Below are several examples of operational areas where our manufacturing clients are uncovering some early Mine Digitization business benefits:
Shorter periods of downtime – Some of our clients are moving from traditional preventative maintenance to digitally-driven predictive maintenance. Their goal is to gather more information about the processes and machines running on their plant floors. When an issue arises, they seek a quick response and the exact reason which causes that issue and would like to assure themselves that the necessary spare parts are already in place. One of our clients is piloting such a predictive maintenance approach through their intelligent motor control By remotely monitoring these operations, they receive data well in advance of an anomaly occurring. Early indicators such as abnormally high temperature or current warn that a motor may stop or fail unless a maintenance action is planned. This information is captured, and a message is generated as an alarm to the appropriate technician. The person then takes immediate actions to rectify the problem before a failure occurs. The net gain is a much shorter period of equipment downtime, and extra time for both acquisition of spare parts and back up planning, should backup be needed.
Increased remote visibility to assets – Many manufacturers are currently unable to judge how their machines are performing. One bottling plant decided to address this issue by implementing a pilot to monitor machine data through the installation of sensors. These connected sensors can quickly improve process efficiency, but the actionable data they provide can also be used to control other important business variables right at the asset, including environmental safety, reliability, and operational profitability. Software analyzes the data gathered from the sensors and determines the efficiency of the machines and indicates which line is performing best. The plant can then decide to run most of its processing through that particular line to boost overall productivity numbers. Because this type of information can be viewed remotely, if an issue in one of the lines comes up, the engineer avoids having to visit the bottling unit in person to restart the machines and check all the necessary parameters. Time is saved and machine production efficiency is maximized.
Reduced energy consumption – Some clients are using digital solutions to reduce their energy consumption. In one case, data analysis is being applied to plant motors. Monitoring systems can determine if the 700 kW motors are running unnecessarily. When gaps are identified, the process operator modifies the rules and parameters of the machine behavior. Heavy motors are stopped 10 seconds earlier than normal, without running over and consuming additional energy. Over the course of the day, the better control of the motor starts and stops is generating significant energy savings. In another application, a steam plant is being monitored and that energy consumption data is being reformulated into management reports. Those reports, through use of easy-to-interpret pie charts, are helping upper management to justify process changes that save energy.