FEATURE HVAC


Efficiency, quality and a lifetime investment: HVAC in manufacturing


PLANT MAINTENANCE An essential requirement for all factory managers is to ensure the long-term high performance of HVAC and refrigeration systems. Typical HVAC and refrigeration system plant maintenance is usually performed as scheduled works planned on the basis of the number of hours run. However, a more effective solution is to incorporate connected IoT devices to enable condition-based predictive maintenance solutions and remote monitoring of plant. Condition-based monitoring is an


essential solution for predictive maintenance. It usually incorporates a combination of vibration analysis for rotating plant and thermal analysis for electrical plant and components. With the costs of the IoT-based test equipment continuing to fall over the years, this solution should now be utilised on all relative plant as part of a comprehensive maintenance schedule. Remote monitoring provides regular


By Andrew Nixon, area general manager - energy, HVAC and industrial refrigeration, Johnson Controls


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VAC and refrigeration systems are essential services within the


manufacturing environment. These can have a direct impact on product quality, manufacturing costs and production volume. It is therefore essential for businesses to have reliable systems that deliver production requirements through energy efficient operation, and that meet industry-specific regulatory compliance. With that in mind, there are two main influencers on plant performance to consider with evaluating HVAC and refrigeration systems.


PLANT PROCUREMENT HVAC and refrigeration systems have a long life expectancy - around 20 years - so it is important to make the right investment decisions around plant procurement when considering end of life replacement or increasing production capacity. Historically, plant procurement decisions have predominately been focussed on the technical performance of plant and initial capital value. However, with increasing energy and carbon compliance pressures, plant efficiency has started to be a key part of the selection process.


10 SEPTEMBER 2017 | FACTORY EQUIPMENT In recent years, the market has been


moving towards procuring plant with a ‘lifecycle cost’ analysis, taking into account the initial capital value plus the associated annual operating costs for maintenance and energy consumption for the life of the plant. This evaluation can help during the decision making process, highlighting options with higher annual operating costs and the associated impact on the manufacturing cost base. A trend has been observed in recent


months of procurement decisions beginning to revert back to a lowest initial investment cost basis. This has potentially been driven by Brexit concerns, with businesses facing capital spend restrictions and budget pressures as a result of economic uncertainty. However, higher manufacturing costs are


directly associated with the cost per item. In a competitive market, any increase in the manufacturing costs can commercially compromise a business if they are unable to pass these costs on. As a result, life cycle cost evaluation should be the basis for all plant procurement – it is important to remember that the lowest initial investment cost is not always the best basis for long-term investment decisions.


plant status updates. This data can then be analysed by off-site services utilising rules engines specifically designed for the installed plant, which can identify plant degradation and provide early notification of failure for maintenance requirements. The trend data and associated reports available from condition and remote monitoring systems can be essential tools to support maintenance scheduling, but also in prioritising capital investment. This is becoming a standard solution on


new plant but is also increasingly becoming available as a retrofit option, so facilities that are not able to completely replace their plant can still upgrade their maintenance systems.


PLANT EFFICIENCY In addition to planned and reactive maintenance works, companies should also ensure their maintenance service provider engages with the need to identify and deliver energy saving opportunities on the plant and associated systems. This could be in terms of technology advancements for plant replacements, changing systems from their original design to improve actual operation or the optimisation of control parameters and logic. Overall, the recommendation to


manufacturers is to work with solution providers that can offer industry applicable turnkey solutions for the procurement of plant together with long-term maintenance services, with a focus on lifecycle costs, plant performance and uptime availability.


Johnson Controls www.johnsoncontrols.com


/ FACTORYEQUIPMENT


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