Predictive maintenance & condition monitoring
Keeping measurement instruments at peak levels of performance is key to the safety and efficiency of any industrial process. David Lincoln, digital lead at ABB Measurement & Analytics discusses how advances in condition monitoring are helping to ensure maximise instrument uptime and measurement accuracy.
M
any industrial plants and processes, from water treatment plants to petrochemical facilities, rely heavily on process instrumentation for reliable and
accurate measurement.
Although the overwhelming focus of plant managers will be on the health and correct operation of the process, the instruments which provide the data such as flowmeters, temperature and pressure transmitters and gas and liquid analysers also need attention, making regular health checks a priority. With many aspects of industry becoming increasingly digitalised, there is an ongoing shift towards the use of digital measurement instruments and analyzers offering a wealth of extended functions, including diagnostic capabilities that enable them to check and report on their condition and performance. Some of the benefits of device condition monitoring include keeping constant track of the health of measurement devices, often bringing the ability to share health check reports with the device vendor. Experts at the device supplier can then offer service recommendations based on the device’s health status and even offer remote assistance. Some providers, including ABB, take data from their devices and offer a full online condition monitoring system to enhance decision-making, putting information at users’ fingertips.
Reduced maintenance is another major benefit. Although many instruments are designed to minimise maintenance effort with self-cleaning and self-optimising of active components, an accurate assessment of the condition of the device allows users to move to a predictive maintenance regime, avoiding the need to conduct scheduled maintenance that may not be necessary.
Another benefit is achieving maximum up time of the device. This is particularly important in critical operations such as gas emissions monitoring systems which are becoming subject to much stricter legislation in many countries, with hard limits governing how much time the instruments can spend in a non- operational state.
GOOD COMMUNICATIONS ENSURE BENEFITS Taking advantage of these abilities means establishing the right communications with the device. Although most measurement devices are digital, many applications continue to use the 4-20mA current loop.
There is also a need to interrogate the device data. One of the major methods is based on the NAMUR NE 107 standard, which makes it easier for technicians to deal with alarms. It does this by categorising internal diagnostics into four standard status signals - failure, function check, out of specification and maintenance required.
Each of these status signals can also contain greater detail that can be used to equip operators with more information about the nature of a fault. ABB has used the standard NE 107 alarm codes to build an online diagnostic app that can be used by operators to easily identify a fault and take steps to rectify it. For example, if a flow meter is displaying an error code, users would simply choose the flow meter on the app then select the displayed error code from a menu. Entering the error code gives information about the fault as well as suggestions on how to resolve it. ABB also offers instruments that encrypt device maintenance and operating conditions using dynamic QR codes. By scanning a QR code with their smartphone, an operator can gain access to in-depth remote technical assistance.
TOWARDS PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE Condition monitoring is the essential basis of predictive maintenance, enabling performance data to be used to highlight which device is likely to fail and when. Armed with this data,
46 October 2023 Instrumentation Monthly
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