User Scenarios

Smart asset monitoring solutions offer a rock-solid approach to optimised maintenance and productivity

The aggregates industry is characterised by harsh operating conditions and the need to avoid downtime at all costs. keeping critical plant assets running and available when required is fundamental to a plant operating at optimum efficiency and achieving required production levels.

By implementing solutions that increase uptime and visibility of the status of critical plant assets it is possible to optimise the reliability of the plant as a whole.

Assets need to be available to run when you need them so there is a need to utilise your assets to maximise efficiency and manage our energy costs.

Traditionally, across many production facilities, preventative maintenance regimes have been deployed, which involve scheduled periodic shutdowns to carry out plant maintenance. Essentially this strategy is ok as it has a positive effect on availability as regular maintenance is carried out. However, it has a negative effect on utilisation as the whole or part of the plant is shutdown regardless of whether all the assets need maintenance or not.

The adoption of robust technologies with advanced diagnostics, providing predictive maintenance functions can positively effect both asset availability and utilisation, which in turn improves plant performance and efficiency.

Predictive maintenance is the digital, intelligent approach to maintenance as it uses analytics based on diagnostic data from each asset to predict when assets require maintenance or indeed are about to fail. Armed with this knowledge asset maintenance can be planned around production schedules to optimise both availability and utilisation and avoid unnecessary maintenance shutdowns.

Plant level automation control devices such as PLCs, variable speed drives (VSDs) and human machine interfaces (HMIs) come with a host of self-diagnostic information, providing indication of the status of these devices which is an essential part of a predictive maintenance strategy. However, it is the information they can provide about the assets they are controlling which is of real value. Early detection of asset ageing and wear is crucial.