Predictive maintenance: leveraging advanced diagnostics to optimise operations

In a world that demands peak utilisation and productivity, production hiccups can be more detrimental than ever. Devices like measuring instruments and actuators are your first line of defence. With self-monitoring and diagnostic features, these devices can identify potential issues before they escalate into costly problems.

If a device identifies a problem, the diagnostic status alerts the operator to potential issues. This can help identify and address problems early, before they lead to measuring drifts, system failure or production downtime. This feature, known as advanced diagnostics, is a key component of predictive maintenance strategies as it allows for real-time monitoring and early detection of potential issues.

The advanced diagnostics of instrumentation has emerged as a critical tool for enhancing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and reducing OPEX. Service activities such as calibration and maintenance can be performed proactively or during scheduled maintenance periods, minimising disruption to operations and reducing the costs associated with unforeseen failures. This contributes to cost savings and promotes sustainable operations by minimising quality issues, non-compliance and wastage.

As an example, in critical pH measurement applications frequent calibration of the pH sensor is often part of a preventative maintenance plan to ensure product quality and safety. However, this labour-intensive process doesn’t prevent sensor drift or failure between calibrations. Advanced diagnostics can help by continuously monitoring key sensor parameters like raw mV, glass impedance, calibration slope and offset drifts. This allows for real-time prediction of sensor lifespan and accurate estimation of calibration, maintenance and repair intervals, enhancing efficiency and reliability.

Advanced diagnostics also contributes to improved product quality and safety. By identifying and monitoring critical sensor parameters, any of these internal parameter drifts out of acceptable tolerance can be addressed. In the above pH sensor example, monitoring the pH measurement value would not be enough to mitigate the risk of quality and safety issues. The advanced diagnostics notifies the operator prior to any impact on the measurement and, subsequently, the safety of the application and quality of the product.

The benefits of advanced diagnostics are indeed significant, but their incorporation into operations might require a detailed examination of the CAPEX budget during the project’s design phase. It could benefit the project team to undertake a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and ROI calculation, as typically, the inclusion of advanced diagnostics is a small proportion of the overall equipment cost. Additionally, conducting a risk assessment to consider the potential costs of not investing in advanced diagnostics could be a reasonable step. This might include the cost of equipment failure, loss of productivity, too many or too few maintenance activities, and potential safety issues. This could help balance the initial investment in advanced diagnostics against potential savings in OPEX, considering factors such as reduced downtime, increased efficiency, extended equipment life, improved safety, optimised calibration and maintenance workload.

The selection of device technology and manufacturer could be crucial when incorporating advanced diagnostics. Evaluating different technologies can ensure the best long-term value for the investment. Consider the reliability of the diagnostics, successful use cases, the level of support provided by the manufacturer and the vendor’s industry reputation.

In conclusion, while advanced diagnostics could reduce OPEX and enhance operations, their incorporation requires a careful evaluation of the CAPEX budget and a strategic approach to ensure OPEX costs are also considered in the assessments to calculate an accurate ROI. *Mohsen Habibi is the Product Manager for Services and Solutions at Endress+Hauser Australia, with a focus on optimisation of maintenance activities, digitalisation, Industry 4.0 and engineering solutions in the industrial automation field.

Top image credit: iStock.com/Smederevac