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CALIBRATION & MAINTENANCE


PUTTING PRIVATE 5G INTO PRACTICE


With Private 5G technology providing reliable connectivity, mobility within the factory, and seamless uninterrupted coverage, predictive maintenance can reach new levels, improving manufacturers’ overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)


Alastair Glover, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Private Networks, Ericsson, says private 5G networks are revolutionising the role of predictive maintenance in industrial machinery


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owntime for equipment maintenance – whether planned or unplanned – will always be an unavoidable issue for manufacturers. When businesses are losing an average of 20 hours a week to unscheduled maintenance (according to a recent Industry in Motion report from RS), however, they need to rethink how to keep their heavy machinery and equipment in check. Traditional maintenance strategies, typically based on predetermined schedules or reactive repairs after failures, are often inadequate; leading to operational inefficiencies, unexpected breakdowns and costly unplanned downtime. RS’ report estimates the annual cost of breakdowns to be US$6,776,113 to the average manufacturer – a staggering cost that many can’t afford. Given the demand to maximise asset lifespan and enable more sustainable use of machinery, manufacturers are using predictive maintenance on their assembly lines. This technique uses data collected by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors to monitor equipment conditions and pre-empt issues before they disrupt operations, forecasting when maintenance is required. By creating virtual representations of physical assets, processes, or systems, manufacturers can monitor, analyse, and optimise real-world operations. In the context of asset condition monitoring and predictive maintenance, digital twins are improving operational efficiency and reducing downtime. With IIoT sensors generating extensive volumes of data, predictive maintenance works best when paired with a high- performance, trusted connectivity solution. A


10 SEPTEMBER 2024 | PROCESS & CONTROL


platform that can handle the data needs, speed and security required in these highly complex industrial settings. And this is exactly why private 5G is emerging as a cornerstone technology for manufacturers looking to make their operations more productive and efficient. Private 5G technology is a high-speed, reliable and secure connectivity platform, designed to connect machines, people, and data and revolutionise strategic predictive maintenance of machinery and equipment. The benefits of using private 5G in this way: • Reliable and resilient connectivity: Industrial settings often present challenging conditions, such as large coverage areas, metal and concrete structures, and hundreds if not thousands of devices needing connectivity. While Wi-Fi is great in many scenarios, it just cannot perform under these conditions. Private 5G networks offer robust and resilient connectivity, maintaining consistent communication across complex and extensive sites, including remote and mobile assets • Coverage both indoor and outdoor: With 5G technology and the flexibility that radios provide, fast and reliable coverage is ensured. This is crucial when monitoring the performance of an asset where the data collected is used to make decisions about operations. The coverage provided by a private network means data is transmitted and received without interruption ensuring continued business-critical operations • High-speed data transmission: Private 5G networks provide faster data transmission speeds than other wireless connectivity solutions. This is crucial for managing the large


amounts of data created by IIoT sensors, including video and high-resolution images, to monitor machinery health • Ease of connectivity: Being able to connect devices and sensors with minimal infrastructure changes makes private 5G networks a scalable solution for expanding predictive maintenance capabilities across a manufacturer’s entire operations • Enhanced security: Given the high stakes in industrial operations, security is paramount. Private 5G networks are inherently secure because they utilise network isolation, data protection and device/user authentication to protect key assets. Enterprises can also control retention and data sovereignty to ensure sensitive information is kept on-premises • Low latency: The reduced and predictable latency of private 5G networks enables quick data transmission and processing, even while monitoring and controlling assets located in diverse and remote locations. This is essential for real-time analysis on asset conditions to allow for decisions to be made instantly At Rockwell Automation’s annual customer event, the automation firm came together with Ericsson and Microsoft to demonstrate a fluid processing use case that illustrated the value of asset monitoring solutions, built on Ericsson’s connectivity platform, Ericsson Private 5G. Rockwell’s hardware and software solutions were integrated with the Microsoft Cloud ecosystem and Ericsson Private 5G to develop a real-time asset monitoring solution that tracks several aspects crucial to fluid processing - heating, cooling, filtering, temperature, and flow. The integrated solution includes sensors such as the Dynamix 1444 for vibration monitoring and Endress + Hauser smart sensors for temperature and flow data. These sensors allow for tracking and control of asset conditions, relying on the robust connectivity and predictable latency provided by Ericsson Private 5G.


In addition, Rockwell's use of digital twins, enabled by Ericsson Private 5G, Emulate3D, and the NVIDIA Omniverse, enhances predictive maintenance capabilities further, with 75 data points representing physical parts of the system fed into Azure 3D Scenes to create runtime performance, health, and maintenance digital twins for monitoring physical assets.


Ericsson www.ericsson.com/en


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