MAINTENANCE DIGITALIZATION

Changing market demands are dictating the latest technological evolutions. Digital Transformation, Maintenance Optimization and Changing Workforce are only some of the key industry challenges. Conventionally, plant operation systems aim to improve production efficiency and product quality while facility maintenance systems aim to both maximize operational efficiency and minimize costs. However, when maximizing production efficiency, maintenance costs are not necessarily optimized. Although, operation information and maintenance information must be combined to maximize profits for the entire plant, this is rarely achieved mainly because maintenance is not always quantified. Many digital technologies can be applied to improve maintenance, monitoring and visualizing the condition of equipment, utilizing wireless sensors is the first step to make the plant maintenance more efficient. The combination with Advanced Analytics such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are strong tools for reforming plant maintenance work. Data Analytics allow you to understand equipment conditions more deeply by analyzing process data creating value from process historian Big Data by classifying, standardizing, organizing and interpreting process data accumulated in a plant (big data). The Digital Transformation can be also applied to field activities in a process plant, such as operator rounds, basic equipment care and Predictive Maintenance. It is known that by digitalizing field activities, plant maintenance can reduce maintenance costs while reducing the use of paper, check worker's activity with location data and time, avoid Over-Maintenance and assure the efficiency and integrity of field work (less mistakes and data for procedure analysis). New AR technologies are enabling field operators to improve maintenance efficiency and the quality of field work by providing communication solutions through standard web browsers, where specialists can make video calls to transmit easy-to-visualize image and text data, helping less-experienced operators anywhere, reducing human error and improving the safety and efficiency of field work. © 2021 Assoc. Tecnica Brasileira de Celulose e Papel. All rights reserved.