IoT Applications in the

Maintenance Industry
What is maintenance
management ?
• The goal of maintenance management is to control the resources,
time and costs of a company to ensure the efficiency and adequacy of
the maintenance operations and to avoid waste of resources or
periods of downtime due to faulty equipment.
 what is The Internet of Things
(IOT)?
• The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing
devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people
that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer
data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-
to-computer interaction.”
Idk
• For maintenance implications, the IoT uses sensors and connected devices
across the industry to easily track key performance indicators (KPIs) and
control machines access to accurate, real-time data to make the smartest
maintenance decisions.
• the IoT has the power to completely transform the industry through
proactive maintenance strategies. For instance, with the help of IoT sensors
and data gathering, maintenance managers are able to better predict when
a breakdown will occur based on historic records and past service requests.
• A more proactive maintenance strategy means less equipment downtime,
fewer emergency work order requests and better budget planning.
Connected Machines
• Communication is much more than just written and spoken word. Take it
from connected machines, which systematically work together via machine-
to-machine (M2M) communication.
• Maintenance managers use M2M techniques to collect data on KPIs, such
as assets most likely to breakdown or top causes of unscheduled downtime.
• Coupled with IoT sensors, M2M data helps maintenance managers gain
insight into how often an asset is underperforming, or how long it’s been
since the last work order was performed.
• Using this data, managers can map out when downtime will occur and tie
this data back to their preventive schedules to improve uptime
• c) Equipment Maintenance 
Critical Machine Operating data like RPM, Vibrations, Operating hours,
temperature can be synced to cloud data in real time. This can trigger
conditional Maintenance as well as preventive maintenance for
machines.
• The textile manufacturing industry requires several heavy duty machines as part of their
production processes. Maintaining these and ensuring that each piece of equipment
works effectively is a key part of ensuring their productivity.
• While many of these machines see usage over several years, and processes are in place to
monitor the health and performance of these machines across their lifetime, advances in
technology like IoT and connected machines are changing the landscape today.
• Advanced analytics helps monitor the performance of the machines
• Insights are used to improve lifetime and productivity of the equipment reducing
maintenance cost by 38%
• Machine anomalies are predicted in advance 
• Alternative solutions are provided to ensure smooth functioning of the process 
• This also resulted in an efficiency increase of 54%
• An IoT-based predictive maintenance architecture
• Before going into technical details, it is important to identify key variables which determine the health of a battery. They are temperature, voltage and discharge. Once the variables
are identified, batteries get equipped with sensors to gather the data about these parameters and relay it to the cloud for processing.
• Sensor data cannot pass directly to the cloud – it goes through gateways. Field gatewaysare physical devices that filter and preprocess the data. A cloud gateway ensures safe data
transmission and provides connectivity via various protocols, which allows connecting various field gateways.
• Once sensor data enters the cloud part it “lands” on a streaming data processor. Its purpose is to allow continuous flow of data and quickly and efficiently transmit data streams to a
data storage – a data lake.
• A data lake stores the data gathered by sensors. It is still raw, so it may be inaccurate, erroneous or contain irrelevant items. It is presented as a number of sets of sensor readings
measured at the corresponding time. When the data is needed for insights about battery’s health, it is loaded to a big data warehouse.
• The big data warehouse stores cleansed structured data. It contains temperature, voltage and discharge parameters measured at a particular time and contextual information about
batteries’ types, locations, recharge dates, etc.
• Once the data is prepared, it is analyzed with machine learning (ML) algorithms. ML algorithms are applied to reveal hidden correlations in data sets and detect abnormal data
patterns. The recognized data patterns are reflected in predictive models.
• Predictive models are built, trained and then used to identify whether self-discharge occurs in a battery, pinpoint the batteries with capacity lower than normal or estimate batteries’
remaining useful life. The predictive models used for predictively maintaining industrial batteries are built based on two approaches:
• Classification approach - models built according to this approach identify whether a battery is likely to self-discharge and show if the capacity of a battery is lower than normal or
not.
• Regression approach - models provide the information on how many days/cycles are left until a battery’s useful life ends.
• Predictive models are regularly updated, say, once a month, and tested for accuracy. If the output differs from the expected one, they are revised, retrained and tested again, until
they function as intended.
• Before getting down to machine learning, a good amount of exploratory analytics should be carried out. Data analysis is carried out to find dependencies and discover patterns and
insights in the machine learning data sets. Moreover, during the exploratory analytics stage, various technical assumptions are assessed to help select the best-fit machine learning
algorithm.
• User applications allow an IoT-based predictive maintenance solution to alert users of a potential battery failure.
• Discrete manufacturing
• Major discrete manufacturers are using predictive maintenance based on IoT to
monitor, for example, the health of spindles in milling machines. They are prone
to breaking, while their repair is expensive. An IoT-based predictive maintenance
solution can help to predict potential damage by collecting data from ultrasonic
and vibration sensors attached to the spindle. Analyzing the collected data helps
to identify fragile spindles before they break.
• For example, the Volvo group has deployed an IoT-based predictive maintenance
solution that predicts spindle damages as well as identifies cracking and spalling
of rotating equipment, gearing and motor defects. As a result, they improved
OEE by reducing diagnostic times by up to 70 percent and repair times - by more
than 20 percent.
