Unlock the True Potential of Predictive Maintenance in Manufacturing

Manufacturing Industry is the fast growing industry which is expected to continue to grow in the next few years. However, there are some complex internal challenges every manufacturing industry is facing today. One such challenge which has a great impact in the Industry’s production line is Downtime. Each & every production & manufacturing sector faces machine failure & downtime practically every day. People may think that the machine repair / failure / breakdown is a normal occurrence in manufacturing industry. It’s just a bitter truth when people are handling with machinery that perform a repetitive task. However, it is essential to remember / note that every second of machine running earns money. Just think a while, if machine sits idle for a prolonged time. You can’t complete your order on time, lose your reputation & finally, there will be a drawback in ROI. No matter what the failure is, it can bring about delay in overhaul, dissatisfied customers, and potential losses with respect to productivity and income. Then what is the solution for this problem?? The answer is Predictive Maintenance. In this article, let us see how predictive maintenance in manufacturing industry allows manufacturers to lower maintenance costs, extend equipment life, reduce downtime.

What’s wrong in reactive maintenance?

Industries of today most probably work on a maintenance schedule. Alternatively stated that / that is to say, they hear suggestions from the equipment manufacturers with whom they schedule maintenance. However, the previously mentioned viewpoints are not up to the level as failures and breakdowns still do occur. Ultimately, this is unimaginable & no possible way that a manufacturer can foretell every circumstance, condition, or technique of functioning.

Besides that, some industries follow reactive maintenance, this is when machines are serviced or repaired only when they actually fail or break down. This is even worse, which is more or like waiting for a failure to happen. There is a say that, While reactive maintenance can have a place in a well-rounded maintenance strategy, it shouldn’t be your go-to for all repairs. But this is not the case in this industrial competent world. That is reactive maintenance can no longer help manufacturers in any way. This is because the unpredictable nature of reactive maintenance does not keep systems running in optimal as a new condition. And also, there will be safety issues & waste of time in finding the fix & maintenance backlog.

Why Predictive maintenance is key?

The predictive maintenance is an operation wherein the maintenance demand and prerequisite of machinery in a production line / shop floor are forecasted. That is the machine failure will be predicted & fixed before it occurs. In contrast with reactive maintenance, predictive maintenance makes use of acquired data from each machine hinge on its normal pattern of operation or performance. Any tiny or precise variation or instability with the threshold data identified by sensors will fire up subsequent alerts so that production managers can reasonably anticipate the requisite for maintenance work. In such a way, any harm or issue remains isolated, so other parts remain unaffected, and total equipment failure is avoided. And also, when it comes to preserving the lifespan of machines, predictive maintenance is the clear winner.

The major advantages, the predictive maintenance can provide for manufacturing industry are

• Limits unplanned downtime
• Optimize planned downtime
• Maximize equipment lifetime
• Reduce maintenance Expenses

Let us see the above advantages in brief.

Limits unplanned downtime

Unplanned Downtime costs manufacturers approximately $22k per minute and almost every industry loses 10 to 30% of productivity. Therefore, unforeseen failures are one of the key players in maintenance costs because of their pessimistic influence due to reactive and unplanned maintenance action. Making use of predictive maintenance to curb this cost is demanding in highly competitive manufacturing industries. And also, ability to anticipate or foresee system breakdown before failure has a strong optimistic impact on machine running which shoots up productivity and diminishes downtime, breakdown and maintenance costs. Monitoring machines digitally collect streams of data in real-time and the data is subjected to analysis to show patterns on any provided machine. Based on identifying the pattern & historical data, manufacturers can detect the machine it means probably to encounter a failure, and for which maintenance can be scheduled effectively.

Optimize Planned Downtime

Planned downtime is scheduled time when production equipment is restricted or close down to permit for planned maintenance, repairs, upgrades or testing. Planned downtime for maintenance is peculiarly necessary for retaining critical assets well & fine, but it can also be used to diminish needless maintenance on fewer vital equipment. Each part of equipment needs maintenance at a certain point, but it can be difficult to stop production assets when you have lots of allocations to meet and machines appear to be operating without a problem. The reality is, planned downtime needs to happen, even if it appears like everything is already working properly.

Preventive maintenance can regularly be scheduled using the collected data from machine functioning & also at times where there is less impact for production order. Not only that there is also an additional benefit which is an requisite maintenance of this nature will constantly lengthen the life on a machine that would be hard, and expensive, to put back. Boosting uptime and the existence of an equipment will eventually bring in remarkable cost savings.

Maximize Equipment Life span

Do we really know the life time of our equipments?? We may have the rough estimate how long the assets and equipment will last but how confident are we in that estimate? It could be much more or much less – and we won’t know until it’s too late. However, it is crucial to determine the equipment life and improve maintenance strategy. The inspection of machines will help manufacturers identify the condition of present production equipment and identify upcoming faults. Dealing with predictive maintenance will help them boost accuracy of equipment by the data collected on the manufacturing floor.

As machines get old and based on their degree of usage, the maintenance schedule will vary, which can be overseen through predictive maintenance. Fragment of the machine will react to the manufacturing strain distinctly across time. The ultimate rise in maintenance that is anticipated by the way of data patterns will let out when a machine set foot on a turning point on cost in opposition to performance. The requirement to put back substantial pieces of a machine ultimately, or the whole department, is made to deal with, by being capable to predict that demand and plan for it, both from a money & time view point.

Reduce Maintenance expenses

Apart from other necessary expenses in production line, a huge amount of money is spent on maintenance expenses. This will be an average of 40% in the overall revenue. We can’t sit at ease without repairing the machines / equipments but we can avoid / prevent costly repairs and or replacement of parts or machines. This is because predictive maintenance allows manufacturers to detect fault, isolate & fix issues before severe damage occurs. Moreover, since preventive maintenance is intended to pre-empt significant damage to equipment, there will be no need for extensive repair work as well as emergency servicing.

Transform PDM approach with IoT

The Internet of Things has an immense effect on the manufacturing sector, which give rise to increased automation, & more efficient operations. While the application of digital technologies can bring benefits across the value-chain, it is feasible in the area of predictive maintenance that the most significant impact can be derived. The use of sensors and data analysis means companies can pinpoint patterns in equipment condition and performance, and identify exactly when an issue might occur. Such foresight eliminates unplanned downtime, delivering substantial productivity benefits.

Moreover you can’t predict what you can’t measure / analyse. Accurate data is essential. You need to evaluate your ongoing production status, or set up a threshold of data on machine performance. To perform this, OEE ( overall equipment effectiveness) , an industry standard can be used. This lends a hand in examining each machine to check the performance degree and also to know how frequent has the machine been down, which part is undergoing issues often, how the machine maintenance can be scheduled and so on.

Hope this article provides you a better understanding & importance of predictive maintenance in manufacturing. We will be happy to discuss about your requirements at your shop floor to help you achieve successful machine maintenance.