Swedish bearing and seal manufacturer SKF has launched its Smart Supplier 4.0 Gen 2 programme in Southeast Asia and Australia, which rethinks smart maintenance of industrial machines. The programme enables the company’s enterprise customers to detect possible causes of failure in their industrial machines, so that repairs could be done before operations are impacted.
SKF Southeast Asia said the programme is best used by light industries as an early entry into digitalised maintenance, giving customers a platform to embark on their Industrialisation 4.0 journey.
"Our light industry customers would benefit the most by this entry level digitalised maintenance programme. It provides them with a holistic approach to digitalising maintenance from their current maintenance strategies," said Gavin Garland, area director, SKF Southeast Asia.
The programme uses the SKF Quick-Collect Sensor that's connected wirelessly to SKF mobile apps to first measure data from machines. The collected data is then uploaded to the cloud and sent to SKF's Rotating Equipment Performance Centre to be analysed by expert reliability engineers. Finally, detailed reports of issues and recommended courses of actions are generated.
By rethinking the way machines are maintained, not only does SKF prevents unplanned downtime, it also proves to be critical in:
- Increasing reliability and improving performance of machines.
- Improving lubrication management to prolong machines' lifespan.
- Improving inventory optimisation to reduce excess stock.
- Lowering overall maintenance cost.
- Improving productivity through a digitised maintenance programme.
The “Smart Supplier 4.0 Gen 2” programme comes in three different packages, each more advanced than the last. Named "QuickPulse", "QuickPro", and "QuickPro+", they're the Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced packages on offer, all in that order.
Signing up with any one of them entitles users to the Quick-Collect Sensor, subscription to SKF mobile applications, and detailed assessment reports. Additional features are available too, depending on the package signed up for.