• Process manufacturing
• In process manufacturing, pulp processing and paper manufacturing
companies leverage IIoT to monitor the state of paper-making machines. For
example, Maastricht Mill equipped their press rolls with temperature and vibration
sensors and rolled out a cloud-based predictive maintenance solution to predict
damages of bearings and gears.
• Scheduling maintenance for a press roll based on a cover failure prediction
• Another example is the steel industry. Steel plants have multiple furnaces that use
water cooling panels to control temperature. Leakages in the panels may cause
safety issues and production losses. An IoT-based predictive maintenance solution
can help detect anomalies and carry out a root cause analysis, preventing
production delays and equipment failures.
• Oil and gas
• Oil & gas companies particularly benefit from applying predictive maintenance
solutions. Physical inspection of oil & gas production equipment requires personnel
to go into hazardous environment to examine the equipment, which in some cases
is not feasible. IoT-based predictive maintenance allows oil & gas companies to
identify potential failures and increase the production of highly critical assets.
• For example, Chevron has turned to IoT development to roll out a 
predictive maintenance solution that helps to identify corrosion and pipeline
damages. The solution uses sensors installed across the pipeline to measure pH,
gaseous and aqueous CO2/H2S content, as well as the pipeline’s internal diameter
and thickness. The solution fetches real-time sensor data and passes it to the cloud
for evaluation, analysis and prediction.
• Railways
• Railway companies apply IoT-based predictive maintenance to ensure
the rails and the rolling stock are in proper condition. For example, 
BNSF railway deployed force detectors, vision cameras, infrared and
acoustic sensors to identify defects in freight-car braking capabilities,
excessive friction in wheels and bearings, rail curves and straightaways
damages. Data gathered by sensors is relayed to the cloud for analysis
and run through ML algorithms to reveal unhealthy data patterns that
lead to breakages. The solution helps to improve safety, reliability and
velocity of the rolling stock, as well as reduce train delays caused by
equipment malfunctions.
• 2.) Improved Inventory Management
• Using the IoT, maintenance managers can connect their stockrooms to track
orders, incoming shipments or low stock.
• For instance, the maintenance team has the ability to collect data remotely via
sensors that tracks when certain inventory may be low. From there, they’re able to
connect this sort of data collection to a software device to produce alerts when
certain stock may be close to out.
• If you depend on the power of a computerized maintenance management system
(CMMS), connect your stockroom with your tool to automate reorders, generate
inventory reports and track costs to avoid shortages and improve budget. This
results in fewer emergency inventory orders and less downtime due to out-of-
stock inventory to fulfill a work order.
• 2. Data analysis in real time
• Machine-to-machine, or M2M, is a term that can be used to describe technology that enables other connected devices to exchange information and execute actions without the manual
assistance of humans. The internet of things takes M2M even further by including additional element: data. Having access to all data from machinery in one network gives manufacturers
the ability to accumulate and analyze the data and transform it to better predictive maintenance. Instead of waiting for a failure, manufacturers can accurately predict breakdown because
IoT devices reports when operating conditions are out of specification. By identifying failure patterns and quickly recognizing issues, manufacturers are able to improve their production and
significantly reduce downtime. That leads to increased customer satisfaction and less warranty claims.
• 3. Performance Metrics
• By using IoT devices, key performance indicators (KPI's) like mean time between failures (MTBF) or mean time to repair (MTTR) can be calculated automatically by the system and send back
to reporting dashboards. This then excludes the manual human work of capturing downtime and ensuring accuracy and availability of data.
• 4. Automatic repair recommendations
• When equipment breaks down, failure data can be gathered from various different sources, accumulated and analyzed in real time within the cloud. Options for repairs can be done
automatically by the system, even actions to take can be recommended to the technician if necessary. Failure data can be used to address the repair, including system operating conditions
at the time of breakdown together with previous repair data from the Enterprise Asset management (EAM). Accordingly, the technician or mechanic will be given all the information he
needs for more effective decision-making. Deploying EAM or Maintenance management software with an application programming interface (API) that integrates with IoT devices will be
essential for ensuring accurate and usable information.
• 5. Inventory Management
• Efficient inventory management can have a powerful impact on reducing equipment downtime and controlling maintenance budget. Connected stock that monitor inventory levels ensures
the organization only has what is needed on their stocks. If the spare part level drops to specific level you have set up, with Integrated ERP and EAM system, you can notify procurement
department automatically to order more. With predictive maintenance and data analysis, manufacturers are able to optimize spare parts stocks, freeing up needed capital and increasing
accuracy of spare parts as well as maintenance budgets.
• 6. Remote Assets
• When it comes to unplanned failure maintenance, the IoT enabled devices can make it easier and more efficient to maintain assets in remote locations. As it was mentioned before, IoT
reduces unnecessary visits to remote locations where you need to inspect assets through predictive maintenance. For example connecting assets through IoT like wind farms or pumps
would make assets generate work orders based on their condition. By using EAM and mobile solutions, technicians would get exact location of the object that needs maintenance, described
problem and list of spare parts needed to fix the asset. That would extremely reduce time and costs associated with emergency repairs in Asset Intensive Industries.  
• 
• To sum it up
• According to the McKinsey report, IoT-based predictive maintenance
extends equipment’s life, helps to eliminate as much as 30 percent of
the time-based maintenance routine, and reduces equipment
downtime by 50 percent. For a mature and reliable predictive
maintenance solution, however, a thought-out architecture with the
focus on machine learning is crucial.