Key points
2020 has been a game-changer for us all, both personally and professionally. The coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll for so many reasons, not least on our health and wellbeing, work life and work/life balance.
Here in the UK, we’ve adapted to lockdowns almost overnight, and for those in the UK’s manufacturing sector, the majority of us also adapted to workplace ‘lock outs’.
Forced to work remotely from home and unable to effectively be ‘hands-on’ in our manufacturing environments, our processing colleagues have been left holding the fort, often in reduced numbers, in a sterling effort to maintain supply chains and fulfil the orders of customers who are based all over the world.
Business challenges in 2020 have been – and will continue to be – immense, compounded by the UK’s exit from the EU and new trading rules (from 1st January 2021).
What this unprecedented situation has brought into frighteningly sharp focus is how debilitating it can be to not feel in control of our manufacturing processes – that is, if we haven’t made the transition to a smart manufacturing model.
There is no doubt that a major shift for industry has been the growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 principles. Similar to the explosion in personal smart tech – such as controlling home devices via voice activation or controlling central heating remotely via a phone – this fourth ‘Industrial Revolution’ is, at its heart, connecting our work environments so that as many physical assets and processes as possible can ‘talk’ to each other, intelligently alerting stakeholders to real-time issues and predicting other potential issues.
Under normal circumstances, this is a very powerful way to manage and optimise production processes, but during a hugely disruptive situation, such as a worldwide pandemic, this has proved to be an invaluable advantage for those in the manufacturing sector who already have digital strategies and connected technology in place, particularly those with remote monitoring capabilities.
The ability to be able to ‘watch’ a plant’s performance remotely from anywhere in the world – via real-time data fed to an app on a phone or via a laptop – and make on-the-spot decisions to counter processing problems offers golden opportunities 24/7 to ensure a plant’s assets, people, productivity levels and processes can be as effective and, ultimately, as profitable as possible.
Real-time data can be transferred to a Cloud-based or Edge-based server via a GSM connection or WiFi. The data is continuously monitored for patterns that may indicate that a problem is developing with a piece of equipment, process system or plant, using a combination of Rules-based expertise and predictive analysis.
For relevant stakeholders within the processing team, a real-time mobile app (iOS or Android), secure web portal or secure Edge-based Docker hubs can be accessed to deliver up-to-the-second values, trends and condition-based alerts, whether the team is working on-site or remotely. Data can be restricted on a ‘need to know’ basis in order to maintain the privacy and cyber security of sensitive data.
Manufacturing at the Edge
Some manufacturers, who are currently exploring the idea of data-driven manufacturing, including remote monitoring, have concerns about the levels of cyber security that would be required to protect their valuable company information.
In the worlds of pharmaceuticals and nuclear, for example, the threat of sensitive information about a top-secret product, piece of equipment or technology being shared with third parties is no longer the stuff of science-fiction for those with dishonourable motives.
It is a common misconception that the only way to monitor a plant remotely is to exclusively use a Cloud-based system as an information-gathering portal.
Many companies do use this method, but the Cloud is not an infallible technology – explaining why the cyber security industry is enjoying a period of exponential growth as businesses try to find new ways of defending their potentially vulnerable devices, systems, networks and data from malicious attack.
The good news for cautious manufacturing businesses is that there is an alternative approach that can more effectively ring fence/protect their data by distributing it amongst different sources.
Implementing security protocols can block off any part of a network that has been compromised, minimising the amount of data at risk at a particular time. The cleverest solutions can be kept entirely separate from existing control systems to help maintain security.
Edge Computing allows for secure, localised real-time data processing, analysis and management of a multitude of smart devices and assets – ‘on premise’, rather than after it is ported to the Cloud. Advantages include:
• A reduction in the likelihood of a cyberattack or potential Cloud failure
• Reduced costs from not having data constantly streamed, analysed and hosted by the Cloud
• Better network performance with no latency for precise, instant analysis
• Innovation and data security improvements from constant operating system and software updates
• Assets effortlessly adapted to suit infrastructure requirements
A Smart Digital Transformation Strategy Unlocks Agile Solutions
For any company yet to begin a digital transformation it is important to understand the potential power of the data they are generating each day and how clever, strategic analysis can help to optimise operations to make a business more agile and resilient.
