Reducing Motor Pump Failures by 40% with IoT Predictive Maintenance: A Case Study
This motor pump breakdown tracking system case study examines the advantages of installing RipplesCMMS in Mr Akira’s (plant manager) automotive component factory situated in Tumkur, Bengaluru, India. The system tracks and analyses machine downtime trends, leading to increased efficiency, reduced costs, and promoting preventive maintenance practices.
Current Problems:
Akira faced frequent unplanned downtime due to bearing failures in cooling tower pumps, costing $5,000 per hour of lost production
- Unrecorded Downtime: Manual tracking of pump motor breakdowns is likely inefficient and susceptible to errors.
- Limited Visibility: The absence of centralised data makes it difficult to identify trends, prioritise repairs, and allocate resources effectively.
- Reactive Maintenance: Repairs likely occur only after breakdowns, resulting in unplanned production stoppages and potential product quality issues.
Benefits of motor pump breakdown monitoring system
- Enhanced Data Acquisition: The machine downtime system automatically captures machine downtime data, including duration, cause (5Ys), and time of repair.
- Advanced Analytics: The system generates reports and visualisations to pinpoint recurring problems, prioritise maintenance needs, and predict potential breakdowns.
- Proactive Maintenance: Scheduled maintenance is based on real-time data, minimising downtime and extending machine lifespans.
- Boosted Productivity: By minimising downtime, the CMMS software significantly improved overall production output.
- Cost Reductions: The system helped avoid expensive repairs and production delays, leading to significant cost savings.
- Improved Decision-Making: Data-driven insights empowered Mr Akira and his abnormality manager to make informed decisions regarding maintenance schedules, resource allocation, and machine investments.
Factors that influenced the selection of RipplesCMMS
- System Selection: A multitude of machine breakdown solutions are available on the market, featuring a range of capabilities from basic data collection to advanced analytics. Mr Akira considered factors such as ease of deployment, scalability, non-interference with existing systems, value-added such as bin tracking, temperature, humidity, acceleration and ePaper integration.
- User Training: Factory personnel wanted an easy-to-use solution that needed less training on using the system to enter data, generate reports, and interpret the analytics.
Return on Investment (ROI):
- 30% Reduction in emergency repair costs.
- Zero unplanned pump failures over 12 months.
- ROI achieved in 7 months.
The ROI of RipplesCMMS software for breakdown tracking has to be substantial. Reduced downtime, improved maintenance practices, and increased productivity have led to significant cost savings over time. The system also helps identify opportunities for process optimisation, further using MTBF and MTBR, enhancing efficiency and profitability. Condition monitoring (CM) involves continuously or periodically monitoring various parameters of a motor pump system to detect early signs of degradation, faults, or deviations from normal operating conditions. The data collected from sensors is then analysed to provide insights into the equipment’s health, allowing for proactive maintenance interventions.
Conclusion:
Deploying a motor pump Breakdown Tracking System offered a compelling solution for Mr Akira’s automotive component factory. By gaining real-time insights into machine performance, Mr Akira makes data-driven decisions to optimise production, reduce costs, and ensure long-term success.
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