Industrial Automation Magazine India

Elaborate planning and coordination are necessary to ensure smooth plant operation

Published on : Friday 07-10-2022

Saikat Bhowal, Chief General Manager – Instrumentation, EIL. 

Condition monitoring is commonly understood to apply to rotating machinery. What other assets in the plant can benefit from condition monitoring?
Condition monitoring was present in plants and machinery in some form or another since the dawn of industrialisation. In recent times applications of condition monitoring became wider in scope and its benefits showed manifold increase, leveraging IIoT and digital transformation. After a great beginning with the health of rotating machinery, it is spreading to other areas, like monitoring of steam traps, corrosion monitoring, leak detection of valves connected to flare, health monitoring of structures, etc.
 
What is an estimate of the size of the market? How much of this market is accessible to Indian companies?
The size of the Global Machine Condition Monitoring Market is estimated to be $2.8 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach $4.0 billion by 2027. The Indian Machine Condition Monitoring market is projected to grow to about $200 million by 2025.
 
Condition monitoring and prescriptive analytics is a business activity different from legacy sales and services activities. Do you think MSMEs and startups have an inherent advantage in getting market share?
With the growth and expansion of condition monitoring, the demand for IIoT enabled sensors, AI/ML applications and data analysis are increasing every day. The requirement is beyond in-house capacity and capability of any company, irrespective of its size and market share. Already some of the big players are outsourcing sensors and other components. Collaborations and partnerships are anticipated for joint technology development. MSMEs and startups with their diverse fields of expertise in hardware and software can bridge the gap and have potential to gain significant market share.
 
Are there real studies done to establish proof of concept using simulation and digital twin techniques? This needs an intensive collaboration between prospective buyers and vendors. Is it happening in India? With what success?
Many studies were done and pilot projects were implemented using simulation and digital twin techniques. Besides condition monitoring of rotating machines which have many uses in plants, Steam Trap Health Monitoring, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) are some of the applications used in real plant case studies. Subsequently these are deployed in industries in different segments.
 
Collaboration between buyers and vendors is crucial. For many studies, developers require historical data from plants which can be facilitated only by the plant owners. Ensuring data security is utmost important for such collaboration. In some case studies, new sensors or communication links are deployed in running plants. For these studies, elaborate planning and coordination are necessary to ensure smooth running of the plant and ensuring no compromise in cyber-security of the OT system.
 
These studies are taking place in Indian industries as well. So far most of the applications in India are for condition monitoring of Rotating Machines. There are case studies in other applications. For example, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of bridges, heritage buildings, multi-storied buildings. Case study for an IoT-enabled validation system for custody transfer metering skids was also conducted in the country.
 
Is the appetite for such systems bigger at large plant operators like power plants and refineries?
Every unexpected stop of production due to failure of machinery or equipment has a significant impact on a company’s productivity, cost of repair, profit and competitiveness. Reduction of downtime of equipment and minimising cost of maintenance are naturally bigger concerns for large plant operators, who have a large number of operating equipment. Many power plants and refineries are having condition monitoring systems for large rotating machines. They are installing wireless networks in order to include smaller rotating machines in real time IIoT based condition monitoring. Other condition monitoring applications, e.g., steam trap health monitoring, corrosion monitoring, leak detection of valves are also being employed in these plants. 
 
Can the government play a role in accelerating deployment of such systems? Are there any schemes for promoting better maintenance using data technologies?
Government can encourage the accelerated deployment of IIoT-based condition monitoring systems by promoting these initiatives under the schemes and rewards undertaken for digital transformation of industry. Some of the applications like monitoring of health of bridges on railways or other public bridges, Heritage Structure Health Monitoring, monitoring health of municipality sewage pipes by employing digital twin technology, need investment from government institutions and agencies.
 
Does engineering education prepare graduates/post graduates to design, specify, evaluate, and implement such new age solutions?
Several courses on Condition Monitoring of Machines, Embedded and Cyber Physical Computer Systems Design (IoT), Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Maintenance, AI and ML are available in undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels. These can train students in the foundation, skills and practices in the areas of condition monitoring to pursue a professional career in this field, and conduct research and development on the emerging technologies.
 
Saikat Bhowal is Chief General Manager – Instrumentation at EIL. He graduated as B.E. (Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering) from Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, Shibpur, and joined EIL, a premier Engineering design consultancy, in the year 1989. Saikat is currently leading the task force for steering digitalisation initiatives of EIL.
 
With over 33 years of experience in Instrumentation, control system and Automation, Saikat has worked in numerous projects in various Refineries, Petrochemicals, Offshore Platforms, onshore gas processing, Terminal Automation, Building Automation. Involved in generation of various standards and specifications with state-of-the-art technology and taking care of international and Indian codes and standards. Worked in design of various Complex Control Systems and Safety Instrumented Systems in multiple projects. Design and implementation of various new technologies like Fieldbus, Wireless, IIoT.
 
 (The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)