MHI Solutions Improving Supply Chain Performance
MHI Solutions Community
Kenny Rogers surely wasn’t thinking about complex supply chains when he sang, “I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in,” but his song should resonate with supply chain executives who are harnessing the power of conditions-monitoring (CM) software.
Like Rogers, managers of warehouses and manufacturing plants want to be updated on current conditions so they can address potential problems immediately. Cloud-based conditions-monitoring software offers an effective solution, helping facilities to reduce unplanned downtime, streamline processes, save money and improve worker safety.
Using sensors, production facilities can track their assets in real time, measuring factors such as temperature, fluid levels, vibration, power consumption, speed of movements and uptime. Digital dashboards give managers a snapshot of all their assets, and the software notifies them whenever conditions deviate from normal thresholds, signaling that a machine or component may be approaching failure.
Craig Henry, global account director for MHI member Murrelektronik, said conditions-monitoring software is helping many facilities to cut their unplanned downtime in half, providing a “calculable and easily determined return on investment.” CM software allows facilities to track dozens of assets across a sprawling operation in a way that could never be done manually, a key consideration as facilities incorporate more robots and cobots into their operations, he said.
“When you have tens, hundreds or even thousands of these assets running the software sets up management by exception,” Henry said.
Using algorithms and machine learning, CM software can analyze vast amounts of data, identify patterns that typically precede a failure and make recommendations to maintenance technicians. Over time, facilities get a clearer picture of how long each piece of equipment typically lasts and which operational practices accelerate wear and tear.
As a result, businesses can be more efficient in ordering replacement parts and new equipment. According to a 2022 study from Deloitte, facilities using CM software for predictive maintenance typically see their inventories of spare parts decline 10% to 30%, with carrying costs decreasing 5% to 20%.
Maintenance technicians will spend less time on high-pressure emergency repairs, and facilities are less likely to run out of replacement parts, making them less vulnerable to supply chain shocks and product shortages.
When maintenance technicians have easy access to equipment’s current status, maintenance history and performance data, they often arrive at underperforming assets with the right parts in hand, minimizing the time spent diagnosing and repairing equipment.
Early detection of performance degradation allows facilities to make minor repairs proactively, before problems become more serious and costly. CM software can help maintenance teams drive down their mean time to repair and extend the lifespan of material-handling equipment, Henry said. Using maintenance teams more efficiently has taken on added importance as companies struggle to attract and retain talented technicians.
By tracking equipment uptime, CM software can help facilities identify production issues and allocate their resources more effectively, Henry said. If equipment such as forklifts are sitting idle, for example, that could signal that there’s a bottleneck limiting throughput, or it could indicate that those assets should be moved to another section of the facility.
For facilities that are renting robots and other material-handling equipment, accurate data on usage can help them right-size their portfolio of equipment and control costs.
CM software can track emergency stoppages of equipment such as pick-and-place articulated arms and gantries, helping facilities to improve worker safety, Henry said. Frequent close calls could indicate that equipment isn’t working properly, workers haven’t been adequately trained to work with cobots or processes need improvement.
Similarly, facilities can track the number of times equipment drops or mishandles items, which could indicate that equipment is failing, or the wrong type of equipment is being used to handle those specific SKUs, Henry said.
“That’s a key benefit of condition-monitoring software—the ability to say that we’re having a specific problem happen X number of times, so let’s reduce that,” he said. “Let’s work toward a Kaizen approach of addressing that issue so that we can run more efficiently. In that way, conditions-monitoring becomes a decision-making tool instead of just a way to predict a mechanical failure.”