Manufacturing equipment costs a pretty penny, so you naturally expect it to drive profits and yield a return on investment. Yet, how often do these machines break down and cost you more than they should? By the time the red light turns on that tells you something’s wrong, you’ve already wasted precious time that you could have been saving with proactive, preventative maintenance.

Why, you ask? It’s simple; machines rarely break down for no reason at all, and they hardly do so without warning signs. Whether you’re watching for them is a whole other story. With the right technology, you can keep an eye on all parts of manufacturing infrastructure to ensure you address minor issues before they escalate into major problems.

Don’t Wait for the Breakdown

While it might be tempting to wait until you need to take action, with expensive manufacturing equipment, this is quite literally the worst thing you can do. That’s because of these three hidden costs:

• The domino effect - When a critical component finally breaks down, failure is usually violent. This means that you won’t be replacing a single broken part; you’re replacing multiple parts that drive up the cost of the repair.
• The panic tax - If your manufacturing line goes down, your business enters a state of emergency. You’ll be hiring premium technicians, taking on huge costs from overnight shipping, and pulling in staff to address the issue as quickly as possible. Sounds stressful, doesn’t it? This stress often costs more than the physical repair itself.
• The penalty - Downtime is expensive, too, and it means you’re missing production windows and order deadlines. You’ll lose trust and credibility with your clients, resulting in smaller orders and potentially losing customers to your competitors.

With this true cost of downtime in mind, as well as the hidden costs associated with labor, expedited shipping, and lost revenue, you have a serious problem on your hands. Thankfully, smart technology offers a solution.

Smart Technology Changes the Game

If you leverage the Industrial Internet of Things, or IIoT, you can reimagine the way your business operates through the use of smart sensors attached to equipment. These sensors can collect data without being too invasive a process, thereby allowing you to keep a finger on the pulse of your manufacturing technology’s operations.

Listening for Problems with Equipment

An experienced floor supervisor can tell if there’s a subtle change in a machine’s operations, but with sensors, we can digitize that experience:

• The technology - Vibration and temperature sensors attached to key rotating components, like gearboxes or pumps.
• The outcome - Sensors learn what the machine’s “normal” signature is, then detect changes over time before a human or a standard factory alarm can notice. The issue is flagged for attention.
• The business impact - You prevent a catastrophic failure by taking action now rather than later. This turns unplanned downtime into a predictable maintenance cost and more productivity over time.

Ending the “Who’s At Fault?” Dilemma

There’s a lot of debate whenever a major technology problem occurs over whose fault it is, but with the IoT, you can figure out if it’s the operator, the power grid, or just simple wear and tear:

• The IoT - This includes simple power-monitored devices that log basic environmental data about the asset.
• The outcome - When an issue occurs, you check the log to find the cause. For example, if there’s an energy spike, it could be an electrical issue, or if there’s a gradual increase, it could be a mechanical one.
• The business impact - Knowing what the issue is keeps you from changing out parts needlessly, which helps you make better use of your maintenance budget.

What Should You Do?

While you might be tempted to go for a huge digital transformation package, we urge you to hold off on that—at least for now.

Instead, take time to figure out what’s causing you the most pain, whether that’s a machine or a certain process. Identify that pain point, then figure out what metrics you need to track to keep it from becoming a major source of contention for your business. Once you’ve done all this, contact First Column IT to go over your options to address these issues through smart implementation of technology.

In fact, why don’t you skip those first two steps and give us a call? We’ll walk you through each step of the process and get you to where you need to be. Get started by calling us today at (571) 470-5594.

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