By Jerker Carlström, Manufacturing Industry Lead, Cepheo.

 

 

At a time of increasing economic hardship, being able to modernise and streamline processes becomes ever more important. Through structured maintenance and modern technology, industry can avoid costly downtime and strengthen its market position. Discover how these interventions can revolutionise production and contribute to a more competitive future.

 

Why is maintenance top of the agenda?

 

Our local economies are under increasing pressure as the EU warns that Europe is losing competitiveness to China and the US. Europe's industry needs to modernise and become more efficient to counter this effect. Companies need to accelerate their digitisation and streamline processes to become more cost-efficient and resilient.

 

One major factor towards doing so is to avoid unplanned stoppages in production, which can lead to high costs and lost business. Many companies, especially in the manufacturing sector, are grappling with these challenges. Is there potential for improvement?

 

Efficient and structured maintenance of production equipment

 

Maintaining production equipment is a basic principle for industry. In its simplest form, it means replacing or repairing anything that breaks, which is reactive maintenance. But this can lead to costly and unplanned stoppages in production.

 

That’s why most companies rely on preventive maintenance. They schedule service windows to inspect and service their equipment based on inspection results or supplier recommendations, to help keep it in good condition.

 

The degree of structure in maintenance work varies. Some companies use specialised solutions to plan and track maintenance activities, while others use simpler instructions and checklists, in Microsoft Excel for example.

 

The first step towards optimising maintenance and minimising downtime

 

Companies that have not yet implemented a maintenance system need to do so to remain competitive. Maintenance systems enable structured and efficient work on corrective and preventive maintenance. Data accumulated over time helps optimise maintenance effort and make informed decisions.

 

Documenting corrective maintenance creates a knowledge base that can be used to prevent unplanned stoppages. The value of a maintenance system includes reduced downtime, more efficient planning and execution of maintenance activities, and better understanding of problem areas.

 

With an understanding of what disruption can mean in terms of increased costs and reduced revenue, the investment is often easy to recoup.

 

More opportunities with modern technology

 

Companies with maintenance systems can use modern technology to further increase efficiency. Although preventive maintenance saves money, it can also incur unnecessary costs. By continuously measuring and collecting data on production equipment, intelligent decisions can be made about when to perform maintenance.

 

IoT is now a reality in industry, homes and vehicles. Sensors continuously collect data on the use and status of technology. Many specialised sensors are available for retrofitting on equipment that may not have as many as it needs in the first place.

 

The initial value of measuring is to understand variables that affect performance and situations that can lead to stoppages. Limit values can be defined to initiate maintenance work in the event of deviations, known as condition-based maintenance.

 

With accumulated data, patterns and trends can be analysed using advanced data analytics and AI, enabling predictive maintenance. This is cost-effective, as it avoids unnecessary maintenance and problems.

Prescriptive maintenance means that systems suggest actions based on data and AI analysis, combined with suppliers' knowledge.

 

Act now to optimise maintenance

 

The time to act is now. There will never be a better time. Without the right tools, every unplanned stoppage that occurs means costs that could have been avoided, but also a missed opportunity to use data and learn from the situation.

 

A well-adapted maintenance system is the basis for efficient maintenance, and with modern technology such as IoT, advanced data analysis and AI, there’s a lot of potential to raise the bar even further.

 

About the writer

 

Jerker is a Dynamics 365 Platform Architect and Nordic Manufacturing Industry Lead with extensive experience in implementing Dynamics 365 solutions. He has a background in Supply Chain Management and guides companies in the manufacturing industry on their digital transformation journey, with a strong focus on building long-lasting relationships and realizing business value.

Want to know more? 

Contact our Sales Directors for a discussion about your company's digitization.