Data. You have it. You might even want more of it. And, if statistics are any guide, chances are you simultaneously see areas where you have too much of it.
In recent years, as computing technology has expanded and sensing equipment has rapidly decreased in price and complexity, maintenance and reliability teams have been quick to instrument their equipment. As instrumentation grew, more and more data started coming in—sometimes in floods—and managing that data became a problem.
However, as Erik Lindhjem shares in his recent article in Efficient Plant magazine, in most cases the problem isn’t the quantity of data, it’s the quality. Critical data is stored all over the place—on paper in file cabinets, in a wide variety of systems, and even across different machines. But, Erik explains, Emerson’s Boundless Automation™ vision offers a way out of that conundrum,
“As more and more plants move toward a boundless automation vision for extracting full value out of their digital transformations—driving data seamlessly from the field through the edge and into the cloud—personnel must find a way to close the loop on maintenance and reliability. If they can find that path, they will break down the silos that impede progress. Fortunately, the strategies and technologies exist to do just that.”
Context is key
We used to rely on skilled personnel to bring context to data in the plant. Deep benches of experts with decades of experience would pore over paperwork or electronic records—or even just examine or listen to assets—to identify trends and develop plans for how to keep the plant running at peak performance. Today, however, those people are gone, and the remaining personnel need tools to help them achieve peak performance even when they lack experience.
Modern technology can solve those problems, but not if it only focuses on collecting raw data. A truly valuable monitoring tool both collects and contextualizes data. Erik explains the difference,
“The simplest sensors only collect and deliver raw data. While that data is helpful, it still requires extensive overhead. Not only do plant personnel need to be experienced enough to read the spectrums and waveforms in raw data, but they must also have the time to focus on that task. If data can only be interpreted by a select group of highly skilled people, it is still siloed.
New intelligent wireless sensors go beyond raw data to automatically add context to collected values, helping identify low frequency faults, such as imbalance, misalignment, resonance, and looseness. Yet many of these devices leave out another variable: impacting—a critical signal of the equipment faults that most commonly shut down machines. The most advanced wireless sensors provide comprehensive context by also rating impacting to help technicians of any skill level identify the need to intervene on an asset when problems are still small, helping them react before machines fail.”
The right tool for the right job
Intelligent wireless sensors like Emerson’s AMS Wireless Vibration Monitor are small, affordable, easy to install, and automatically convert raw vibration data into usable information. Instead of poring over complex spectrums and waveforms, technicians instead receive actionable information to help them know which machines most need intervention, and what interventions are most likely to solve the problem.
Solutions like Emerson’s AMS Asset Monitor add additional capabilities with edge analytics. The AMS Asset Monitor can monitor variables beyond vibration including temperature, pressure, and more. It combines that collected data with powerful onboard analytics to help technicians of any experience level quickly and easily identify root causes behind developing problems with their assets.
Built for Boundless Automation
Sensors bring little value if they still silo data. That’s why AMS Wireless Vibration Monitor and AMS Asset Monitor are built with a Boundless Automation vision in mind, seamlessly integrating with machinery health packages like AMS Device Manager and AMS Machine Works. With this seamless connectivity, Erik explains, even the smallest teams can,
“use machinery health software to collate the data from these and other devices, perform local analysis, and export critical values. In the most advanced machinery health software solutions, all device information is presented in a single, intuitive dashboard, helping users save significant time by not sifting through multiple applications to track and trend information.”
Erik goes into greater detail into ways reliability and maintenance teams can use seamlessly integrated solutions to break down silos and democratize data in his full article over at Efficient Plant. Check it out today to gain ideas to improve your own reliability stance, regardless of the size or experience of your team.
