The Importance of Installed Base Evaluation (IBE) for Production Lines

There’s nothing quite as stressful as a broken part on a production line; it’s akin to throwing a spanner in the works, bringing all processes to a screeching halt.

Even worse is discovering that neither you nor your supplier have the critical part in stock. But stock is expensive. How do you know which parts to keep in stock and which can be bought on an as-needs basis?

The only way is through a thorough installed base evaluation (IBE), conducted by an expert in automation to determine the life-cycle risk of the site, area, line, machine and panel. An expert analysis of the entire plant can save days of downtime and give you that one commodity we all crave – peace of mind.

A well-known South African port authority discovered as much recently when a failure in an electrical component at its offloading facility closed operations for several hours.

Once the initial problem was solved, Haslop & Mason were called in to ensure that it never happens again. Find out how an IBE saved the day for this port, transforming a stop-start operation to a well-oiled machine that has experienced no major problems since.

Downtime is the bane of all manufacturers working to narrow profit margins – the only way to avoid it is to get on top of the problem at its roots! An IBE provides the customer with a complete picture of stock, costs and planned upgrades, hugely boosting production and overall performance.

Something to think about.

Yours in electrical equipment solutions,?

Customer care focus of Haslop & Mason/Rockwell Automation Installed Base Evaluation ? (IBE?)

“Production lines need to run efficiently and effectively one hundred per cent of the time,” says Kevin Dersley, managing member of Haslop & Mason. “A stopped line means a stopped stream of revenue. Production line stoppages cause tremendous stress on our customers, which is passed on to us.

“Sometimes this stoppage happens due to a failed component in the control panels. The component can be replaced, reprogrammed, and installed if the company has stock (or if we have stock). Then, the production line continues, which results in continued income generation.

“Stock or inventory management is significant to operations. However, stock can be costly. To manage this, it is important to have a comprehensive and detailed understanding of which components keep your production line operational.”

罗克韦尔自动化 ?, a long-standing automation products supplier, for which Haslop & Mason are authorised distributors, was called upon to deliver an IBE (installed base evaluation) on electrical equipment recently used in operations and material offloading facilities at the material handling port. This IBE? entails the tracking and managing of physical assets, products, or systems installed by a company at a customer site. Anything from machinery and equipment to software and other digital products can be included.

In this instance, the electrical equipment was evaluated that is used in the electrical control panels for the production process.

The IBE took place at various levels:

• Field collection: Rockwell Automation engineers worked with our customers’ technicians during a site visit. Here they collected all the data needed about their electrical and mechanical installed base – whether the products display an Allen-Bradley? logo or not.
• Off-site data analysis: Using customised software, a Rockwell Automation analysis affords the customer a better understanding of life cycle risk based on site, area, line, machine and panel. Haslop & Mason made recommendations about inventory levels, depending on criticality.
• Delivery: From the results of the IBE, the customer received a final report. This included a plant hierarchy and corporate risk profile for downtime. Haslop & Mason was able to help the customer take action in implementing the most effective solutions for improving plant performance.
• An inventory list was created for all electrical and automation spares
• A costing projection was produced from the inventory list
• An awareness was established of the life cycle of the spares
• Upgrades were planned to take place in good time and a correct parts management system was put in place.

In reflecting on this IBE by Rockwell Automation, Kevin Dersley said, “For the company, this evaluation has the potential to lead to an increase in uptime. Accurate data is the key to the efficiency and continuous operation of manufacturing. The data obtained in the IBE benefit the customers, who are enabled to make informed decisions. This will go a long way towards eliminating excess inventory, unnecessary costs and an improved return on expenditure.

“The result? Peace of mind coming from an effectively managed plant.”