Maintenance Technology May 2017 - 19

MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES

Jane Alexander, Managing Editor

research, 70% of decision makers have seen the
ALTHOUGH WE'VE HEARD that the Internet
business value of IoT through its ability to create
of Things (IoT) is poised to transform the
new opportunities for their companies, improve
industry, in some cases, it already has. Today,
the efficiency of their businesses, and deliver
more and more businesses are implementing
long-term business benefits.
IoT-enabled equipment and generating an
ever-growing influx of data that has the potential
to transform their operations. For industry
'Smart' systems require
applications, the value of the Industrial Internet
a smarter workforce
of Things (IIoT) is expected to continue to grow
Shishani pointed to circuit breakers as a good
at an astounding rate. While that should come as
example of evolving technology. As he described
no surprise, there is one important caveat.
the situation, "Once upon a time, a circuit
According to Mohamed Shishani of Schneider
breaker was just a circuit breaker, an innocuous
Electric's Building & IT Business (Nashville,
black box that was rarely considered in the
TN, schneider-electric.us), IoT-driven data
day-to-day operations of a plant or facility. Today,
can help reduce reactive maintenance, boost
though, IoT-enabled circuit breakers can provide
preventive problem solving,
real-time and historical trending
and improve efficiency and
data, allowing facility managers
productivity, but only when
to easily monitor their plant or
the workforce is prepared to
building's electrical systems."
Leveraging the
use the insights to make better
These smart systems provide
decisions. "It's imperative," he
improved visibility into operapower of IoT-driven
stated, "that plant operators
tions and allow users to control
data requires a
and facility managers ensure
everything from specific lines of
their electrical-maintenance
equipment to the entire industrial
workforce that can
personnel are trained and
process, locally and remotely.
prepared to operate and apply
Proactive maintenance, based
interpret the data.
IoT-driven data to improve
on predictive decision making,
operational performance.
lets personnel troubleshoot and
If not, they'll surely be left
remedy issues in real time, before
behind."
operations are affected. That approach reduces
As Schneider Electric's "IoT 2020 Business
system downtime and opens the doors for more
Report" (bit.ly/20ekjH3) noted, operational
regularly scheduled preventive maintenance.
and management professionals in buildings,
The collected data can provide a wealth of
factories, global supply chains, and cities must
useful information, including circuit-breaker
be able to turn data into actionable insights
status, energy use, and important system notificaabout the efficiency of machines or production
tions. With just a simple Internet connection, the
lines. Collecting and analyzing this operational
information is readily available on an operator's
intelligence can help the workforce improve
computer screen. Cloud-based solutions provide
business strategies that drive performance and
personnel with access to data through apps
sustainability.
on their mobile devices, making the decisionShishani reports that industry is already seeing
making process even faster and more reliable
the effects of an internet-connected, internetthan is possible with conventional systems.
dependent world-and that business leaders
Note that while IoT-enabled tools such as
are paying close attention to its impact on their
these offer great potential to improve a plant's
operations. In fact, based on Schneider Electric's
productivity, they can only be maximized if
personnel are able to properly use them. As
plants and facilities evolve to require constant
Just as the Internet of Things (Iot) is transmonitoring, maintenance staff must be trained to
forming industrial operations, maintenance roles
use stationary and mobile equipment. Decisions,
are also being transformed.
in turn, can be made anytime and anywhere,
MAY 2017

MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM | 19

http://www.schneider-electric.us http://www.bit.ly/20ekjH3 http://www.MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maintenance Technology May 2017