The reach of the COVID-19 pandemic has extended deep into our lives, resulting in drastic changes in everyday living. Minimizing risks, from the grocery store to the plant floor, is more important than ever. Plant managers around the world are learning on the fly about the best ways to keep their operations running while minimizing risks to people, equipment, and facilities.
The coronavirus crisis has taught society in general new ways to cope with extreme disruptions. It also has demonstrated that many segments of society were ill-prepared to maintain productivity in their lives. In workplaces around the world, increasing illness and layoffs necessitated by disastrous market conditions have led to new challenges in plant operations. With fewer people available to detect problems with machinery and signal the need for preventive maintenance tasks, breakdowns and production stoppages become more likely – sometimes even for minor failures.
With crisis comes opportunity. COVID-19 has reinforced the reality for plant operations and maintenance managers that any and all manner of catastrophes are possible. Those who are learning how to manage through the new and extreme circumstances will be better prepared when the next crisis occurs. Whatever its cause – weather, economic, or pandemic – another crisis can and will happen.
Continuous condition monitoring to the rescue
Managers can take a big step toward ensuring their plant can remain in tip-top form with maximum productivity by installing cloud-based condition monitoring systems. As manufacturing workplaces return to action under new recommendations and restrictions, machine performance monitoring will be critical for plants working to make up for lost time and profits.
Manufacturers have learned that peak performance can be maintained through careful monitoring and data gathering so that problems can be detected and addressed before they cause expensive, time-consuming breakdowns and production interruptions. They also are gaining new experience in operating with fewer (and sometimes no) people as well as the necessity to avoid putting employees in close proximity with each other.
Today, across-the-board full-plant connectivity empowered by the internet of things (IoT) means that data can be collected directly from networked machines and equipment, thus eliminating human error. What’s more, data can be collected without plant personnel having to make direct contact with other staff. Thanks to the cloud-based platform, vital data can be retrieved and viewed from any internet-connected device – laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet – and it can be set to upload to a computer for thorough analysis.
As plant managers learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that during times of crisis, people will not be available to do performance and maintenance checks necessary to keep plants operating. As we have seen during the coronavirus crisis, plants that depend on people on the floor to make sure everything is operating in good condition may not be able to maintain full production.
