- Published 23 Oct 2023
- Last Modified 25 Oct 2023
- 6 min
Remote Maintenance Advantages and Considerations
There are many benefits to using remote maintenance. These include increased machinery uptime, reduced costs, more efficient use of spare parts and other components, and enhanced machinery lifespan. Types of remote maintenance include remote condition monitoring and other monitoring systems, as well as systems powered by the latest augmented reality and AI technology. Read our guide to find out more about how remote maintenance can improve efficiency at your plant.
What if you were able to remotely monitor all your machinery for maintenance purposes?
The answer is you can.
Many companies are already taking advantage of the ability to monitor and service equipment over a network. Technicians are using software to assess the state of machinery and control it remotely, either over the internet or via a phone connection. They may do this using a computer, tablet, smartphone or smart glasses, and use sensors, AI, cameras, and cloud computing to complete maintenance tasks.
Managing equipment remotely gives engineers a central source of data. It enables them to understand usage and mitigate risks to machinery health, often in real time. Long-term, engineers can assess asset depreciation and identify equipment that needs to be replaced ahead of time. This can help avoid breakdown and costly plant shutdowns. Remote maintenance can also improve efficiency and overcome physical distances.
This guide looks at some of the types and benefits of remote maintenance and explains what you need to consider when implementing a remote maintenance regime.
Types of Remote Maintenance
Types of remote maintenance include the use of systems that employ sensors and software to assess machinery health from a remote location. A technician may be able to make changes remotely using a keyboard and mouse or a joystick. Remote maintenance is also benefiting from the use of augmented reality, which can provide instructions to a technician via a mobile device or headset. Some remote maintenance systems will also see a remote expert assist local operatives via video or audio link.
Many manufacturers now give employees portable devices to check machinery health over a wireless network without having to be in close proximity to the equipment. And the manufacturers of machinery used in production may supplement on-site servicing with remote diagnosis/diagnostics and repair, too.
Benefits of Remote Maintenance
The advantages of remote monitoring and maintenance include decreased machine downtime and improved performance. Remote monitoring solutions allow the engineer to collect data about the machine and keep track of how it is performing. Remote monitoring also enables predictive maintenance by indicating when a machine or component needs work.
This is as opposed to a reactive maintenance regime, where equipment is run until failure. Instead, data is continuously analysed to detect anomalies and trigger alerts if something is going wrong.
Some manufacturers grant asset remote access to teams of external service engineers. The engineers can use AI-based maintenance software, which automatically alerts them to problems, and provides all the information needed about an issue prior to visiting the site to make repairs. This technology enables remote condition monitoring-based maintenance before the situation becomes critical and the equipment breaks down.
Remote predictive maintenance of this type makes production more efficient by replacing equipment at the right time and before breakdown of the machinery. It may also mean fewer manual maintenance operations or onsite visits by engineers. The longevity of machinery can also be maximised, and costs saved, by using fewer parts and components.
Remote Maintenance Considerations
The capability to remotely maintain machinery entails sensors and software on systems that technicians can connect to over the internet. The system in question could be anything from a factory lighting or HVAC system to a machine tool featuring remote diagnostics (see below).
Since production machinery typically features software anyway, remote maintenance means connecting it to a remote condition monitoring team for the purpose of fixing faults and making repairs. This also creates a security challenge, meaning that security measures such as anti-virus software or spyware scanners should be used.
It’s important to remember that any production systems connected to the cloud have vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Machinery must be protected against unauthorised access, data breaches, and cyberattacks.
Remote Diagnostics
Remote diagnostics means diagnosing the health of machinery from a distance. Equipment enabled with this capability can help to identify the root cause of problems much quicker and prevent downtime. Remote diagnostics can also reduce the number of field service visits required. For example, it might allow the engineering team from the manufacturer of a machine tool to access the machine’s screen and dialogue boxes remotely to analyse a fault, while communicating with the machine operator in real time.
New Remote Technologies
There are new types of remote maintenance solutions and remote monitoring services on the market, including systems using augmented reality. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also being widely used in remote predictive maintenance. Using AI, maintenance models can assess many different parameters about the machine, make predictions, and inform maintenance engineers about potential issues.
Augmented Reality in Maintenance
Augmented reality (AR) superimposes digital information such as graphics or text on live, real-time action. For example, a technician can use the camera on their phone or tablet to provide a video feed of a machine, and AR will impose notes and graphics over it to help them repair it, and even provide information about what spare parts are needed and available. If both hands are needed to complete the task, AR glasses or goggles can be worn by the engineer.
In terms of remote maintenance, using AR and video also opens up the possibility of remote support from experts while carrying out maintenance, or experts training employees remotely without the use of paper manuals and instructions.
Benefits of the AR approach to remote maintenance include:
- Quicker diagnosis of problems - for example, software may identify the spare parts needed automatically
- Faster repair work
- Uniform servicing standards
- Less need for experts to visit sites in the field
AI in Maintenance
Artificial intelligence provides the means of ‘training’ a network of computers to build models that can predict failure before it happens. Machine learning, the part of AI that does this, builds models of ‘normal’ performance based on many sets of data that eventually enable it to identify anomalies, solve problems and predict outcomes. The more data the model is exposed to, the more accurate it becomes.
Using AI to maintain machinery is becoming increasingly common in remote maintenance applications.
RS offers a wide range of maintenance solutions. Find out more about our products here.