Ensure proper equipment operation and maintenance management

Thread Content

With the advancement of industrial intelligence in our country, equipment renewal is undoubtedly a top priority for many enterprises. As a major manufacturing country, the contradiction in managing advanced and outdated equipment is becoming increasingly prominent. The entire life cycle of modern equipment, from research and development, use to disposal, involves an increasingly wide range of aspects and exhibits a higher degree of socialization. It can be said that the rapid development of modern equipment has also given rise to many new problems. Problems in new equipment management: Modern equipment is characterized by larger size, higher speed, automation, and intelligence. The larger size of the equipment leads to a high degree of concentration in production, which reduces losses caused by equipment failures. Of course, larger equipment comes at a higher overall cost, which also has a significant impact on the product cost ； The increased speed of equipment improves production efficiency on the one hand, but it also creates technical and economic issues, such as higher energy consumption of the drive systems, as well as higher requirements in terms of materials and automation levels ； Automation and intelligence increase the complexity of equipment, leading to more failure points and higher failure probabilities, which poses difficulties for equipment maintenance. The equipment life cycle management platform is utilized to carry out \"three-oriented\" management of equipment. Traditional equipment management focuses on maintenance, whereas modern equipment management refers to \"equipment life cycle management\", which encompasses the entire process from planning, design, manufacturing, acquisition, installation, operation, transfer, maintenance, renovation, upgrading to eventual disposal of the equipment. To ensure that equipment maximizes its asset value and optimizes production efficiency throughout its lifecycle, it is necessary to develop a comprehensive equipment lifecycle management platform through intelligence, digitization, and visualization. 1 Digitalization – making equipment management traceable and trackable. Traditional equipment management tools or software are often limited to the business level and master data level. However, devices do not exist and are used in isolation; the similarity of production processes among devices as well as their degree of interaction are among the factors that determine whether they can operate properly. The digitization of the equipment full life cycle management platform not only allows for quick access to various information about equipment through software systems, but also enables full traceability of all kinds of process-related information related to the equipment. This includes information on workpiece details and processing parameters, as well as status-related information used for assessing the equipment’s health, such as information on influencing factors, process parameters, and environmental conditions. 2 Intelligence – Enabling predictive equipment operation and maintenance. Unlike traditional approaches to equipment maintenance, where repairs are carried out after problems arise, intelligence focuses on preventive maintenance. Through preventive analysis and early warnings, it is possible, on the one hand, to help maintenance technicians schedule important preventive maintenance actions in advance to avoid downtime ； On the other hand, through intelligent scheduling of preventive maintenance, companies can have ample time to prepare for equipment upgrades or replacements. 3 Visualization – Simplifying equipment management. The visualization aspect of the equipment lifecycle management platform includes visual device modeling, visual equipment installation management, visual equipment registry management, and visual inspection management. It involves creating geometric models of enterprise equipment, allowing for an intuitive, accurate, and realistic representation of the equipment’s shape, distribution, and operating status. Additionally, by linking the device models to real-time data as well as archival information, it becomes possible to quickly locate devices in 3D scenarios and retrieve their basic information. With the support of these integrated \"three modernizations\", and by utilizing a device lifecycle management platform, enterprises can achieve comprehensive, seamless closed-loop management, maximizing efficiency and enabling scientific, rational, and efficient equipment management.