Focus on: Maintenance 4.0 Maintenance Matters October/November 2024 www.pwemag.co.uk Plant & Works Engineering | 13 range. The data can be used by an MES for scheduling production, ensuring quality, and performing preventative maintenance, among other processes. The metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) tracked will be specific to each manufacturer’s priorities. But starting with too many KPIs can ground monitoring and analysis initiatives to a halt— defocusing efforts while consuming valuable staff time. So, management should prioritize creating a short list of KPIs most relevant to the business. Once the company is regularly tracking metrics against these KPIs, new KPIs can be added. Getting started To get started, the most successful manufacturers get sensors and monitoring working on one machine and begin collecting the sample information everyone agrees is important to that machine. Once the data coming in looks the way the team wants it to, the approach can be applied incrementally to other machinery. It’s better to start with a machine where the team understands how the interface works and can be successful. Even if getting up and running is easy, the team will still learn things through the process, and that knowledge will help with the rest of the installation and give everyone confidence that the results are going to be as expected. Manufacturers also should first hook up sensors and monitoring to a well-performing machine from which the team can collect data and create a baseline of understanding. This will serve as a springboard against which to measure other machines. And, when first monitoring the data from sensors, it’s important to note that sensors placed on different parts of a machine will often produce different results—even if the type of sensor is the same. Additionally, there are physical implementation factors to consider. Many successful manufacturers have relied on their in-house maintenance teams for the install instead of using outside electricians, since the installers need to be familiar with their equipment, machines and the building. Also, because the amount of metal on shop floors can leave WiFi and wireless devices unreliable, consider using wired connections to each machine rather than wireless ones. Finally, plan for the future by having network drops on every machine. This will ensure that all machines have network capacity as the team expands the installation of sensors across the shop floor and begins to collect data. By following these best practices for bringing sensors and realtime monitoring to existing machinery, manufacturers can quickly gain insights to improve their efficiency and correct issues that have been losing money. And longer term, this can translate into greater efficiency, productivity and profitability. For further information please visit: https://www.3ds.com/products/delmia/delmiaworks NI G OD Y N B I G NRAEL SOLUTIONS TRAINING AL TECHNIC 634 731 470 ining@zen.co.uk s.co.uk ingsolutions.co. 01634 tech.training technicaltrainingsol Industry since 1980 Mechanical Practical Skills Training for ain Providing Electrical, Instrumentation & Lynn Loughmiller, Software Engineering Manager at DELMIAWorks
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=