Author: Giridhar JG

People have been talking a lot about IoT for quite some time now, and the interest and buzz it is creating indicates that IoT is probably going to make a lot of difference. What exactly is IoT? For the uninitiated, it is simply making sure that Internet connectivity reaches out to "things" other than the traditional devices like desktops, laptops, Smartphones and tablets. IoT is already being used extensively in household appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, residential and office security systems, and several vital parts or "things" in automobiles.

According to the research findings published by Gartner a mind-boggling 8.4 billion such "things" are connected to IoT as of 2017, and the figure is set to cross 20.5 billion by 2020. What with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth being used practically all over the world, this sort of wireless connectivity has driven IoT beyond all barriers, and it can be connected to any device or "thing" provided it is "sensorized" or embedded with sensors. By virtue of "sensorization" these devices or "things" can send or receive information using the sensors to any system and empower it. When IoT is integrated with CMMS in an industrial scenario, the IoT gets a new nomenclature – Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT.

Internet of Things drives Industrial Manufacturing to new frontiers

The IT departments are focusing on IIoT to empower Industrial Manufacturing and expect it to yield rich benefits. IIoT can enable automation at different levels and predictive management for all industrial machines, preventing costly downtimes due to breakdowns. Businesses will turn out to be the biggest spenders on automation and IT, with the figures expected to cross $1 trillion in the manufacturing sector.

The leaders in the industrial manufacturing sector need to take full advantage of IIoT, for which they need to ensure good connectivity, workflow and automated data mining. As far as data collection and remedial action are concerned a well-designed CMMS can recover and secure sensor data, and trigger alerts by tracking the automated path. It can even generate work orders, alert the concerned personnel, and initiate necessary action on its own to rectify the fault in the particular machine.

eFACiLiTY is SIERRA's flagship CMMS solution, and the system can integrate with any type of machine through its control systems. eFACiLiTY (Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), is a comprehensive Computerized Maintenance Management System that can integrate with all kinds of equipment and machinery, allowing easy integration of third party software. It collects useful data from these machines and generates work orders automatically whenever an alert is triggered, or based on run time or specific events and facilitates carrying out of various maintenance jobs. Apart from helping gain 100% efficiency, the integration puts an end to failure downtime and keeps the machines running around-the-clock in perfect condition, ensuring steady revenues. Hence, the "thing" is not just another thing, but the "thing" of the future as far as automation and preventive maintenance are concerned.

eFACiLiTY is intelligent enough to trigger Preventive Maintenance alerts based on several complex readings gathered from the strategically placed sensors. This helps reduce physical monitoring and inspection of assets in an organization and rules out the chances of human error creeping in where too many assets need to be monitored by a limited workforce.

Moreover, eFACiLiTY ensures that downtime is minimized drastically on maintenance jobs, thanks to the threshold deviation alerts that are generated automatically. Similarly, inventory holdings are also reduced considerably, preventing dead investment. This is possible through the status monitoring feature that automatically orders the necessary spares, ensuring that no asset lies idle for want of spares, yet there is no dead inventory at any point of time. Examples include gauging the precise health and life of battery and timely filter replacements for HVAC equipment, which prevents costly breakdowns and unnecessary delays.

With key data being made available at the fingertips of Maintenance Mangers, identifying root causes of breakdowns becomes a lot easier. This enables fixing of vital glitches quickly and helps avoid costly and unnecessary replacement of a range of components during failure of critical equipment.

Another great example of eFACiLiTY-enabled IoT playing a critical role in preventive maintenance would be in remotely installed equipment like mobile towers, wind turbines, solar plants, etc. which necessarily have to be set up in remote locations in harsh and difficult-to-access terrain where maximum sustainable energy can be harnessed to generate power. eFACiLiTY not only helps prevent downtime in such remote locations, it also comes in handy with very tall, and difficult to access mobile towers that are installed well within city limits.

Maintenance managers are a relieved lot, what with eFACiLiTY-enabled IoT offering amazing benefits by cutting the time and cost involved in reaching such remote locations to replace a vital part or carry out critical service at a wind turbine or solar plant hub.

The amazing news is that we have endeavored to make this advanced technology available at very reasonable costs. To know more about how eFACiLiTY-enabled IoT can be customized for your specific needs do contact us by clicking on the Green button below or visit us at www.efacility.in.    We are eager to hear from you and encourage you to leave your comment below in the comments section.