SKF South Africa amplifies diagnostic services for optimised operations and protection of critical plant assets
The SKF Rotating Equipment Performance Centre (REP), previously known as the SKF Remote Diagnostic Centre, provides anyone from anywhere with easy access to a comprehensive suite of advanced condition monitoring, analytical, and diagnostic solutions. “Customers simply need to collect necessary data from their plant equipment and upload it to the Cloud. Applying our integrated engineering expertise, software, and analytical tools, we convert this critical data into actionable engineering insights on how to better protect and optimise plant assets for enhanced operational performance,” explains John Storm, SKF’s Connected Technologies Manager.
Driven by a commitment to environmental responsibility and the circular economy, SKF continuously seeks to augment its service offerings to customers. “We constantly explore methods to reduce component failure and extend equipment life,” notes Storm. “Our capabilities include the remanufacture of critical components, such as large sized bearings, at our Reman Centre in Jet Park, Johannesburg, offering not only cost savings for customers but also benefits for the environment by reducing the use of raw material and CO² emissions compared to manufacturing new bearings. The remanufactured bearings can either be reinstalled in the machine for another full-service life or stored for future use.”
With years of experience in effective critical asset monitoring, SKF excels at diagnosing issues before they escalate into major problems. The company established its Remote Diagnostic Centre at its Jet Park head office to offer customers comprehensive analysis, diagnostics, and reporting services based on data collected from their field equipment.
“As a knowledge-driven engineering company, we wanted however to advance our diagnostic and reporting services,” asserts Storm. “We scaled up our capabilities and enriched our engineering expertise. Through this forward-thinking approach, we now deliver analysed diagnostics and machine health insights via the Cloud to our SKF engineering specialists. They subsequently develop quick-response solutions for potential issues in the field, effectively closing the proactive maintenance loop more quickly. Our service evolution is perfectly reflected in the rebranding of the SKF Remote Diagnostic Centre to the Rotating Equipment Performance (REP) Centre.”
SKF has also integrated its Authorised Distributor partners into its digital ecosystem by creating a platform for sharing insights from the REP Centre. “By providing our Authorised Distributors with access to information, dashboards, and reports, we empower them to enhance their machinery health-related services for customers,” asserts Storm.
SKF recognises the fact that customers use various analytical methods and network environments to consolidate data from their plant equipment. Rather than developing stand-alone black box systems, SKF uses highly flexible architecture specially designed to offer a range of integration levels and possibilities, spanning from local SKF hardware solutions to fully connected Cloud-based systems. “We never impose a single connectivity architecture on plant operators, offering instead, versatile solutions that can be seamlessly integrated into any environment with straightforward, flexible onsite implementation,” stresses Storm. “Moreover, our solutions also support LTE and GPS wireless networks when Ethernet connectivity is unavailable. And if there is zero connectivity, we have the capability of manually downloading data from SKF devices to a cellular device, which can then be taken to a location with data access for uploading to the Cloud.”
Data collection, using handheld or online devices, is the first step in connecting equipment to the SKF REP Centre. SKF provides a range of technology solutions, from entry-level options to advanced permanent asset management systems, to accommodate various applications for data collection and network connectivity. Handheld devices include the SKF Quick Collect sensor, the next-generation Microlog Analyzer DBx, Axios, and the wireless IMx-1 condition monitoring systems. These instruments can sync with Android or iOS smart devices to transmit data via the Cloud to the REP Centre where engineers offer more advanced diagnostics, identify early signs of failure, and recommend application-specific engineering changes required to keep equipment healthy, ultimately driving reliability, performance and uptime.
SKF recommends the Quick Collect, Axios, and IMx-1 systems for high-speed applications (above 600 rpm) and lower criticality assets that require less data uploading. More sophisticated solutions are needed for low-speed vibration monitoring, which is typically associated with critical, large, and heavy equipment such as conveyor drives, crushers, and grinding mills. These complex machines are often found in challenging environments like mining sites or fixed processing plants. For such advanced applications, SKF recommends fully wired online sensor systems connected to the SKF IMx-8 or IMx-16 data logging systems specifically designed for low-speed rotating equipment analytics that require high-resolution data in the lower frequency ranges to get the spectral quality required for detailed analysis.
For a more permanent approach to equipment performance management, SKF offers a semi-online solution that features the installation of wireless sensors on plant equipment that are connected to SKF Enlight Collect IMx-1 gateway devices. The IMx-1 mesh-able device has a range of 20 to 30m from the sensors, depending on plant density. It can support up to 100 sensors connected via a 2.4 GHz wireless mesh network to a single gateway. Typically set to collect data daily, the IP69-rated, battery-powered wireless sensors are designed with an expected nominal battery life of five years. SKF has extended its REP services into the rest of Africa, prioritising mining as a key growth sector. “We recently introduced SKF Axios in a bid to enhance access to our REP Centre from remote locations across the continent,” states Storm. “This cost-effective, Cloud-based condition monitoring solution, hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), features easy-to-navigate software and dashboards.” Storm attests that SKF Axios is an excellent entry-level device for those new to condition monitoring. “The system improves over time by adjusting its acceptable thresholds based on the initial specifications and conditions set for each machine.”
