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Abbreviations/Acronyms
Figure 1: The current state of industrial site maintenance strategies.
Engaging pre-alarming and alarming capabilities
Drives must be connected properly so that they can inform mainte-
nance service providers in an automated, real time fashion of any
impending failure or of an actual failure. Drives with SOD-enabled
capabilities use both local area network protocols and web services
to communicate.
The drives can be designated as either ‘on premise’ or ‘remote
access’ depending on IT infrastructure and privacy constraints. Auto-
matic E-mails and short message service (sms) texts can be generated
to inform operators on any unusual equipment behaviours. Again,
the SOD functionality not only sends warnings about the drive’s own
internal issues, but can also report on the status of the entire drive line.
Enabling remote technical support
High turnover of on-site maintenance personnel and low failure rates
in VSDs make outsourcing diagnostic and troubleshooting activities
to outside experts a sensible option. Nowadays suppliers provide
phone and online access to certified remote technical support and
field service engineers.
Tools such as QR (quick response) code technology (for non-
connected drives), and remote monitoring (for connected drives)
can help to link the SODs to the diagnostic experts. These people are
trained and certified to address issues that surround commissioning,
diagnostics, spare parts selections, troubleshooting, and preventive /
predictive maintenance operations.
When setting up remote technical support, on site or remote op-
erations intervention conditions have to be pre-defined and agreed
to among the users and the providers, particularly when it comes to
critical operations.
DRIVES, MOTORS + SWITCHGEAR
Allowing easy access to documentation
In the context of maintenance and support, easy access to proper
documentation is a key factor in enhancing operational efficiency.
Implementation of SODs allows for easy on-line access to either
standard generic information (such as datasheets and instruction
manuals) or asset specific information (such as a product maintenance
booklet or parameter files). Listed below are tools that can help to
facilitate implementation of such a process:
•
Static QR codes:
Scanning an SOD label provides access to
instruction manuals and FAQs
•
Dynamic QR codes:
Scanning an SOD terminal display links
directly to the proper part of the troubleshooting documentation
•
Dedicated service maintenance software:
This allows service
personnel to access detailed key measurements and indicators
•
Cloud data repository:
This vast resource of inexpensive
storage can house the entire product lifetime information, from
one line drawings, to conformity certificates, warranty status,
maintenance booklets, start-up and commissioning reports, and
repair reports
Consider the following real-world example of how such digital con-
nectivity helps to address business problems:
Improving ease of repair and enabling lifetime moni-
toring
Depending on installation criticality, several spare parts management
options such as on-site spare parts, a partial set of spare parts, or
ownership of parts should be considered. Some of the VSD manu-
facturers may suggest the approach that makes the most sense given
the specific situation. To minimise troubleshooting operations, and
subsequently downtime, SOD is ‘designed for maintenance’. The
For some unknown reason, the grinder at a manufacturing plant went
down. Production came to a halt. The human machine interface (HMI)
of the machine reported ‘General circuit breaker switched off’. The
operators opened the door of the enclosure to switch the device on,
but a short circuit had damaged the 500 kW VSD of the motor.
By scanning the QR code on the front face of the drive, the operators
were instantly connected to the drive manufacturer’s customer care
centre, which promptly dispatched a field service engineer. The
engineer replaced the defective control board and then, by scanning
the same QR Code, he was able to access the cloud database which
contained the specific configuration file (on-line documentation) of
the drive. In short order the grinder was re-started and functioned
properly. By the end of his visit, the field engineer stored his report in
the same database, to be sure that a documented record of the event
was kept on file.
FAQ
– Frequency Asked Question
HMI
– Human Machine Interface
QR
– Quick Response
SOD
– Service-oriented Drive
VSD
– Variable Speed Drive
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March ‘17
Electricity+Control