Maintec whitepaper on how IIoT will deliver smarter factories

The whitepaper – The Future of Maintenance Engineering: How the Industrial Internet of Things Will Deliver Smarter Factories with Reduced Downtime and Lower Repair Costs – forms part of a wide range of enhanced insight and educational activities that will support Maintec 2017.

“The IoT is set to revolutionise the way that modern maintenance engineers go about their daily tasks and we intend to reflect this in our educational programme,” said Tim Else, Event Director. “Already we are seeing manufacturing companies using sensors to collect and analyse data at every point of production, meaning they can predict failures before they occur. IoT is an enabler of condition based modelling, and will unleash the true potential of predictive maintenance regimes. Furthermore, by fitting sensors to equipment out in the field, manufacturers also have a better idea of how their products perform in real-world operating environments.”

The whitepaper gives many examples of forward-thinking companies that are employing IoT technologies to improve the way they service products. Rolls-Royce embeds its aircraft engines with sensors so that performance data can be collected in flight, enabling maintenance engineers to mobilise to make repairs as soon as the plane has landed. Industrial group ThyssenKrupp installs its lifts with a suite of sensors that send real-time data to the cloud, enabling engineers to calculate the remaining life of key components. Even pest control firm Rentokil is using IoT-based technology to connect rodent traps so that its technicians can plan their service checks in a more efficient and time-saving manner.

The whitepaper also looks at how maintenance engineers are starting to use advanced IoT-enabled technologies such as augmented reality to improve the way they repair faulty equipment. Companies such as Vuforia are supplying software that can transform tablets into augmented reality devices, displaying data such as flow rates or vibration levels over physical assets. Such technology could also be applied to wearable devices such as augmented reality glasses, where maintenance engineers are presented with key graphics and data in their line of sight.

“These sorts of technologies mean maintenance engineers will be able to work in smarter ways,” said Tim Else. “They will have immediate access to information, delivered in visual ways, rather than having to spend valuable time hunting around for text-based repair manuals. It means maintenance engineers will work more efficiently.”

Two content streams, amounting to more than 15 hours of free conferences and seminars with more than 30 industry figures, will take place across three days. Maintec 2017 is expected to attract more than 5000 delegates and 100 exhibitors.