Revolutionizing the role of predictive maintenance in industrial machinery
Downtime for equipment maintenance – whether planned or unplanned – will always be an unavoidable issue for manufacturers. When businesses are losing an average of 20 hours a week to unscheduled maintenance (according to a recent Industry in Motion report from RS), however, they need to rethink how to keep their heavy machinery and equipment in check. Traditional maintenance strategies, typically based on predetermined schedules or reactive repairs after failures, are often inadequate; leading to operational inefficiencies, unexpected breakdowns and costly unplanned downtime. RS’ report estimates the annual cost of breakdowns to be $6,776,113 to the average manufacturer – a staggering cost that many businesses simply can’t afford, when margins are being squeezed at every opportunity.
Given the intense demand to maximize asset lifespan and enable more sustainable use of machinery, manufacturers are pivoting towards predictive maintenance to supercharge their assembly lines. This technique uses data collected by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors to monitor equipment conditions and pre-empt issues before they disrupt operations, forecasting exactly when maintenance is required. By creating virtual representations of physical assets, processes, or systems, manufacturers can monitor, analyze, and optimize real-world operations. In the context of asset condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, digital twins are increasingly being utilized to improve operational efficiency and reduce downtime.
Asset condition monitoring and predictive maintenance are becoming an increasingly essential component of efficient and productive operations, optimizing asset performance, reducing failure of critical assets, and avoiding unplanned downtime. This is crucial when you consider that industrial assets typically operate for 20 to 30 years. With IIoT sensors generating extensive volumes of data however, predictive maintenance works best when paired with a high-performance, trusted connectivity solution. A platform that can handle the data needs, speed and security required in these highly complex industrial settings. And this is exactly why private 5G is emerging as a cornerstone technology for manufacturers looking to make their operations more productive and efficient.
The role and benefits of private 5G in predictive maintenance
Private 5G technology is a high-speed, reliable and secure connectivity platform, designed to connect machines, people, and data and revolutionize strategic predictive maintenance of machinery and equipment.
There are myriad benefits to using private 5G in this way:
- Reliable and resilient connectivity: Industrial settings often present challenging conditions, such as large coverage areas, metal and concrete structures, and hundreds if not thousands of devices needing connectivity. While Wi-Fi is great in many scenarios, it just cannot perform under these conditions. Private 5G networks offer robust and resilient connectivity, maintaining consistent communication across complex and extensive sites, including remote and mobile assets
- Coverage both indoor and outdoor: With 5G technology and the flexibility that radios provide, fast and reliable coverage is ensured. This is crucial when monitoring the performance of an asset where the data collected is used to make decisions about operations. Failure of this critical function can lead to delays in production. The coverage provided by a private network means data is transmitted and received without interruption ensuring continued business-critical operations
- High-speed data transmission: Private 5G networks provide significantly faster data transmission speeds than other wireless connectivity solutions. This is crucial for managing the large amounts of data created by IIoT sensors, including video and high-resolution images, to monitor machinery health
- Ease of connectivity: Being able to connect devices and sensors with minimal infrastructure changes makes private 5G networks a scalable solution for expanding predictive maintenance capabilities across a manufacturer’s entire operations
- Enhanced security: Given the high stakes in industrial operations, security is paramount. Private 5G networks are inherently secure because they utilize network isolation, data protection and device/user authentication to protect key assets. Enterprises can also control retention and data sovereignty to ensure sensitive information is kept on-premises
- Low latency: The reduced and predictable latency of private 5G networks enables quick data transmission and processing, even while monitoring and controlling assets located in diverse and remote locations. This is essential for real-time analysis on asset conditions to allow for decisions on the next course of action to be made instantly
Private 5G in practice
At Rockwell Automation’s annual customer event, the automation firm came together with Ericsson and Microsoft to demonstrate a fluid processing use case that illustrated the value of asset monitoring solutions, built on Ericsson’s connectivity platform, Ericsson Private 5G. Rockwell’s hardware and software solutions were integrated with the Microsoft Cloud ecosystem and Ericsson Private 5G to develop a sophisticated real-time asset monitoring solution that tracks several aspects crucial to fluid processing – heating, cooling, filtering, temperature, and flow. The integrated solution includes advanced sensors such as the Dynamix 1444 for vibration monitoring and Endress + Hauser smart sensors for temperature and flow data. Combined with the robust connectivity of private 5G, these sensors allow for unparalleled tracking and control of asset conditions, crucially requiring the ultra-reliable connectivity and predictable latency provided by Ericsson Private 5G.
In addition, Rockwell’s use of digital twins, enabled by Ericsson Private 5G, Emulate3D, and the NVIDIA Omniverse, enhances predictive maintenance capabilities further, with 75 data points representing physical parts of the system fed into Azure 3D Scenes to create runtime performance, health, and maintenance digital twins for monitoring physical assets.
Capitalizing on private 5G: Collaboration is key
Predictive maintenance is pivotal for modern industrial operations, boosting the efficiency of production assembly lines and reducing operational costs. With Private 5G technology providing reliable connectivity, mobility within the factory, and seamless uninterrupted coverage, this capability can reach new levels, improving manufacturers’ overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
Fostering robust partnerships between ecosystem technology providers, industrial enterprises, with smart connectivity, is crucial for driving innovation and tailoring predictive maintenance solutions to meet specific industry needs. These collaborations can streamline the integration of private 5G into existing architecture, setting the stage for a more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective industrial future.
By Jan Diekmann
Jan Diekmann is Technical Account Manager at Ericsson. Ericsson’s high-performing networks provide connectivity for billions of people every day. For nearly 150 years, it has been a pioneer in creating technology for communication. It offers mobile communication and connectivity solutions for service providers and enterprises.