- Case Study -
Delivering Insights.
Solved unknown root-cause of high-wear problem
Enabled real-time understanding of asset
Asset now managed to minimise wear & downtime
The Customer
Major Logistics Provider
Long-established Household name, with 15 regional sorting centres.
The Problem.
Main Parcel Sorter frequent breakdowns:
- Complex unit used to grade parcels by weight & volume
- 11 Conveyors
- 5 Sorting lanes
- Gearbox & conveyor bearings showing excessive wear
- Frequent replacement long before expected service life
- High levels of metallic contamination in lubricant
- Frequent oil changes required
The Solution.
Continuous Monitoring of Drives & Gearboxes
- Variable Speed Drive data to monitor Current, Voltage & Torque
- Process control data to understand operating patterns
- Analysis of drive behaviour for each conveyor using cloud-based Dashboards
The Benefits.
Dynamic Asset Maintenance programme:
- Reprogrammed drive profiles reduce bearing wear
- Dynamically refined operating procedures maximise machine life
- New specification lubricants more cost-effective
- Continuous monitoring enables proactive parts replacement
- Asset life significantly extended
The Analysis.
Parcel Sorter operating outside of Specifications
- Conveyor drives were peaking at 180% of rated capacity
- Over-speeding & reducing torque
- Ramping speed of drives was 2X design speed
- Creating shock-loads within gearboxes
Root Cause:
- Drives had been historically reprogrammed to deliver twice the power in same time
- Original objective to double sorter capacity
