Industry 4.0 aims to increase efficiency, productivity, quality, and sustainability while optimizing supply chains and workforces. It sounds like a tall order, but as more manufacturers adopt the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), edge devices, and cloud-based technologies, the more such efforts are realized.
Of course, one of the fundamental challenges is extracting and leveraging meaningful data. Manufacturers need real-time information for a quick and accurate understanding of their systems without complex analysis. For compressed air systems, this means knowing the equipment’s health, performance, and efficiency to meet air flow demands while optimizing costs and energy consumption.
Late last year, Ingersoll Rand launched the Helix Connected Platform to improve compressed air system transparency. Sensor technology inside the compressor sends data regularly to a cloud-based platform accessible from a PC, tablet, or smartphone. This real-time monitoring provides data on the compressor’s functionality, and users can access insights and diagnostic reporting anytime. Such information can help prevent lost productivity from unforeseen breakdowns. It can also simplify maintenance with proactive service reminders and automated communications sent instantly via email, text message, or an online customer portal.
“Our Helix Connected Platform is designed to provide peace of mind for industrial maintenance managers,” said Preston Swift, digital solutions and controls leader at Ingersoll Rand. “Knowledge is power, and having Helix real-time data available anytime, from anywhere, provides powerful insights that help our customers to keep their compressed air systems operating at peak performance, as well as reducing risks of downtime.”
Helix connectivity hardware is a standard feature on all new oil-free and oil-flooded rotary screw compressors 50 hp and higher. In the future, the MSG Tubro-Air centrifugal air compressors, MSG Centac centrifugal air compressors, and air compressor dryers will also factory-ship with the new platform. Most Ingersoll Rand compressor product lines are compatible with the platform, and retrofit kits can be installed within a few hours. Users can access all connectivity data via the customer portal, including controller-based alerts such as service-due warnings or critical fault detections that could cause downtime.
“[We put] a new PackageCare remote monitoring service team in place to constantly remotely monitor the performance of Helix-enabled compressors under Care service agreements. Since implementing, Care customers with Helix monitoring are experiencing higher uptime rates,” said Swift.
In one case, a medium-sized manufacturer recognized a compressed air system capacity problem at its factory and suspected an air leak downstream. However, the company recently added Helix monitoring to its system, and Ingersoll Rand service experts concluded that the compressed air system was undersized. The data showed that as the company increased production, the current system could no longer meet factory demands. Service experts set up more detailed monitoring and confirmed what the Helix data suggested. In response, the company added another compressed air system and had it installed within one week. The new system doubled the factory’s capacity and avoided production downtime.
In another case, a major food and beverage manufacturer using Helix recently resolved an airend temperature issue that had gone unnoticed. Helix insights alerted the Ingersoll Rand team that the customer’s primary compressor was experiencing a pattern of elevated airend temperatures, which is often a precursor to performance issues. The service team called the manufacturer to share the insight and a list of preventative measures to resolve the problem. The customer opted for an Ingersoll Rand service technician, who performed a complete inspection using diagnostic tools and resolved the elevated airend temperatures, avoiding downtime and potential future repairs.
With today’s labor shortage issues, manufacturers may struggle to keep up with monitoring, preventive maintenance programs, and repairs. Cloud-based platforms and remote monitoring services that continuously collect data and provide real-time communication and insight can assist in improving production and efficiency and increase equipment life.
Ingersoll Rand
ingersollrand.com
