Australian Manufacturing: Time to Invest is Now

Scenario

According to the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), our national Manufacturing industry has been expanding consistently with 25 months of uninterrupted growth (1), the longest run since 2005. On the other hand, it is no secret the sector is under pressure to transform. Traditional production methods and business models are being disrupted as digital technologies advance the capabilities of the industry.

Australian manufacturers are locked in a global race to compete, not just with low labour cost countries but also with digitally advanced countries.

Embracing this digital transformation, referred to as Industry 4.0, is now crucial to Australia’s competitive advantage. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Those that rest on their laurels risk losing their market position. Those that successfully transition to the digital age will be the powerhouses of the future.

Australian Manufacturing: daily challenges

Keeping a factory running 24/7 means getting ahead of machine failures and responding to issues in a timely manner; is a constant battle. The simple challenge of understanding when machinery is running is the first hurdle. Following that, manufacturers must understand utilisation measures such as uptime/downtime (or even OEE). Once we begin understanding these, it becomes easier to plan machine maintenance and keep unplanned breakdowns under control. These are just some of the challenges that many manufacturers face on a daily basis.

So how should the Australian Manufacturing industry respond?

The ability to deploy Industry 4.0 technologies such as sensors, dashboards, cloud systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning can be a daunting task. The complexity of integrating all the elements required, while considering the additional nuances of communications technologies and the ever present security concerns, can be overwhelming even for global organisations.

Most Australian Manufacturers neither have the time, resources, nor the skills to adopt these technologies into their businesses. According to AMGC’s paper “Industry 4.0 – An Opportunity for Every Australian Manufacturer” (2), almost 95% of firms employ 20 people or less”. So adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies might sound difficult for some.

An easy solution is now available for manufacturing SMEs

I’d like to introduce you to the FitMachine and our Industry 4.0 Made Easy pack. FitMachine is a predictive maintenance solution that detects machine failures in advance using artificial intelligence and machine learning. The solution is comprised of an industrial sensor, industrial gateway, mobile application, analytics and trending dashboards, and artificial intelligence engine.

The system automatically monitors your equipment 24×7 and learns what’s the normal operation of your machinery, so that it can detect any abnormalities and alert you before failures occur. Metrics included are machine health, degradation, utilisation, energy and more.

We’ve worked extremely hard to mitigate many of the challenges faced by the manufacturing industry and incorporated them into this pack. We are proud to present this unique offering to the Australian market.

Why should you deploy this solution?

• Real-Time Equipment Health Visibility: know when your equipment is on or off. Monitor the condition and degradation of your equipment in real-time. Manage hundreds of assets via the FitMachine Dashboard.
• Minimise Unplanned Downtime: receive early alerts via SMS or email when the condition of your equipment degrades beyond pre-configured limits.
• Reduce Maintenance Costs: by reducing physical inspections, focusing solely on equipment that requires attention, lowering operating costs and extending the asset lifecycle.
• Optimise Maintenance Operations: focus the attention of your maintenance team on proactive tasks rather than reacting to failures or following OEM preventive maintenance schedules.

So what’s in this pack?

The pack contains everything you need to get started on your Industry 4.0 journey.

• 10 FitMachine sensors
• 1 FitMachine Gateway
• The MOVUS fully-featured Dashboard, customised with your company logo, with machine trending and alerts via email and SMS
• Installation and training are fully included at your plant/factory/site
• Access to online help, training guides and support from the friendly MOVUS team

How quickly can I be up and running?

Once our installer is on site, the units can be installed in under 10 minutes each, with no need for shutdowns, cutting or drilling. Our installer will also train your team to install more sensors, should they be required.

How much does it cost?

We’ve learned from the Services sector; the whole solution is sold on a subscription basis. We call it ‘Machine-monitoring-as-a-Service’ sold for less than $900 (ex GST) per month for 10 machines monitored. Your top 10 most critical machines are then monitored 24×7, everything is included.

“It’s a cost effective solution, that’s rapidly deployed, easy to use and easy to adopt.”

So if you’re looking to get started on your Industry 4.0 journey and position your business ahead of the pack, hit this page and request a demo.

Time to invest is now

I particularly like this quote from Warren Buffett;

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

What better time to invest than now, when the manufacturing industry is doing so well in Australia?

—

Brad Parsons is the CEO and Founder of MOVUS, the team building FitMachine – ‘The simple-to-use and cost effective solution for equipment monitoring’. Find out more about FitMachine.

*FitMachine is a trademark of MOVUS

References:

(1) Australian PMI: Manufacturing growth remains robust

(2) Industry 4.0 – An Opportunity for Every Australian Manufacturer

This article was first published on LinkedIn on 27 November 2018.