Condition Monitoring & Predictive Maintenance: Opportunities in India
Published on : Saturday 08-10-2022
Dr Tarapada Pyne and Dr Harvindar Singh Gambhir present an overview of the Condition Monitoring & Preventive Maintenance scenario in India and the opportunities.
The term ‘Condition Monitoring’ (CM) is not new to industry today. The name itself defines the term ‘Monitoring the Condition’, the health and performance conditions of running machinery. This is done by measuring (monitoring) a few selected parameters that bear the information of the health of machines, trending, and then analysing the same data in order to assess the present and future health. So, the concept principally applies to every asset, human or machinery, and covers every sector of industry having value-adding assets.
Monitoring patients in Intensive Care unit (ICU); monitoring entire flight operation including gas turbines and wing-structure integrity; monitoring turbo-generators, pumps, compressors; performance parameters monitoring (pressure, volume, through-put, etc.), corrosion monitoring and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of static structures; motor current monitoring; ultrasound; oil health monitoring/Wear Debris Analysis (WDA); thermal imaging of static and rotating machinery; seismic (earthquake) vibration sensing; remote monitoring (through satellite, drones, IIoT and cloud computing) of spacecraft/crews, cross-country process gas pipelines and so on. There is a big list of coverage and the cost-effective feasible technologies are available now. A judicious system-study approach is needed by CM experts (commonly referred also as Diagnostic Experts) in order to select the number, type and modes of technologies for a specific critical application in industry after thorough understanding of the defects/faults expected and symptoms (of parameters) possible to be predicted.
Opportunities and market
It is very encouraging and inspiring news to all diagnostics and prognostic engineers, maintenance and operation engineers and the industry promoters that the CM market’s potential is huge. Almost all the recent surveys by various agencies reflect that there is a vast business scope globally and considerable job opportunities also in CM and related products, services, education and knowledge management covering all sectors of industry especially manufacturing. The scope is immense in India, besides China, among Asian countries. Market to market surveys project USD 4 bn by 2027 at a CAGR 7.8% globally. The major part of this growth is expected to be in vibration monitoring and related technologies (around 70%, according to Future Market Insights). Thermal imaging itself has a growth potential of more than 8%. Focus will be towards wireless sensing/use of IIoT and faster communication of asset data of diagnostic interest. In industry, automobile and power sectors (around 7.5% growth as per Future Market Insights) are projected to reap maximum benefits from CM technologies with preference for online user-friendly monitoring systems fitted in their machines.
With the regional offices and structured network of the facilities of OEMs offering large CM products and services in India, rest assured, India is undoubtedly the next destination for CM markets and Indian companies including MSMEs and start-ups are aggressive to take advantage of this surge and corporate marriages, acquisitions, innovative product launches are quite visible. OEMs are collaborating with automation solution providers to make best use of digitalisation, integration of technologies making use of latest AI and ML in enhancing built-in prediction analytics advantages in their packages. Among the key players are Meggitt-Parker, GE/Baker Hughes, Emerson, Honeywell, National Instruments, SKF, Brüel & Kjær Vibro, Rockwell Automation, Aveva, etc., to name a few, from a long list of players in the market.
Role of MSMEs and start-ups
The presence of big players in CM can’t serve all sectors with their products’ sales, services, training tasks to the users with a short notice. MSMEs and start-ups with their requisite knowledge and expert database can be instrumental in delivering this specific objective. Instead of direct offers from OEMs, they can collaborate with CM system providers and make use of local technical workforce (normally cheaper than overseas) to capture maximum benefits from the opportunity as projected in the surveys. There was definitely a slowdown during the pandemic, but now India appears to attain new heights in machinery health monitoring and assessment, making optimum use of conventional existing systems in plant assets with the amalgamation of new technologies the digitalisation era provides. Skills development and training are major areas of concern. Companies can extract the best out of available technologies, provided the knowledge transfer in these specialised fields is reliable. MSMEs and start-ups are to provide these services at a much cheaper rate than their overseas counterparts. With the availability of huge technical manpower in information technology, computer science, data science and analytics, in combination with core specialisations, these MSMEs can develop related software and/or make the best use of systems from OEMs.
