In the manufacturing industry, a decisive shift is underway influenced by the need for better asset performance and optimised resource efficiency. These are the drivers behind the growth of the IIoT and other digital-era technologies. The ensuing convergence of cloud-based data algorithms with sensor and device networks is powering a creative new era in the expansion of traditional business models. At the same time, a more cautious approach to capital projects, since the fiscal meltdown in 2008, has seen market focus shift towards brownfield asset modernisation and the need to ‘get more from less’.
The trend is towards plant and asset optimisation based on better decision-making at all levels in the company. This has steered equipment providers in the direction of digital platforms as they strive to provide information-based tools that enable plant personnel to improve process efficiency in line with the KPIs set by their C-suite management colleagues. The resultant merge of OT (operations technology) and IT (information technology) has had a flattening effect on traditional automation architectures, which has given rise to the current generation of digital industrial platforms that have emerged as the basis to unlock new revenue streams from existing products and services.
One of the vehicles identified by the automation vendors is enterprise asset management (EAM) software. While the ideas of EAM are not new, the technologies of the IIoT are powering the benefits to fresh highs, particularly through the use of computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS).
In this month’s column from the ARC Advisory Group, Ralf Rio examines the past, present and future trends in EAM and CMMS. Over the years, researchers have identified seven key aspects to EAM, namely: application focus, management objectives, breadth and footprint, scheduling capabilities, mobility for work orders, predictive maintenance adoption, and software deployment. By examining the path of EAM across these dimensions, the report presents a clearer view of the near-term future for EAM, CMMS and field service management (FSM) technologies.
Since most change, particularly in mature markets, occurs organically through the adoption of new technologies that expand the benefits of existing capabilities, it makes sense to study the past in order to try and predict the future.
As it turns out, technology adoption had a significant impact on the capability of past generations of EAM software. In the future, the report predicts that this will continue as the IT/OT convergence enables integration of the equipment data needed by maintenance with the process data used by operations. Many equipment vendors are therefore adopting digital strategies to utilise this data to lower operating costs and improve reliability. As organisations continue to digest the changes in EAM, new opportunities to optimise efficiency across all production-related processes will appear. This will then drive a business case focused on return on assets (ROA) that aligns with the existing executive metrics, as well as giving insight into future market direction. End users are well advised to consider these trends in EAM software development as input to their selection criteria. The full article can be read in ‘Past, present and future trends in EAM and CMMs’.
ETG seminars return to SA in October
There is good news for local control and instrumentation engineers looking for a more detailed understanding of the principles behind the EtherCAT fieldbus. During October, Technews – the publisher of SA Instrumentation and Control – teams up with the EtherCAT Technology Group to host a countrywide series of breakfast seminars aimed at advancing local knowledge and application of the technology.
Delving deeper than an ordinary product lecture, executive director of the ETG, Martin Rostan, will discuss the concepts in detail, which will include user-oriented content from installation and troubleshooting, through how to achieve a smooth transition from classical fieldbus to the EtherCAT system. Table top exhibitions that give sponsor companies the opportunity to highlight their individual EtherCAT achievements will add a practical element for the more action-oriented delegates. We hope to see you all there. Contact Jane at [email protected] if you are interested in sponsorship opportunities.)
Steven Meyer
Editor: SA Instrumentation & Control
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