Managing Automation - September 2007 - (Page 64)

[ INDUSTRIES ] Transformation Integration TechWatch Combining nect devices to be monitored with expensive cable. “As these features become less expensive and more sophisticated, the maintenance people are recognizing the value of predictive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is not as cost-effective,” Kopkin says. Asset-intensive vertical industries, such as power generation and railways, have long invested in advanced EAM techniques, such as CBM and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), where there is a critical need to get the most performance out of assets. “Predictive maintenance saves MARKET CONSOLIDATION you from doing The pool of pure-play enterprise asset management (EAM) maintenance you vendors is ever shrinking. don’t have to do,” ● Infor acquired Datastream in April 2006. says Alison Smith, ● IBM bought MRO Software in October 2006. senior analyst for AMR Research. “It ● Indus International Inc. merged with Mobile Data Solutions saves you from a Inc. in January 2007 and was renamed Ventyx Inc. lot of the firefighting. [The equipment] will tell you when it needs attention.” Now, the trend is widening to include the automotive and consumer-packaged goods industries, where there is a need to do more with less and reduce waste to as near zero as possible. These verticals have made great strides thanks to lean processes and Six Sigma. Moving to a scheme that emphasizes maintenance when needed in near-real time rather than on a metered basis fits right in with the waste-not, want-not philosophy. “You’re elevating the role the human plays, which is problem solving, rather than wasting time taking the data. The people can figure out how to fix it,” Smith says. Whereas CBM was invented in heavy-duty process industries such as oil & gas, the discrete ver ticals are beginning to get into it, according to Kopkin. Automotive supplier Johnson Controls Inc., a Ventyx customer, uses “smart” condition monitoring that generates reports on the overall health of the network as well as each individual piece of equipment used. Another Ventyx customer, Heidelberg USA, Inc., monitors every part on its huge printing presses. Industries Forces more smoothly, you have less inefficiencies that will result in pollution. If you keep things running better, you will have less emissions,” says Mike Harpenau, director of product management for Ventyx. Also, eliminating unnecessary preventive maintenance tasks can be friendlier to the environment — for example, avoiding routine oil changes and thereby lowering the overall disposal and consumption of oil. This has become increasingly important in the past six months, as Wall St. analysts are increasingly asking large public companies to detail their green strategies, Kopkin adds. “Manufacturers are trying to become more efficient [and] tie energy consumption down to the asset level,” says Marty Osborn, senior director of product marketing at Infor. “We’re starting to see this escalate. Green is good for business.” Infor, which acquired asset performance management company Datastream Systems Inc. in April 2006, offers Infor EAM Enterprise and Business Edition. Another shift is toward an enterprise view of asset management and maintenance, according to Osborn. “We’re seeing an evolution from an EAM system that monitors your preventive maintenance program measures, your work orders, your spare parts, to this being driven at the enterprise level. We’re star ting to see dashboards, front-end KPIs. If the company has 20 manufacturing operations, they can start to monitor maintenance practices across those.” Viewing maintenance from the top down can help mitigate the brain drain that is already beginning to affect manufacturers as the baby boomer retirements begin. “CBM and RCM can’t replace human experience, but they can mitigate the impact while advancing the inexperienced and leaner maintenance organization toward a more efficient, demand-driven maintenance model,” AMR’s Smith says. ■ maonline managingautomation.com RELATED ARTICLES: A New Schedule for Asset Monitoring www.managingautomation.com/maintenance M2M Speeds Up www.managingautomation.com/sr4 A New Model for Maintenance Services www.managingautomation.com/EAM3 COMPANIES MENTIONED: Infor www.managingautomation.com/Infor4 Ventyx Inc. www.managingautomation.com/Ventyx A GREENER APPROACH Reliability- or condition-centric maintenance arguably reduces environmental impact, as well, making it an important part of a manufacturer’s green strategy. “If you are able to keep your process running ma September 64 2007 http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/maintenance http://www.managingautomation.com/sr4 http://www.managingautomation.com/EAM3 http://www.managingautomation.com/Infor4 http://www.managingautomation.com/Ventyx

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - September 2007

Contents Take 1 Europe’s Automation Chiefs Upbeat on ’08 Business Prospects Vendor Coalition Pushes Human Element of SOA Wireless: Users Still Approaching with Caution One Year Later, IBM Shows Plan for MRO’s Maximo Study: More Work Needed to Lure Next-Gen Talent Executive Q&A Notes Cover Story: 2008 Companies to Watch Special Report: The 2007 Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Leadership Mastery Transformation: Orchestrating the Multi-Tier Supply Network Integration: The Timeless Quest for Accurate Data Industries: Maintenance No Longer on Schedule Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2007

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