10 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk August/September 2023 Insight Talking Industry Review Many companies are still not making the most of the opportunity to provide insight into machines by monitoring critical components that are subject to wear and tear. Richard Jeffers got proceedings underway by explaining that one of his favourite topics is the digitisation of maintenance. Maintenance is the process of keeping plants and equipment in good working condition, so that efficiency is retained and/or the life of that asset is increased. Maintenance, he argued is not actually that complicated. But it is really hard work to get it right every day consistently. The first generation was very much reactive, time-based maintenance. There was really no underpinning understanding of reliability theory of why components failed. And then in the 50s, 60s and early 70s. we moved into the second generation of maintenance. Driven by civil aerospace, there was an emerging understanding of reliability theory and a growth of preventive maintenance. This led to an increased asset reliability, lower cost of ownership and - particularly important in the civil aerospace - a reduction in aeroplanes falling out of the sky! Then followed the third generation of maintenance: a real understanding of Talking Industry Digital technologies in maintenance The latest Talking Industry (TI) panel discussion discussed how digital technologies can be used in maintenance activities. What can you learn from machines using digital techniques, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)? TI Chair, Andy Pye reports. Panelists John Erkoyuncu, Professor of Digital Engineering and Head of the Centre for Digital Engineering and Manufacturing at Cranfield University Richard Jeffers, Founder & Managing Director, RS Industria Dave Roddis, Senior Advisor - Digital Transformation, The MTC
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