In big industries, huge machines are being used on a regular basis and it becomes very difficult to manage these gigantic units. Employees or owners often seek for simplified methods or processes like a machine monitoring solution to perform effective machinery maintenance. The machine monitoring system lets you know the real-time habits of a machine and by knowing the real-time activities, you can take immediate action to improve the machine operability. Implementing a machine monitoring solution enhances the capabilities of the machines for future decision-making. Further, this solution benefits your plant efficiency by facilitating predictive and preventive maintenance.
In simple words, machine monitoring is a system that involves the installation of internet-enabled sensors on each of the factory machines. Through these sensors the real-time data is collected continuously on every machine and from every operator. This enables the operators and managers to take control and execute better decisions for improving the overall efficiency across the whole industry. Moreover, with the use of a machine monitoring system, a machine can self-monitor the minor and major issues like component failure or downtime and notify the owner to implement necessary fixes.
Machine Monitoring and IoT: A Collab
The main industrial goal is to minimize costs and maximize profits without compromising the service or product quality.
In the times before the industrial IoT, manual laborers were involved to investigate the machine status, which was time-consuming and risky. This further involved a higher risk of unplanned downtime and a high cost to detect the issues. There were no other alternatives to identify the problems with the machine other than using historical patterns. In those times, each machine was used as a standalone entity and results showcased a lack of real-time data efficiency. Furthermore, the machines were not interconnected and therefore, it was difficult for the operators to identify the machine slow down and adjust the operations accordingly.
Application of Machine Monitoring IoT Solutions
Industrial IoT turns out to be highly effective and functional due to the use of smart machines in the manufacturing plants for production. The commencement of smart machines has led to the advancement of the industries to a greater level. It is now easier to process real-time functionalities and identify the impediments before involving manual labor.
The machine monitoring system can be installed for any industrial setup which facilitates improvement for conventional operations. It helps in identifying
Machine availability
Monitor the time when the machines are not running, the equipment downtime, the cause of machine shutdown through this module
Production flow
This part helps in knowing about the exact position of the product in the factory, whether it is on the conveyor belts or assembly lines, track each movement of the manufactured product for quick delivery.
Condition of the assets
This module helps in identifying the condition of the factory equipment, determines the health and performance of that equipment by tracking multiple parameters like temperature, pressure, noise, vibrations, proper maintenance and its condition and quality.
Utilization of the resources
Tracks the consumption of resources like fuel, electricity, lubricant, coolant, etc. with the help of this part, enhance the efficiency of resource utilization and minimize excessive wastage.
Precise operations
Machines operating on computerized numerical controls are programmed via codes for precisive machine operability, smart manufacturing systems enable efficient program optimization by studying tool path, tool lifecycle, feed rate, etc. for increased machine accuracy.
Also Read: Why Machine Monitoring is the First Step for Industrial IoT Implementation?
How A Machine Monitoring Solution Benefits your Industry?
Internet of Things comprises multiple interconnected devices or assets. In big industries, IoT works through web-enabled sensors that are installed on these devices or machines to collect valuable information. This data is then shared with a platform hub for real-time processing and analysis. It helps in taking major decisions that result in an increased machine or plant efficiency. There are several benefits of using a machine monitoring solution in the industry. Some of them are listed below.
Increased Efficiency
In all steps of the manufacturing process, the ultimate goal lies with great product delivery without any compromise with the quality. IoT-enabled machine monitoring solution not only helps in generating the desired product in the factories but also contributes to an efficient increase in the machine's capabilities. When you can track the routine activities of your equipment, it directly affects its efficiency. The more accuracy in identifying the faults, the less time will be needed to fix them for a significant increase in the overall efficiency.
Waste Reduction
The integration of essential IoT solutions within several industries has contributed a lot to the environment friendliness. The factory owners can now maintain a track record regarding the excessive resource wastage and can implement necessary actions for reducing the cause of wastage. With the help of a machine monitoring system, authorities can leverage a chance to monitor and analyze the machine's condition which further helps in taking priority decisions to keep an environmental balance and minimize the pollution.
Improved Communication within the Industry
Previously, it was hard to keep up with the communication network within the industry on the operator-to-manager and operator-to-operator levels. This has been rectified with the advanced methods of the Internet of Things. It is now easier to channelize the tasks for each employee and half of the laborious work has been replaced with effective computerization. The machine monitoring helps in automating most of the tasks like downtime detection, noise identification, etc. It acts as a rescue gateway for the plant operators to work efficiently and with accurate results.
Real-Time Notifications
As we get on-spot notifications through mobile applications regarding any news update; the machine monitoring system works specifically for the factory machines. Any fault or smallest of the obstacle during the runtime or off time of the machine is notified with the help of an alerts module. Real-time notifications work especially to save the time of the employees while analyzing the machinery and allows them to take situation-based actions and avoid further machine damages.
Machine Monitoring: First step for industrial IoT. Why?
Without the machines the industries won't be the same as they are and maintaining proper health of these machines gives a greater responsibility for the industrial owners. Hence, a machine monitoring solution plays a major role in initializing the Internet of Things with the industry. Several industries have already started implementing IoT to boost their productivity.
We call the machine monitoring solution as the first step towards IIoT because besides monitoring it creates a next-level communication network within the industry. This network can then be used as an effective source of analyzing the whole plant activities. Generally, a machine monitoring solution is a one-single package comprising of real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, data representation, automation, and support on every apparatus. Implementing this system would simultaneously aim at enhanced productivity and machine maintenance.
