobile devices. For the user, press operation is simplified, because the console is no longer the exclusive point of control. The control console becomes mobile.

After login, an info panel is opened with details on the commencement and course of production, the current press status and the job which is presently being printed. The app also incorporates a maintenance manager and a batch data function with which consumables such as paper and ink can be tracked using QR codes. The data are sent to the console and automatically assigned to the relevant job. The maintenance manager contains a list of maintenance tasks. Step-by-step instructions further simplify the maintenance process, and each maintenance step can be marked as “done” after completion. It is also possible to save individual remarks and comments, where appropriate.  

In this manner, the Rapida app enables

• - a simple and innovative form of authentication 
• - reliable management of consumables
• - full and error-free maintenance
• - constant overviews of the situation on the press

The app stands out with a responsive design and is platform-independent. KBA already demonstrated its capabilities at drupa 2016. During live shows at the fair, for example, the presenters invited trade visitors to start print programs on the Rapida sheetfed presses using their smartphone.