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IoT : the bright future of maintenance

IoT : the bright future of maintenance

Friday 14 february 2020

IoT for Internet of Things is becoming a reality in our world. But are you familiar with IIoT, the Industrial Internet of Things?
 
In our daily lives, we are now more and more to benefit from technologies of connected objects or IoT, and for several years now we have been witnessing the advent of intelligent cars and connected household appliances (at least on the top end of the market). The home is not to be outdone with the advent of home automation, which we have been talking about for more than 30 years, and which is finally becoming more democratic: remote monitoring and control of our apartments and houses, our lighting, access to the contents of our refrigerator, remote control of heating and air conditioning with optimization and energy savings, etc. All this is now part of our daily life. 
 

IIoT is to the industry what IoT is to the public at large

 
As the consumer market has begun to widely adopt these technologies, a new horizon of infinite promises is emerging. As you have understood, this is the Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT. According to Wikipedia: "The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the application of Internet and Internet of Things technologies to the industrial domain to interconnect sensors, intelligent industrial equipment, and computer systems in geographically distributed architectures".
 
Thus, the IIoT refers to all industrial equipments and machines with Internet connectivity, either native or added after their installation. The benefits to be derived from this are considerable, with potential savings and increased efficiency of integrating this new technology constituting a major disruption in the asset management of production sites and buildings. Today, IIoT is seen as the foundation for the digital industrial society of tomorrow and organizations must focus on integrating this technology into all aspects of their operations.
 

The benefits of integrating CMMS into the IIoT

 
Computerized Maintenance Management Systems, the CMMS we cherish so much, are seeing their role considerably strengthened by the contribution of this new mass of information collected and now immediately available and infinitely exploitable. The integration of the IIoT transforms an organization's CMMS by transmitting data captured on technical assets in real-time and automating the processes for requested interventions, sizing maintenance needs, managing supplies, etc.
 
The traditional approach to maintenance and asset management has so far required a great deal of human interaction. Technical staff carry out periodic inspections of equipment to determine its condition, recurring preventive maintenance is also carried out, early replacement of wearing parts is widely recommended, often before it is completely necessary and can lead to costly hyper-maintenance. The management and follow-up of these operations also take a considerable amount of time and resources.
 
From now on, thanks to the combination of IIoT and CMMS solutions, the need for periodic inspections is greatly reduced. Connected sensors continuously provide detailed information on the condition of the equipment and its components. This allows organizations to save not only on the cost of technical staff visits and rounds, the cost of replacing parts, but also on the downtime of the asset that may be required during unnecessary inspection or maintenance processes. There is no longer any need to replace parts that are still working in advance, as the asset itself notifies when one of its constituent parts needs to be replaced. The data automatically collected by a sensor can trigger a maintenance action, be historized for statistical purposes or start a spare parts procurement process.
 
It is by successfully integrating their CMMS with the deployment of IIoT that organizations will be able to take full advantage of all the value of digitization. In other words, it is by enabling more qualitative and quantitative information to be collected while offering a closer match between machines, equipments and people that the potential will be unleashed. These benefits are multiple and benefit the whole company:
 

Management Benefits

 
• Unpublished mass of available information to support decision making
• Perfect measure of operational efficiency
• Results accessible in real-time
 
 

Benefits for middle management

 
• Removal of the distance manager <> technician
• Transparency of technician operations facilitating Management
• Automated inventories and supplies
• Real-time information always available
• Automation of reports: measurements, events, completed actions
• Accelerated communication with the board
 
 

Benefits for technical teams

 
• More empowerment and autonomy
• General facilitation of operations
• Intervention on equipment and machines in better condition 
• Improving security
• Reduction of difficult tasks
• Reduction of repetitive tasks
• Less need to intervene in difficult or cramped spaces
• Less need to intervene in potentially dangerous places
• Access "in the field" to the history of events and measures
 
 
 

IIoT and CMMS to make buildings and plants intelligent

 
The overall benefit of IIoT for the efficiency of asset management associated with a CMMS is incalculable, making not only traditional maintenance routines obsolete but also enabling the use of real-time optimization methods specific to the organization's needs. The IIoT makes it possible to manage facilities based on accurate data rather than on speculation and assumptions, as is still largely the case today. In an intelligent building using IIoT technology, maintenance becomes proactive, giving maintainers the ability to deal with problems before users notice them and to carry out maintenance and preventive maintenance just in time. Within the so-called intelligent factory, the IIoT, an essential building block for the advent of Industry 4.0, enables a leap forward in process automation, cost control, maintenance of production conditions and the ability to innovate.
 

By the way, our ambition is to offer an unequalled user experience. Check it out right away: try CMMS for free. Within 2 minutes, the time it takes to create your account, you'll discover what's newest in this category of software.

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Good discovery and see you soon !

 

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