The “Challenges and Opportunities for Packaging and Processing Operations” report from PMMI Business Intelligence for 2022 finds that the majority of questioned organisations are currently thinking about, considering, or putting some type of predictive maintenance structure in place.
In a pre-show survey, PMMI asked delegates at the PACK EXPO International in October about their plans for implementing predictive maintenance. The findings demonstrated that different technologies attracted a lot of attention among consumer-packaged goods businesses and that equipment makers responded in kind to accommodate demand.
Current Predictive Maintenance Situation
Implementing thermography solutions, complete equipment monitoring, and computerised maintenance management system software are examples of current predictive maintenance operations among CPGs. OEMs expressed interest in incorporating predictive maintenance into their systems and having customers test it.
One OEM stated that they are exploring putting this as an alternative function on equipment, adding that their business is interested in finding out how this might improve packagers’ daily line operations, maintenance staff, and budget.
In the next three to five years, organisations are likely to incorporate technology like vibration analysis, thermography, and holistic approaches like equipment health monitoring sensors.
- Other technologies that respondents found to be popular were:
- Organization and setup of the parts room
- Analysis of oil monitoring
- Software for risk and dependability
- Codes for machine-level faults
- Monitoring runtime before maintenance
- Planning for outages and total scheduled productive maintenance
- Risk reduction
- Exemplary practices data
- Data’s average time between failures
Since CPGs have such a diverse spectrum of interests, it will be difficult for OEMs to satisfy all of their demands. OEMs said that they are looking at areas including component failure, prognosis, suggested care, and recommended upkeep for the next three to five years.
One OEM stated that they planned to offer dashboards and predictive maintenance-related algorithms, as well as alignment preventative and predictive diagnostics. Participants believed that continuous production machinery, high-tech, high-value machines, and processes offered the best prospects for predictive maintenance.
Predictive maintenance solutions are most useful in areas that reduce downtime and help with proactive maintenance, including production, processing, and packaging activities, pattern monitoring, mixing, and water systems.
Predictive Maintenance Trends at International PACK EXPO
According to a survey of packaged goods companies, the PACK EXPO show will be used to find computerised maintenance management system software, overall productive upkeep, machine dependability, and items that give value.
They are receptive to any and all industry solutions to boost machinery reliability, as stated by one respondent. OEMs had the opportunity to showcase the advantages of their predictive maintenance systems to prospective businesses during the show.
As stated by OEM participants, PACK EXPO would be used to understand customers’ demands as well as insights into data and security requirements.
Tech in Predictive Maintenance Has a Bright Future
There is definitely opportunity for increased use of predictive maintenance and enthusiasm for averting production line disruptions before they happen, according to the responses provided by participants. Particularly among CPGs, 43% are now utilising the technology in some capacity, and a further 45% expect to use predictive maintenance during the following three years.
The majority of packaging sector businesses are only beginning to experiment with preventive analytics, but this survey’s findings indicate that a sizeable and expanding proportion is starting to use the technology.
