Research by Oneserve found that downtime costs UK manufacturers more than £180 billion a year. Unplanned downtime not only disrupts production, but can also lead to wastage of raw materials and even damage to the system itself - driving up costs beyond lost production. In another study, GE Digital found that 70 percent of companies have no or insufficient information about when their machines are due for maintenance, upgrades or repairs.

These results are worrying because unplanned downtime has a huge impact on productivity and causes major losses to the economy. Manufacturers need to know when to carry out maintenance to reduce these figures.

Planning preventive maintenance measures
Machines can break down - unfortunately, this is part of our everyday life in factories. However, there are signs that indicate imminent machine failure. And these signs can be monitored and controlled. Analyzing the vibration and/or speed of a machine, for example, can provide valuable insights into its condition and also indicate impending problems. Proactively monitoring machinery and equipment and planning preventative maintenance can drastically reduce the risk of failure. And this is precisely why preventive maintenance is on the rise.

The days of maintenance based on the "run to failure" principle according to the calendar or on a usage-dependent basis seem to be over for good. No one wants to wait for an engine to actually fail or for a heat transfer system to leak fluid. Plant managers now have the opportunity to carry out regular inspections, upgrades and troubleshooting to avoid unforeseen breakdowns and malfunctions.

Data-based maintenance
This is really good news - Industry 4.0 enables manufacturers to implement data-based maintenance. Valuable information is collected by sensors on the shop floor and sent to the plant manager. Based on this information, maintenance and repair decisions can be made in real time. By using digital twins, i.e. virtual representations of the machines, systems and work processes on the shop floor, combined with special machine learning software, the system is able to detect any problems proactively. In this way, faults and errors can be rectified before they occur.

In the future, systems for self-diagnosis and self-repair can also be implemented - i.e. ordering spare parts and replacement machines from a supplier of industrial automation components and planning automated maintenance.

Will zero downtime ever be possible?
Manufacturers are very confident about this - eight out of ten companies surveyed by GE Digital said that digital tools could actually eliminate unplanned downtime, and 72 percent of companies said that achieving zero unplanned downtime was a top priority.

Taking a proactive approach to maintenance is the best way to reduce the risk of unplanned downtime. Industry 4.0 continues to evolve and more and more connected sensors, digital twins and machine learning software are being developed and implemented. All of this will contribute significantly to reducing downtimes. The ideal paradise may still be a long way off, but we are certainly on the right track.

Jonathan Wilkins/as