INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Smart devices predict unplanned downtime The reliability of equipment and a continuous power supply form a fundamental par t of business sustainability, par ticularly when it comes to production continuity and downtime avoidance.
V
ery often, little thought is given to the realistic lifespan of critical industrial equipment. Generators and uninterrupted power supplies (UPSs) frequently operate without sufficient monitoring. And equipment is seldom maintained or upgraded. This is surprising, as a failure in equipment can result in catastrophic consequences for any company,” says Martin van Zyl, segment leader: Consumer Packaged Goods, Schneider Electric.
Monitoring “The importance of monitoring cannot be overexaggerated. At Schneider Electric, we understand the value of holistically and deeply monitoring critical equipment, using industry software solutions supported by cloud analytics and expert engineers,” adds Van Zyl. Monitoring critical industrial equipment has the following benefits: • identify and mitigate power quality issues from both internal and external sources
• improve power quality to reduce equipment failure, prolong equipment lifespan and eliminate unknown tripping and stoppage events • reduce energy cost by pinpointing savings opportunities related to operational usage, power quality mitigation measures and utility optimisation initiatives • leverage contextual information such as busbar temperature, ambient conditions, the number of operations, the loading of the equipment and other condition sensors • improve safety through connected MV (medium voltage) and LV (low voltage) switchgear – providing remote switching functionality to establish safe environments that keep employees out of harm’s way while also empowering quick response time.
Martin van Zyl, segment leader: Consumer Packaged Goods at Schneider Electric
degradation of equipment longevity and unplanned downtime. “These issues are more common than one would expect. An estimated 70% of power quality disturbances originate within facilities and cause between 30% and 40% of downtime incidents,” adds Van Zyl. In these cases, a power management system has the analytic tools to help manufacturers understand which power quality events could adversely affect operations. Manufacturers can monitor and analyse power quality disturbances to determine the specific actions needed to correct issues. This might include the installation of power quality correction equipment, such as power factor correction capacitor banks and active harmonic filters.
Cloud analytics
While monitoring and management are great steps forward, even more insight can be Power quality issues can go unnoticed and gained through analysing collected data in have a major impact on operations and the cloud. processes, leading to equipment damage, “The benefit of Schneider Electric’s cloud analytics is that data is evaluated through machine learning tools together with R&D information; but an experienced Schneider Electric engineer will also evaluate the results and provide specific recommendations to the on-site team on how to proactively Critical equipment prevent an issue from progressing such as generators and into a safety or downtime event,” uninterrupted power explains Van Zyl. supplies often operate An example of cloud analytics without sufficient monitoring services would be monitoring a transformer’s busbar temperatures in the context of the ambient operating conditions and load profile. This will assist in understanding when these contextualised thresholds are exceeded, which will require immediate on-site intervention such as the tightening of the cable or busbar connections. Cloud applications can evaluate a holistic data set and its relation to critical assets such as a transformers or UPSs to identify potential issues arising long before a failure occurs.
Power quality
IMIESA May 2021
41
