Today around two-thirds of manufacturers are gathering data from their production environments, yet relatively few are using it to improve processes or boost productivity and yield, argues Dr Simon Kampa.

Stephen Ludlow, principal technology consultant at SAS UK & Ireland, believes that to get the most from predictive analytics it is important to share data and insights throughout an organisation.

Maintenance managers working within aggressive environments need to adopt a different approach to traditional condition monitoring methods according to David Manning-Ohren.

Howard Forryan explains how predictive maintenance can help to reduce production line downtime in the pharmaceutical industry.

Jonathan Wilkins explains the three core concepts of total productive maintenance (TPM) which are necessary for any manufacturer striving for a lean manufacturing model.

Jack Payne explains how a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) can drive a proactive culture and enable food and beverage manufacturers to improve communication, efficiency, and profitability; as long as the workforce is fully engaged.

Bhupinder Singh discusses the important role that digital engineering models can play, alongside operation and  information technology, to deliver actionable intelligence from asset performance modelling.

Optimising network performance, through the use of a continuous maintenance system, can offer huge cost and energy savings. It also plays a key role in the success of Industry 4.0, smart factories and smart cities.

Tim Bradshaw, general manager at Mistras Group, UK operations, explains how risk-based inspection systems and advanced non-destructive testing methods are helping storage tank owners comply with increasingly stringent regulations, as well as reducing maintenance costs.

Miquel Angel Alós explains how dynamic simulation can help maximise plant performance and deliver cost savings on new plant projects.

The high density of rotating equipment used in refineries means that effective asset management of pumps, turbines, compressors, motors and generators, can play a vital role in maintaining plant up-time and achieving OEE targets, in addition to ensuring high safety levels and profitability. Harald Großmann looks at the maintenance challenges facing petrochemical refineries and how to improve asset performance and reliability.

An over-reliance on condition monitoring data could be hampering maintenance teams in their task of improving plant operational efficiency, according to ERIKS UK.

The specialist brewery system supplier, GEA, employs remote maintenance as part of its solution, to ensure a high level of plant availability and efficient plant operation. Security of data connections plays an important role in the process.

Operations and maintenance staff can work more effectively together if they use the same plant data, says Will Leonard, Oil, Gas & Petrochemical UK marketing manager for ABB. 

The increased use of plant floor automation to achieve production goals has created a dependency on PLCs, PC-based control systems, SCADA systems, robotic controllers and HMIs. It is therefore vital that companies ensure that proper safeguards are in place to protect and manage any changes made to control logic across the plant, says Andy Thorogood, product manager at MAC Solutions.

Managers of maintenance systems continually strive for leaner, more optimised work flows for asset repair and maintenance services. Gaining access to, and harnessing information, is key to achieving this goal. Suzanne Gill reports on one solution.

Ron Stallworth, global business manager, Asset Management at Honeywell Process Solutions, believes that a facility can now only be considered to be ‘world-class’ if they can create competitive advantage, for example, through the use of reliability and asset management programmes.

A Field Device Integration (FDI) host system prototype and the use of FDI device packages for Foundation Fieldbus, HART, and PROFIBUS device integration was presented at the NAMUR AGM, based on a multi-vendor system.

IMS Research reports that worldwide shipments of industrial products that are wireless-enabled are set to grow from an estimated 1.2 million in 2009 to more than 3 million in 2015, at an average annual growth rate of 18%. Since WirelessHART was approved in 2010 as the first international wireless communication standard, it has been validated and accepted globally by industry.

A new RFID technology, based on Ethernet/IP and open standards, delivers flexibility and ruggedness to demanding industrial applications.