Boosting Predictive Maintenance with IoT

Running a business comes down to finding a quality system that works for you and your customers. Then, you do everything you can to maintain that system and, as time goes on, modify it to adjust to modern needs. However, the main problem that many businesses find is their inability to predict when they need maintenance support. 

Instead, they shell out on expensive scheduled maintenance that might not actually catch the problems at hand in the time expected. 

That’s a big issue, and one of the main reasons why any business owner today might wish to use predictive maintenance powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technology. For example, running a factory means having machinery that is not going to let you down when you need it to be most effective. 

That is a common problem, though, and is a key issue in many factories and other industrial platforms. When machinery is either inefficient or unable to operate, it has a negative impact on your business somewhere down the line.

It stops someone doing their job, or a service being completed to the best standard. Whatever the limit, having machinery that falls outside of scheduled maintenance fail can be a costly issue for your business.

IoT empowered predictive maintenance can minimise costs, too 

A huge part of what makes a good business is use of figures, analysis, and detailed reports to make data-driven decisions. Instead of acting on instinct or, worse, hope, you can use analysis tools to make more informed choices. For example, the Linkers Operations Excellence (Ox) service provides an easy way for a business owner to take control of when maintenance is carried out. What can this provide?

1.     With clear triggers set up with the use of IoT tech, you can have a much clearer idea about when a machine is no longer working at 100%, and when it could need repairs carried out. 

2.     This helps to catch the performance dip and solve the problem when it is as its most minimal. Also, this reduces repair times, but it also reduces repair costs. 

3.     By being prepared to predict when adjustments and repairs are needed, it is so much easier to predict when changes have to be made.

For example, these triggers could help you to better understand when operations are either using an excess of resources, such as energy, water, or gas, or when assets seem to change without a clear explanation. 

In short, this allows you to stay on top of performance issues so that they can be avoided. Instead of having a piece of machinery run itself into the ground prior to scheduled maintenance, predictive maintenance via Linkers Ox helps to catch the issue at its most miniscule.

Then, repairs are quick, easy, and proactive. Instead of waiting for the problem to make your working day harder, this helps you to make a decisive change to make corrections today.

What can predictive maintenance do for your business?

There are many beneficial reasons to think about investing in a predictive maintenance service. Instead of waiting for a specific date to come around, predictive maintenance allows you to do much more in a shorter space of time. Some of the benefits of such a practice include, but are not limited to:

• Greater accuracy on what needs to be maintained and improved to reach 100% efficiency. Ensure that maintenance improvements are made because they are needed, not simply scheduled.

• Get ahead of potential random failures that could cause problems with other machinery and tools, creating a seismic impact on the ability for your company to stay on top of its commitments.

• Keep hardware working for longer, ensuring that severe problems are not allowed to persist simply until a scheduled date arrives. This delivers better day-to-day performance with improved efficiency.

• Avoid wasting needless resources on running IoT hardware that is not at 100% capacity. Machinery will use more resources to achieve what could be done with a smaller percentage via repair.

• Keep staff productive and avoid the need to have to provide overtime and extra hours just to keep pace. This is common when machinery lets you down; predictive repairs avoids this issue.

• Collect key data that shows you crucial facts about performance, management, and day-to-day usage for your hardware. Now, you can see what is being used, for how long, and compare.

• Avoid the need to have a scheduled maintenance team arrive onsite or have a member of staff carry out maintenance on company time, eliminating the need for humans to get involved.

• Predict failure and get ahead of the problem before you run into a day where you can simply get nothing done due to hardware failure and the domino effect this can have on other tools.

Investing in predictive maintenance – how can you get started?

If you would like to discuss the opportunity further, then book a demo with Linkers team today to discuss what could best suit your needs. Investing in predictive maintenance empowered by IoT combinations is a wise choice for any business. Especially those who are invested in the manufacture of goods. If you want to start taking control of the experience, and ensure your business has a greater handle on when repairs are needed – and why – then now is the time to act.