Prospect of simulation and digital twins
When it comes to simulation study, Indian engineers are very familiar as far as component manufacturing, design, re-engineering, etc., using various simulation tools and are quite matured today to answer industry’s asset design and performance issues. When it comes to monitoring and diagnostics, the simulation study is not so encouraging and the industry is not comfortable at this stage (hoping better in future) to leave full surveillance of critical parameters to ‘digital twins’ technology. Of course the global hype in this area can’t be denied. We need to observe through a learning period. Not to forget that the CM scenario is such that the plants can’t use the current CM system/technology already in place to the optimum level of prediction of health due to knowledge-gaps, system’s inefficient capability and features that are not conducive to right diagnosis. This results in low trust on the recommended actions arising out of such systems by plant management. In this scenario, such a high level of automation using AI appears less cost-effective. New technology brings new risks. In India, so far multitasking with multi-specialisation is not welcome in industry (though the scenario is changing) with division of tasks as electrical, mechanical, structural, automation and control, etc. This is detrimental to ‘asset management’ philosophy. Managing assets is a multi-disciplinary task and asset owners are interested in up-time only irrespective of quantity and type of monitoring tools applied, the level of expertise or software used in Reliability System Analysis and related KPIs, type of advanced corrective maintenance processes brought in and the number of departmental functions or engineering specialisations involved.
Impact in power plants, petrochemicals and refineries
Power plants prefer appropriate and suitable online remote monitoring for inaccessible assets using CM techniques. But there is a need to focus from ‘monitoring to diagnostics’ and it is time to use the latest available integrated IIoT based AI programmed systems from reputed suppliers. In the thermal power sector, machines have been running for decades and are naturally exposed to dusty environments. Even now, many turbines are equipped with instrumentations having minimum features that are used for monitoring and the whole arrangement is just for tripping the machines safely in case of any abnormality detected by the sensors. There is a need for upgrading these monitoring systems. In the Indian petrochemicals and refinery sector, the awareness, especially in private industries, is truly encouraging. They keep changing and upgrading CM technology with innovative parts and software upgrades in their existing critical assets. Some PSU plants ought to take these prediction technologies seriously with the ultimate aim of early prediction, and then take up the task of early correction before catastrophic failures, thus sustaining reliability, availability and safety of the plants. With the Indian government’s thrust on sustainable development using renewable energy, power plants in this sector are very much optimistic in wind turbine monitoring remotely acquiring associated technologies built-in with latest diagnostic features. The companies have to gear up to best use these products.
Government role in promotion of CM tools
The Indian government needs to come forward in supporting MSMEs, Start-ups, Consultants, Trainers, Service providers, and the non-profit organisations dedicated to reap the benefits of these technologies. This, by helping manufacturing sectors in use of CM systems (softening the import duties wherever unavoidable, and where avoidable, through Make-in-India), assemble in India, and by training the users in India. Distorted supply chains affected during pandemic can possibly be revived by the government by suitably tweaking transit rules and duties, and making training infrastructure, etc., available close to the manufacturing hubs to ease their problems. Bio-medical engineering with its innovative human diagnostics products (CT scan, MRI, ventilators, laboratory testing instruments, etc.), should get a boost. The government should support training and skills development in these specialised areas with incentives to training establishments. Only graduates with marketing specialisation can’t be successful in marketing these CM products. Engineers first need to know the technology, scientific principles behind such tools and their benefits, and only then will they be able to interact with the end users perfectly, technically addressing the benefits of the products they are marketing.
Present claims of knowledge based auto-diagnosis, speed or faster communication, redundancy in storage, data quality/purity are to be matched with expectations of plant owner like the extent of root cause identification possible, relationship of Faults vs. Symptoms, possibility of decision making from remote/at-site, processing speed, data safety, etc.
