continuous excessive
loading, jam or stall
conditions, ground
faults, single-phasing,
seized motor bearing or
binding mechanical linkages.
“When impacted by one
By utilising
these technologies,
product and process
information is
automatically generated.
This allows businesses
to open up to the
world of plant digitisation
and enjoy all the
bene ts it brings
of these situations, many plants are
re-ordering a like-for-like starter,”
Walder says. “Prior to its failure, it
worked well and it’s a product they
know and feel comfortable with. This
however is a short-term solution.
“The issue here is that the
technology and capability of the said
motor may not be t for the longterm.
Without smart capabilities,
businesses will suffer from a lack
of insight and will get left behind
in the plant process information
technology race.”
SMMAANRATG MEMOETNOTR STRATEGIES
The solution, therefore, according
to Walder, is to implement a smart
motor management strategy. This isn’t
something that is needed purely for
new machines, but also for upgrades
and retro t. A smart strategy offers
the manufacturer additional digital
based bene ts above simply
opting to implement energy saving
technologies.
“A great example of this in play is
Schneider Electric’s motor starting
product, VSDs and TeSys island
with EcoStruxure Machine
Expert con guration and
commissioning software
and the EcoStruxure
Motor Con gurator tool,”
says Walder. “The tool
helps OEMS to accelerate
the time to market by
enabling multiple teams to
simultaneously programme and
control the quality of design. By
enabling a more ef cient integration,
it becomes 40% faster to integrate
and reduce installation costs by 30%
compared with traditional solutions.”
By utilising these technologies,
product and process information is
automatically generated. This allows
businesses to open up to the world
of plant digitisation and enjoy all the
bene ts it brings. Bene ts include
reduced energy consumption,
increased productivity, more
empowered operators, preventative
maintenance scheduling and
asset management. Not only this,
but access to smart data is key in
increasing uptime, improving overall
quality. All of these contribute to
the same end goal – to increase the
overall equipment performance
(OEE) and ultimately, business
pro tability.
A FUTURE-PROOF
STRATEGY
“At present, a smart motor
management strategy may not be the
rst thing on everyone’s minds,” says
Walden. “But, in three to ve years’
time, when the senior leadership
team are requesting insights into why
downtime on the plant oor is high,
or into how many stop/starts a motor
has done – we need to be prepared
to give informed and data-driven
answers. The only way to do this is by
improving our traditional technology,
and replacing it with smarter, more
innovative and more connected
motors.”
The question, he adds, is how
do we get the most out of our
manufacturing plants? The answer
is simple. “It’s time to embrace
change and opt for smarter, more
innovative starter technologies that
provide us with the analytics and
business insight we are going to
need. By preparing a smart motor
management strategy now, it’s
possible to remain competitive,
and ready for the future changes
technology is yet to bring.” !
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