A depreciating currency is often an exporter’s dream. Therefore, in an economy pummelled by weak commodity prices, political backbiting, rampant energy costs and a fix-me-up infrastructure, South African manufacturers must stay globally competitive. Opportunity is at hand, but any exporter who hopes to profit has to have their assets sweating at full capacity. Cutting-edge MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) strategy designed to maximise profitability and minimise the losses associated with an unplanned stoppage may well become the next essential manufacturing differentiator.
The question is how can we do more with the equipment we’ve got?
Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM), which focuses on plant uptime through the decreased chance of equipment failure, is a strategy whose time has come. It is a collaborative process that maximises asset availability through the right maintenance policy. The primary aim is economic optimisation of machine reliability in line with organisational goals. RCM aims to make sure that any investment in reliability gets recovered in full, plus some acceptable return on the investment.
The strategy combines the techniques of pervasive sensing with the power of Big Data and analytics in the Cloud, in what has become known as the Industrial Internet of Things. The result – in situ condition monitoring – transforms the old ideas of inspection by a plant engineer with walkie-talkie and clipboard, into a network of temperature and vibration sensors delivering data 24/7 to the online analytical tools that carry out the predictive trend analyses.
In order to detect the onset of any degradation in equipment health, key measurement parameters, such as vibration, temperature and power consumed, are continuously compared to baseline normal behaviour. RCM relies on nonstop data collection, signal processing and trend analysis, to offer a complete picture of overall machinery health.
The Technews Industry Guide: Maintenance, Reliability & Asset Optimisation introduces the benefits that this can bring to local manufacturing and utility operations. Our hope is to arm the maintenance professional with a one-stop definitive resource that covers everything from in situ sensor-based solutions for condition monitoring, through handheld portable devices for periodic maintenance related checks, through software solutions for analysis and reporting, and on to customised services like reliability management consulting and training.
The publication includes a set of dot-tables designed to help end-users pick out the local vendors who can best aid with equipment supply and strategy development, as well as a product and technology section to showcase the latest RCM related offerings.
The 2016 copy is included with this month’s issue of the magazine.
Spaced out
Gateway to Space is coming to town. This exhibition, put together by the US Space & Rocket Centre, introduces visitors to the technologies that powered the Apollo programme and put a manned space station in continuous earth orbit. The next goal is to sustain life in space, and ultimately, the human habitation of distant and inhospitable planets.
Among the highlights is the almost quaint Apollo 11 capsule which Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins flew to the moon and back during that famous mission in 1969. There is a 1:10 scale model of the Mir Space Station, and a full-scale walk-through of the station’s core module. If it’s cockpit technology you’re interested in, check out the space shuttle flight deck also on display.
This exhibition, hosted at the Sandton Convention Centre from 1 June to 31 July, looks well worth a visit. See 'Gateway to space' for details.
Steven Meyer
Editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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