Which are the main causes for downtime in automatic machinery?
According to a work made by PMMI, the American association of the packaging machines manufacturers, 3 causes were clearly identified between the whole set: general wear and tear (26.3%), operator error (21.1%), and product changeover (22.1%)
Interesting to note that at first place is a clear effect of an inappropriate preventive maintenance, identifying the first action to be taken in order to keep the running time and OEE as high as possible, the preventive maintenance.
Today, productivity is subject to increasingly complex challenges: focusing on the efficiency of systems and the optimization of production processes also means being able to plan maintenance activities exactly when it is necessary. Incorrect maintenance planning leads to incurring unplanned breakdowns that can result in extensive damage or downtime, but also to high costs for unnecessary maintenance work.
We, in Pulsar Engineering, strongly believe that this is the key for all the plants and machines users to assure the equipment efficiency and we propose our customers services for remote surveilling of the machines and package for periodical, preventive maintenance, including check, adjustments, repairs, part for the last and training to operators at competitive costs, compared with maintenance at fault actions. Product changeover was also a problem highlighted, typical of situation where several products sizes and configuration must be handled, requiring adjustments and sometime parts of machines changeover.
PWS – Pulsar Warning System
In order to support Customers in improving efficiency and process optimization, Pulsar Engineering has introduced tools for the management of control operations and preventive maintenance in the systems of its plants, able of suggesting proper planning of maintenance interventions according to precise parameters.
The Pulsar Warning System (PWS) software can monitor the total hours of operation of motors, gearboxes, chains and any other component on the line, as well as check the level of energy consumed in a specific time interval, information that are used to adapt the maintenance and control plan.
The PWS allows two levels of time alert, preset to specific values for each component to be monitored: when the first level is exceeded, the operator will receive an alert on the panel to carry out routine control operations on the component; when the second level of time is exceeded, an alert will be displayed for component replacement.
The advantages of the Pulsar Warning System predictive maintenance system
Thanks to the Pulsar Warning System the operator will be able to:
• reduce downtime by acting preemptively with the necessary checks to avoid deterioration of systems and detect abnormal wear and tear before failure occurs;
• avoid unnecessary costs for undue maintenance and achieving significant savings in maintenance costs, spare parts, and storage of materials in the warehouse
• reduce environmental impact, through less waste due to prematurely replaced components and through reduced energy consumption due to underperforming components.
• reduce human errors: another cause of downtime is due to operator errors, which of course cannot be prevented by maintenance, but the periodical survey by an expert, can support the training of the operators, teaching them tricks and procedures to reduce the probability to make mistakes
Pulsar Warning System supports companies to reduce costs while avoiding disruptions in the production process, optimizing processes in terms of cost, efficiency, sustainability and increasing productivity and competitiveness.
Do you want more information?
Send an email to marketing@pulsarengineering.com or to your sales contact in Pulsar to receive the Technical Sheet!