September 2021

47 www.drivesncontrols.com September 2021 INSIGHT n needed cloud technology so that employees could work remotely from home. Now, they are becoming aware of its broader possibilities. At ABB, we have found that customers are much more open to sharing data with us. That is a very useful development, because connectivity is crucial to enable us to provide remote services and deliver the full advantages made possible by gathering data. However, we never lose sight of the critical need to ensure stringent cybersecurity and data privacy at all times. What effects can optimising maintenance cycles have? Could it change the way that users deal with their maintenance activities? Good maintenance is the key to keeping equipment and operations running safely, reliably and profitably. At the lower end of the spectrum are“run to failure”regimes, in which corrective action is taken only when a machine or one of its components fails. This approach runs the highest risk of unplanned downtime, which can be very expensive. Other costs related to inadequate maintenance include extra repair bills, shortened asset life, poor machine performance and higher energy consumption. Preventive maintenance using pre-set calendar-based schedules for replacing parts that are likely to wear out reduces downtime risks. However, it can waste time and materials, as some parts might be replaced in good condition with a significant amount of life still remaining. Condition-based maintenance deals with this by measuring and monitoring various parameters and combining them with analytical algorithms which indicate wear or deterioration. Service engineers can then intervene to prevent breakdowns. In some cases, intervention might be indicated well ahead of a planned replacement. In others, service intervals could even be increased. Could you give some examples of how these changes are being implemented in real-world applications, and the results being achieved? Among the growing number of customers that ABB has helped to adopt remote condition monitoring is the Japanese chemical giant Denka. Three of Denka’s Singapore plants have implemented service agreements based on smart sensors fitted to hundreds of motors. The ambitious aim was to reduce motor failure by 80%. This has been surpassed since no motors have failed in the past two years. How are these changes affecting the relationship between service providers and end-users? Do you expect new business models to emerge? There is a trend to holistic service agreements in which the service provider takes responsibility for the outcomes of its work. Effectively, the customer buys agreed levels of uptime, productivity, energy efficiency or some other KPI. This will fundamentally change the relationships between service providers, customers and other businesses, who will now become partners. These partnerships will ultimately become part of an ecosystem which brings together service providers who can contribute to the overall success of the business. They might include insurance companies, investment and pension funds, finance institutions and businesses in the cybersecurity, AI and machine learning fields. As an example, ERGO Hestia, one of Poland’s leading insurers of industrial and service facilities, is working with ABB to use our remote monitoring services to minimise electric motor breakdown risks for insured customers. Where do you see the digitalisation of service activities heading in the future? Are there potentially new areas in which users could see benefits? In time, we expect to see every device on the factory floor becoming part of the connected world, enabling better decision-making that maximises productivity and reduces costs. Looking further ahead, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) already have applications in service provision, giving engineers an effective telepresence, and we expect that area to grow. There is also growing potential for remotely supporting activities like repairing, installing, commissioning and controlling equipment. While these may be viewed as emerging capabilities, the remote condition monitoring services readily available today can immediately enhance industrial operations and increase their resilience against pandemics and other future crises. Furthermore, the insights gained can benefit the entire business, such as identifying areas where upgrading with VSDs (variable-speed drives) and SynRM (synchronous reluctance) motors can improve energy efficiency. n Digital monitoring of equipment such as fan powertrains is changing the way that we service industrial equipment