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The
Value of Remote Monitoring
in Productive Maintenance
by Greg Sweigert
Customer Relations Manager
| Remote
monitoring, offered on all new Finn-Power cells
+ Systems, imports a large quantity of information
from the machine it is monitoring. |
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The
philosophy of Productive Maintenance seeks to identify areas
where productivity can and should be improved in manufacturing
organizations. It measures and evaluates engineering efforts
and performance and attempts to reduce activities and expenses
that do not improve productivity. It involves all levels of
personnel in this analysis process and promotes a proactive
work style over a reactionary style.
Many OEM organizations go so far as
to assign Productivity Values for equipment based on: process
quality, equipment utilization, cost of operation, and ergonomics.
Indicators like MTBF (mean time between failures), MTTR (mean
time to repair), are used to calculate utilization rates,
the keystone to productivity.
In proactive organizations, maintenance
planning over weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly intervals
is broken down into Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Cleaning
Maintenance (CM) schedules. Further, both CM and PM activities
can range from partial to complete, from a simple cleaning
to a major overhaul with replacement parts. But how can the
company gather the data necessary to formulate their maintenance
schedule? Tedious observation and hand charting is one possible
way.
At Finn-Power, we believe that a better
way is to:
- Automatically
monitor and log machine operation through sensor technology.
- Chart
the operational results for the machines.
Through
these monitoring and logging operations, Finn-Power can ascertain
machine usage and requirements for preventative maintenance
at the correct time. By using the charting feature to examine
ball screw travel distances, number of punching cycles, and
other various alarm occurrences, an analysis of critical components
can be undertaken.
Another benefit is the machine status
reporting system. For instance it can detail hydraulic runtime
as a part of total runtime. Likewise, tooling life information
can be predicted from total hits, shear hits, and upforming
cycles. Useful production planning information, about machine
availability can be derived from these reports as well. Remote
monitoring is totally transparent to the user and will not
be seen on the shop floor.
- The
Remote Monitoring system resides at Finn-Power International
and requires a network or phone line connection to retrieve
information from the machine. A part of this system has
a service aspect. Through an on-line connection the Finn-Power
technician can connect to the machine and access all information
in the machine. The tele-service tech can work with customer
service personnel to diagnose machine down conditions and
in many cases, resolve the problem immediately.
- The
cost of the Remote Monitoring is a one-time set up fee of
$3,600 per machine to be used. This setup charge is due
prior to activating the system. This requires a visit from
a Finn-Power technician on site and the end user must provide
one phone line to the router where the machines to be monitored
are connected. There is a monthly fee of $300 per machine
for the maintenance and reporting of the system.
We
work with our customers to continuously improve and optimize
their Preventative Maintenance program. Remote monitoring
is another way to add value to this process. If you have any
questions please contact your regional service coordinator.
For additional information on
how Remote Monitoring can increase your company's productivity,
call us at (800) 344-7143.
 |
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| Jesse
Cox |
Michael
Robertson |
FINN-POWER
APPOINTS
NEW SALES MANAGERS
Finn-Power
International, Inc. has recently announced two new additions
to its sales force. Jesse Cox has been named Southeast
regional sales manager for Finn-Power's Atlanta office.
Jesse
has spent 15 years in the sheet metal fabrication industry
as division sales manager for a fabrication equipment
manufacturer.
Michael
Robertson was named sales manager for the West Coast
region. He has 15 years of experience in the sheet metal
fabrication industry in factory automation management
and in bending applications management.
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 710
Remington Road
Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA
Phone: (847) 885 3200
Fax: (847) 885 9692
www.finnpower.com
Finn-Power
reserves the right to change technical specifications without
prior notice.
Finn-Power is a registered trademark. All other product
names identified throughout this publication are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2002
by Finn-Power International, Inc.
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