目的地：乌托邦

Utopias are common in fiction, but for manufacturers a world without unplanned downtime would be the perfect utopia. The question becomes: is abolishing unplanned downtime a far-fetched dream, or is it closer than we think? According to research by户主(Exeter, England), machine downtime is costing British manufacturers over $225.9 billion a year. Unplanned downtime halts production, but it can also lead to wasted raw materials or damage to the system itself, amplifying the cost beyond loss of production. Further research conducted byGE Digital（加利福尼亚州圣拉蒙）发现，有70％的公司缺乏对设备进行维护，升级或维修的全面意识。这些数字令人不安，因为计划外的停机时间对生产力产生了巨大影响，并给经济带来了重大损失。制造商必须知道何时需要维护才能降低这一数字。必须这样吗？

机器分解——这是一个不幸的事实everyday life. However, there are signs of machine failure that can be monitored and managed. For example, vibration analysis or analyzing the speed of machine tools can provide insight into the condition of equipment, indicating that it may be about to break down. Proactively monitoring equipment and scheduling maintenance in advance can drastically reduce the risk of machine breakdown, which is why preventative maintenance is taking manufacturing by storm. What does preventative maintenance mean for downtime? Gone are the days when manufacturers must make a run to failure, calendar or usage-based approaches, all of which involve waiting for a motor to fail or a heat transfer system to leak before taking action. Plant managers can now plan regular inspections, upgrades and troubleshooting on equipment to avoid breakdowns. This is good news, because Industry 4.0 is increasing manufacturers’ capabilities to a stage where maintenance can be data-driven.

Information collected by sensors on the factory floor can be relayed to a plant manager and used to make real-time decisions on servicing and maintenance. The use of a digital twin – a virtual representation of a factory’s operations – combined with machine learning software could allow the system to identify and plan for faults in advance. In the future, this could involve a system self-diagnosing and self-repairing: ordering a replacement part or machine from an automation equipment supplier and planning automated maintenance. Could zero downtime ever be possible? Manufacturers seem to think so: eight in ten companies surveyed by GE Digital thought digital tools could eliminate unplanned downtime and 72 percent of them said that zero unplanned downtime is a high priority. Taking a proactive approach to maintenance is the best way to reduce your shop’s risk of unplanned downtime. As Industry 4.0 develops and more connected sensors, digital twins and machine learning software are developed and implemented, downtime will reduce. We may be a way away from the perfect paradise, but we are certainly on the right track.