In real life scenarios, predictive models to forecast the future state of machines may not be accurate and far from practical sense. So, simulations of various health conditions of machines by logic may not reflect its real life conditions.
Disruptions in industry may not be possible to meet the expectations like IIoT replacing 80% of the AI chipsets market. The AI embedded IoT devices market will approach US$26 billion. It appears over-hyped, especially when looking at the ‘asset analytics’ aspect. ‘Deep Learning’ is fascinating to listen to and chew upon. But ‘asset expertise’ needs to be fully integrated with ‘engineering expertise and AI’ and as of now, it looks like a mirage (except for a few OEMs who have developed and tried to apply in a few cases). The industry needs to take Asset Analytics (major data mainly from CM technologies) as one form of excellence, but with a pinch of salt and investment made with caution.
Education and training
The education and professional training on any CM technology or in combination in India are not sufficient enough to fill the demand as projected by various surveys. Our formal education in graduation level CBM/PdM and related diagnostic tools are still viewed and kept as ‘optional’ whereas the need is ‘essential’. Top institutes like the few IITs, NITs, and a few autonomous organisations under CSIR or DST of the Ministries of Power or Energy or Industry (and a few large corporate universities) have PG level courses with coverage that varies in depth, limited to few techniques, perennial segregation of Theory and Practical needs. The government, large corporates, a few MSMEs and NGOs must come forward to structure the courses so that budding engineers sooner they come out of institutes get easily absorbed in monitoring tasks and accustomed to the latest techniques. This is unlike many foreign universities offering exclusive courses on Reliability, CBM, Advanced Maintenance, etc. There is less focus on development of sensors and sensing systems in India in seismic applications, sensors for monitoring of high-rises and bridges, and critical inaccessible machinery monitoring. Almost all sensors and signal conditioners are either manufactured out of India or merely assembled here. India has to focus on the need of ‘inter-disciplinary’ research and study when it comes to CM gadgets, combining electronics, mechanical, automation and control, electrical, nano-science, structural specialisations.
Besides formal education in these fields, there is an ever-growing need of professional certifications to upgrade the engineers with more practicals in instrumentation and analysis features. Various training providers train and certify the engineers (claiming as per ISO guidelines) but when it comes to employability, the outcome is poor. Time is now ripe for India to rely on Indian experts and specialists to train the engineers in this field and must take initiatives to formalise along with non-profit organisations equipped with experts to train engineers and technicians (over and above the formal qualifications they possess). Regulatory bodies in these specialised fields must be staffed by experts in the field (and encouraging to note that we have plenty in premier institutions, research labs, and in large organisations). Conferences, seminars and talks on these CM technologies need support from industry as well as the government.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the authors wish to emphasise that growth of CM technologies is imminent but the effective and extent of utilisation are to be viewed and implemented industry to industry and case to case basis. Not only health monitoring, CM’s contribution to energy savings, energy harvesting from unavoidable machinery, process fluid leakage and waste management, selection of prime movers/drivers are areas that require serious attention. Bridging the knowledge gap between campus and corporate, between trades and functions, should take priority. Non-profit organisations can support the current technological advancement in CBM/PdM’s specialised fields through their unbiased approach to assist industry by reviewing syllabus, identifying training needs, arranging conferences and exhibitions, and providing services. Council of Vibration Specialists (CVS), an Indian non-profit organisation, is fully dedicated to do so.
Dr Tarapada Pyne
PhD, M.Tech, FCVS, FIE (I), CRP, CEA, MIIIE, MQCFI, MSRESA,
Founder Secretary and Director General, Council of Vibration Specialists, Navi Mumbai. Email: [email protected] / Linkedin.com/in/drpyne
Dr Harvindar Singh Gambhir
PhD, FCVS, FIETE, Sr. Life member-ISA, TUV FS Prof
Founder President, Council of Vibration Specialists, Navi Mumbai. Retd: VP – Reliance Industries Ltd. Email: [email protected] [email protected] / Linkedin.com/in/dr-harvindargambhir
