Keywords: Maintenance, Plant Asset Management (PAM), Risk Management, Unplanned Downtime, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
Unplanned downtime can have a dramatic impact on the profitability of a manufacturing enterprise. The worldwide market for Plant Asset Management (PAM) solutions is expected to experience robust growth according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.
"End users consistently report that the primary driver for implementing plant asset management solutions is to avoid unplanned downtime. The robust growth expectations of PAM solutions can be attributed to their effect these solutions make to avoiding unplanned downtime," according to Senior Analyst Paula Hollywood, the principal author of ARC’s “Plant Asset Management Global Market Research Study”.
Downtime Is the Enemy
Downtime is expensive, but unscheduled downtime is generally the most expensive. In addition to lost production, costs associated with equipment damage, environmental harm, safety, and the environment can escalate quickly. Unplanned downtime includes unexpected stoppages resulting from equipment failure, operator error, or nuisance trips. It impacts a manufacturer’s ability to meet its production schedule and customer commitments. Asset failure contributes to unplanned downtime. Manufacturers are implementing PAM solutions to assess the health of plant assets by monitoring asset condition to identify potential problems before they can affect the process, cause unplanned downtime or worse, catastrophic failure.
Suppliers Preparing for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), connecting intelligent physical entities to each other, to internet services, and to applications, is at hand. With remote monitoring expected to be the biggest opportunity for IIoT at least initially, PAM suppliers are diligently developing their IIoT strategies now in order to prepare to monitor the projected five billion connected industrial things by 2020.
Maturing Regions Offer Highest Growth Rates
Painting the PAM regional picture with a broad brushstroke, the aging assets and workforce in North America and Eastern Europe will offer PAM suppliers the greatest opportunities in the outlook period. Anemic Eurozone growth as the region continues its economic recovery will hamper PAM and automation investments there in general. The oil & gas boom in North America is gobbling up automation and PAM investments in the region. The less mature Eastern Europe and Middle East are currently beset by political unrest that is severely hampering investment and industrial development. Latin American manufacturers are keen to adopt PAM best practices from the rest of world.
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