In these times, this is going to be more important than ever with companies battling to make sense of the world’s changing economic climate as the Coronavirus pandemic eases. Positively hitting the ground running will be vital for business survival and growth.
Process manufacturers experiencing a lightbulb moment right now will be looking for simple, smart and cost-effective ways to ensure they make the most of lessons learnt in 2020.
Preparation and future proofing will be a priority for many devising a crisis management plan. An expensive capital outlay on equipment and process systems may not be a viable option for manufacturers who recognise they must improve their decision-making and processes to remain competitive but have to consolidate the opportunities available for their existing assets first.
This can sometimes be misguided expenditure anyway, when all that is required, especially in the short to medium term, is the capability to effectively data mine from legacy assets that have not reached the end of their productive life.
Choose the Right Data-driven Manufacturing Partner for Your Strategy
Developing a digital strategy can be a minefield and puts many process manufacturers out of their comfort zones. Companies should be able to implicitly trust their data-driven manufacturing partner to provide them with the best intelligent software, the right support and flexible options for their budget and requirements, based on solid expertise and knowledge, not only in digitalisation, but in manufacturing.
I know from personal experience that bespoke adaptability and scalability within a timeframe that feels comfortable for the manufacturer will ease the, often confusing, transition from traditional to intelligent manufacturing.
The best partners to collaborate and help implement a digital strategy will be able to offer services such as training, data discovery assessments, instrumentation upgrades, smart alerts, reporting and traceability, troubleshooting guides, remote technical support, process solutions (including project management), robust asset modelling and various connectivity options, in addition to remote monitoring capabilities.
Who better to guide a manufacturer than a successful process manufacturing company whose digital transformation began at the start of the Industry 4.0 concept and now reaps the benefits of optimising their own processes?
Crisis Management and the Case for Remote Monitoring
Remote monitoring comes into its own in times of crisis but should also help to underpin any digital strategy. It is as much about ways of preparing for curve balls, as it is about optimising processes under normal circumstances.
The advantages of remote monitoring are wide-ranging and of particular benefit to process manufacturing industries where experienced engineers are responsible for operating more than one production system at a time.
Offering more than the capability of employees ‘seeing’ in real time the performance levels of assets and systems when not in the same location, remote monitoring has the potential to also deliver tangible business benefits, including improvements in consistency and yield, reductions in energy output, waste and defects, identifying gaps in production capacity and facilitating the shifting of employee effort to higher-value tasks.
There are four significant advantages of integrating remote monitoring technology into a process manufacturing environment:
- Reduction in Unplanned Shutdowns
No manufacturer wants to be caught out by an asset breaking down in the middle of a batch run for an important client. The commercial repercussions can be devastating, whether it causes a delay in delivery or results in a poor-quality product. Predictive maintenance capabilities allow the manufacturer to be more in control of their production.
Remote monitoring analyses the overall performance of equipment, including the condition of parts that will degrade through normal wear and tear, and provides important data to troubleshoot a developing issue. Early warnings of a mechanical failure give an opportunity to pre-schedule maintenance or part replacement at a time least likely to cause major disruption to production schedules.
- Fewer Site Visits Required
Site visits for maintenance and servicing are not normally problematic for field engineers, who can schedule a mutually convenient time to visit the site to observe the values of local measurements and physically examine the asset.
However, if restrictions are in place regarding site access, as in the current climate, this can present a difficult challenge for the manufacturer and engineer to make sure the equipment is performing at an optimal level.
Regular servicing does not necessarily take into account the actual levels of asset usage and the different materials and loading capacities that the equipment is subjected to. Remote monitoring, however, allows for the constant analysis of the equipment’s operation and factors that might cause equipment to fail unexpectedly.
This ‘smarter’ way of constantly learning about and analysing the equipment’s performance, based on individual processing factors, means that maintenance visits need only occur when absolutely necessary.
My experience of remote monitoring processing plants is that many issues can be diagnosed away from the source of the equipment by using detailed analysis of key measurement trends, in collaboration with input from end users on premise.
A Decision Factory for troubleshooting and fixing common issues is a fantastic way of dealing with problems effectively and quickly by giving a manufacturer the digital ‘toolkit’ to fix certain issues without the need to schedule a visit from a qualified engineer. This has been particularly useful for some of our customers during the pandemic.
