Page 12 - Automated issue 14 - Maintenance matters

ISSUE 14
Improving maintenance in manufacturing
How plant engineers can make the most of this data and ensure their maintenance schedule benefits their plant.
The digital universe is growing by 40 per cent But as Industry 4.0 technologies such as condition
each year, from 4.4 trillion gigabytes in 2013 to 44 trillion in 2020. Enterprises have responsibility for around 85 per cent of the data held in this digital universe, according to the EMC Digital Universe with research and Analysis by IDC report.
Manufacturing plants are just one type of enterprise contributing to this data production, by choosing to collect process data in order to monitor machinery status.
Manufacturers, faced with the constant pressure to keep up with customer demand while remaining flexible, are acutely aware of the threat of plant downtime. Caused by a multitude of factors, including machine failure, downtime can cost manufacturers over $100,000 per hour, according to research by the Information Technology Intelligence Consulting (ITIC).
Therefore, preventative maintenance, where equipment is maintained before it breaks is essential, rather than reactive maintenance, which focuses on fixing equipment following a breakdown.
But for those in high volume, low margin industries such as food and beverage or automotive parts manufacturing, preventative maintenance may be wrongly seen as unattainable, due to perceived high upfront costs.
Prevention
The days of waiting for a system to fail due to overheating motors or leaking heat transfer systems for example, are thankfully behind us. Plant managers now plan regular inspections, upgrades and troubleshooting to avoid breakdowns. These simple steps are one way in which preventative maintenance can be carried out.
monitoring become more accessible, there are even smarter, more accurate and less time-consuming methods available.
Many manufacturing plants now use predictive maintenance, a sophisticated form of preventative maintenance, to establish how well equipment is functioning and accurately predict failures before they occur. Not only does this reduce the risk of downtime-causing breakdowns, it can also mean any necessary replacement parts can be ordered and are in stock in case of equipment failures.
In addition, monitoring the health of equipment can allow for gradual tweaks, where a huge overhaul would previously have been required for improvements. Alterations can improve the efficiency of processes, ultimately reducing costs by eliminating inefficient elements and increasing equipment lifespan through maintenance or replacement of wearing parts.
Where to start
The first step a plant manager should take when implementing any preventative maintenance schedule is to gather as much data as possible. Crucially, this should include an accurate estimate of the real cost of downtime to the particular plant in question. Collating data collected by smart sensors, sales figures and retrofitted systems should allow you to take into account loss of sales, wasted product and the cost of emergency repairs, this can provide a useful baseline figure.
Using their experience of the plant, maintenance engineers should also be involved to produce an ideal plan for the plant, including areas they believe will require higher levels of maintenance, such as older equipment or machinery that is inherently prone to breakdowns such as motors, turbines or other moving parts.
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