Applications
A key driver behind the rapid adoption of Industrial IoT (IIoT) is to improve productivity whilst reducing the total cost of ownership including the cost of maintenance, planned and unplanned, minimising downtime and remaining compliant with the regulatory environment. There is a clear and recognisable business case for having an early indication of potential equipment failure as this give asset managers vital time to plan for maintenance or repair. This extra time saves real money.
However, monitoring assets in industrial environments comes with its own challenges. These include operating over a wide temperature range, high humidity or immersion, availability of power and potentially large electrical and magnetic fields. These alone can make installation and maintenance difficult and costly.
When deciding on a remote condition monitoring solution it is important to fully understand the whole life cycle of the asset, what are the data or message requirements and the total cost of expenditure (TOTEX) of the system over its useful life. With budgets tight across industries all costs must be considered including maintaining any batteries and not just the cost of sensors or the installation. Operating a system for years will come with a cost that needs to be included.
“FIT & FORGET” MACHINE CONDITION MONITORING
8power have developed an easy to install solution able to monitor industrial equipment such as motors, pumps and gearboxes independent of age, brand, size, and model. Our wireless sensors can provide hourly high resolution data and last for up to 10 years. The sensors within the device can measure many operational parameters such as vibration, temperature, humidity, magnetic field even audio. Data is analysed, trended and reported over time to allow engineers and asset managers to track the gradual deterioration of the condition of an asset and decide when best to maintain, repair or replace an asset. Knowing of asset failure ahead of an incident is becoming a business imperative.
WATER AND WASTE TREATMENT PLANT MONITORING
Water treatment and waste water plants are often in remote areas with engineers having to physically visit the plant to check everything is working correctly. With 8power’s innovative technology, these remote assets can be monitored constantly by providing condition monitoring data remotely. With assets such as large volume blowers and abstraction pumps operating at near 100% duty cycles continued running with any potential failure could lead to the asset being damaged beyond economic repair. Our wireless monitoring technology provides a cost-effective and efficient solution to detecting early issues at remote, unmanned locations so they can be fixed with minimum service interruption.
OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT MONITORING
Today, oil and gas is an industry in transition. With increased supply from alternative sources and from different parts of the world driving down prices, oil exploration and production companies are turning to innovators to help reduce costs, increase productivity and plant performance. Add to this the hazardous environment required to operate in and the return on investment for remote condition monitoring becomes very clear. Having a “fit & forget” monitoring system allows operators to have a full view of all the assets being monitored. This view of the asset fleet enables managers and engineers to prioritise repairs to maximise production, avoid downtime and minimises the exposure of maintenance staff to hazardous environments.