- Improved Equipment Performance
As well as providing early warnings of processing issues, continual remote monitoring can identify opportunities for improving equipment performance in areas such as energy consumption and increasing throughput.
Advisory notifications alert operators if there is spare load capacity, for example, or when air flow rates should be increased to maximise production levels. It can also tell the operator if the equipment is significantly over-processing.
- Operational Transparency
Previously, the operating details for a plant were restricted to an on-site, manually created, shift log. The capacity to now glean real-time information of a production status is a powerful advantage to equipment operators on premise, as well as team members and management working on standby, a considerable or even short distance away from the equipment.
The beauty of remote monitoring is the intelligent way that reporting can occur. Connected technology means that, along with live values, trends and alerts, key production indicators can be automatically emailed daily giving summaries of the previous day’s operation.
Daily production reports should inevitably result in improvements for scheduling production runs, particularly around shift changeovers, and provides a record of equipment performance and settings for each batch production run, giving a clear starting point for optimising processes.
Remote Monitoring in Action
As a manufacturer of processing equipment suitable for a wide range of applications (which, also has a successful contract manufacturing facility), Hosokawa Micron Ltd has had a unique opportunity to create its own remote monitoring software, Hosokawa Gen4, for contract manufacturing purposes, with the intention that whatever we created would also be ideal for our equipment and systems customers to use in their own processing – which an increasing number of our customers are discovering. We became the guinea pig for the software’s development and is why we’ve been able to develop and rigorously test it, under real-life conditions, in collaboration with some of the best digital technology experts in the UK.
Introducing remote monitoring capabilities into a Hosokawa Micron Air Classifier Mill (ACM) for size reduction has provided us with amazing results and tangible evidence that remote monitoring works perfectly for process manufacturing.
It has given us, and our customers, an insight into day-to-day functionality, operational and commercial benefits and the potential for optimising equipment, process systems and plant performance.
The software was successfully retrofitted to the powder milling equipment, with processing steps controlling the feed-rate of raw material and additives, mechanical grinding and classification. The system capabilities also included filtering the exhaust air and bagging the product materials.
Measurements connected to the data-logging module included the status, speeds and current for each of the electric motor drives and the system air flow and pressure measurements. These were supplemented by two additional sets of measurements from the milling plant and connected to the data logger to provide improved condition monitoring and plant operation.
Firstly, measurements of vibration and temperature were added to the main bearing housing of the mill to help provide an assessment of condition of the bearings and secondly, an online particle size analyser, using laser diffraction technology, was fitted to the product line to provide a continuous measurement of the D10, D50 and D90 particle sizes.
In this case, all the measured values were uploaded to the Cloud every two minutes, but this data could also be uploaded and analysed almost instantaneously if Edge technology was utilised instead.
Live values and historical data trends were accessed using our ReMs app (which runs natively on most common mobile devices), with condition-based ‘smart’ alerts sent to users in the event of a trend/pattern in the incoming data, indicating either a developing problem or an abnormal operating issue.
In this case, the alerts took into account the mill’s operating conditions and the duration of time they were active before being sent. Predictive analytics were used to provide an estimate of the expected values of key variables, such as vibration levels and drive currents for different processes, products and grades.
A problem with the main rotor drive bearing was diagnosed by measuring vibration levels. We were able to accurately predict that the increase in vibration and noise would take the equipment out of action nine days before we had to take it out of service.
Investigation of the internal components showed that high bearing wear, due to the failure of an internal rinse air flow rate, caused the issue. The Decision Factory troubleshooting guide we created for the ACM provided the guidance needed to accurately identify the mill’s low airflow, which also caused it to require more power than normal to function.
This is only one example of how remote monitoring can provide enough intelligence to optimise equipment performance, processes and, ultimately, profit. The contract manufacturing facility at our UK headquarters hugely benefits from the integration of remote monitoring into its milling equipment for food ingredients and chemical processing, improving our ability to fast-track niche products economically and allowing us to more accurately guarantee the superior quality of our end products by providing robust data and documentation in support of our production processes.
There is no doubt at all that remote monitoring and data-driven manufacturing will become the norm for process manufacturing in the future. The revolution has already begun.
