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In my previous blog on this topic, “Who Moved My Data? Outsourcing Condition Monitoring,” I established the case for condition-based monitoring of critical assets to ensure a reduction in unplanned downtime. I also explored the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing condition monitoring from critical assets. Here I discuss the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to condition monitoring and explore its advantages and disadvantages.

Understanding the DIY approach

Now, let me be clear to avoid any confusion, when I refer to “do it yourself,” I don’t mean literally doing it yourself. Instead, this is something you own and customize to fit your applications. It may require a fair amount of input from your maintenance teams and plants. It’s not a one-day job, of course, but an ongoing initiative to help improve productivity and have continuous improvements throughout the plant.

Advantages and disadvantages of DIY condition monitoring (insourcing)

Implementing the solutions for continuous condition monitoring of critical assets by yourself has many advantages, along with some disadvantages. Let’s review them.

Advantages of insourcing (DIY) condition monitoring:

1. Data ownership: One of the greatest benefits or advantages of implementing the DIY approach to condition monitoring is the control it gives you over data. You decide where the data lives, how it is used, and who has access to it. As I emphasized in my previous blog and numerous presentations on this topic, “Data is king” – a highly valuable commodity.
2. Flexibility and customization: Of course, the DIY solution is not a one-size-fits-all approach! Instead, it allows you to customize the solution to fit your exact needs – the parameters to monitor, the specific areas of the plant to focus on the critical systems and the method of monitoring. You choose how to implement the solutions to fit your plant’s budget.
3. Low long-term costs: As you own the installations, you own the data and you own the equipment; you don’t need to pay rent for the systems implemented through outsourcing.
4. The specification advantage: As a plant or company, you can add condition monitoring features as specifications for your next generation of machines and equipment, including specific protocols or components. This allows you to collect the required data from the machine or equipment from the get-go.

Disadvantages of insourcing (DIY) condition monitoring:

1. High upfront cost: Implementing condition monitoring with a data collection system may involve higher upfront costs. This is because there is a need to invest in data storage solutions, engage experts for condition monitoring implementation (typically from an integration house or through self-integration), and employ developers to create or customize dashboards to fit user needs.
2. Limited scalability: collecting more data requires additional storage and enhanced analytics capabilities, especially when transitioning from condition-based maintenance to predictive analytics. Designing your own solution with limited budgets may hamper the scalability of the overall system.
3. Infrastructure maintenance: This is another area that requires close attention. Whether the infrastructure is located on-premises, centralized, or in the cloud, the chosen location may require investments in manpower for ongoing maintenance.

Another point to emphasize here is that opting for a DIY solution does not preclude the use of cloud platforms for data management and data storage. The difference between insourcing and outsourcing lies in the implementation of condition monitoring and related analytics – whether it’s carried out and owned by you or by someone else.

Strategic decision-making: beyond cost considerations

The final point is not to make outsourcing decisions solely based on cost. Condition-based monitoring and the future of analytics offer numerous advantages, and nurturing an in-house culture could be a great source of competitive advantage for the organization. You can always start small and progressively expand.

As always, your feedback is welcome.

This is the first in a three-part blog series on condition monitoring.

Critical assets are the lifeblood of the manufacturing plant. They are the devices, machines, and systems that when broken down or not performing to expected standards, can cause downtimes and production or quality losses resulting in rejects. If not maintained at the optimal levels of performance, these assets can damage the overall reputation of the brand. Some examples include evaporate fans, presses, motors, conveyor lines, mixers, grinders, and pumps.

Most manufacturing plants maintain critical assets on a periodic schedule, also known as preventative maintenance. However, in recent years, condition-based maintenance strategies, made possible with advancements in sensor and communications technologies, further improve the uptime, lower the overall cost of maintenance, and enhance the life of critical assets. Condition-based maintenance relies on continuous monitoring of key parameters of these assets.

Once the plant decides to adopt predictive maintenance (PdM) strategies for maintaining the assets, they face an important decision: to implement the condition monitoring strategy in-house or to outsource it to a third party – new term – continuous condition monitoring as a service (CCMAAS).

The bipartisan view expressed in this three-part blog series explores these options to help plant managers make the best, most appropriate decision for their plants. Just a hint: the decision for the most part is based on who controls the data regarding your plant’s critical assets.

In this part, we will delve a little deeper into the advantages and disadvantages of the CCMAAS option.

The advancements in cloud-based data management enable businesses to offer remote monitoring of the data related to the assets. In a nutshell, the service providers will audit the plant’s needs and deploy sensors and devices in the plant. Then, using IoT gateways, they transfer the critical parameters about the assets, such as vibration, temperature, humidity, and other related parameters to the cloud-based storage. The service provider’s proprietary algorithms and expertise would synthesize the data and send the plant’s maintenance personnel alerts about maintenance.

Advantages of outsourcing condition monitoring:

1. Expertise and support: By outsourcing data management to a specialized provider, the plant has access to a team of experts who possess in-depth knowledge of condition monitoring and data analytics. These professionals can provide valuable insights, guidance, and technical support.
2. Scalability and flexibility: Outsourced solutions offer greater scalability, allowing businesses to easily accommodate changing monitoring requirements and fluctuating data volumes.
3. Cost reduction: Outsourcing eliminates the need for upfront investments in hardware and infrastructure, significantly reducing capital expenses. Instead, companies pay for services based on usage, making it a more predictable and manageable operational expense.

Disadvantages of outsourcing condition monitoring:

1. Data security concerns: Entrusting critical data to a third-party provider raises concerns about data security and confidentiality. Plants must thoroughly assess the provider’s security protocols, data handling practices, and compliance with industry regulations to mitigate these risks.
2. Dependency on service providers: Outsourcing data management means relying on external entities. If the service provider has technical difficulties, interruptions in service, or business-related issues, it may impact the organization’s operations and decision-making.
3. Potential data access and control limitations: Plants may face limitations in accessing and controlling their data in real time. Reliance on a service-level agreement with the provider for data access, retrieval, or system upgrades can introduce delays or restrict autonomy.

Just like critical assets are the lifeblood of the manufacturing plants, in the near future data that is being generated every second in the plant will also be equally important. Outsourcing does allow manufacturing plants to adapt quickly to the new normal in the industry. I would not completely discount outsourcing based on the control of data. The option does have its place. You will just have to wait for my concluding blog on this topic.

In the meantime, your feedback is always welcome.