Nowadays, certain industrial processes require technologies capable of predictive analysis and monitoring of the assets of companies, manufacturers, and distributors. The supply chain in all its phases is a good example of this. From an industrial perspective, Smart Asset Tracking is becoming more complete and reliable and, therefore, it becomes essential. This is why, especially in industrial sectors, the use of the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) concept has become quite common.
What is Smart Asset Tracking
Smart Asset Tracking offers several advantages that are hard to ignore in competitive environments. Sectors as diverse as manufacturing, transport, logistics, services or health, apply different technologies and System Management to avoid problems with their assets throughout the chain. It runs through the manufacture, to the distribution and sale.
Smart Asset Tracking: What problems can be alleviated via asset tracking?
- Loss of assets
By using Geolocation algorithms that work through wireless networks, assets can be tracked both within the facilities, and when they are already en route. This makes it possible to have real-time information on the location of mobile elements, generally during their transport, such as containers, pallets, trays, or storage boxes. When we talk about the loss of assets, we can encompass different situations that cause any of them not to reach its destination: from a shipment to the wrong destination, through an accident that affects the carrier, to the theft of it. If these types of setbacks are repeated over time and at specific times or places, route optimization, and the search for alternatives come into play.
- Asset delay
It does not matter why the delay occurs. Based on location data, it is more possible than ever to predict and optimize transportation times and delivery times. When it is detected that a shipment will not arrive on time, it is easier to take action to try to alleviate the situation and minimize setbacks. This is where and how System Management comes into action.
- Asset impairment
It’s not just about knowing where your assets are, but also making sure they’re in good shape. This applies to a multitude of fragile products that can be sensitive and deteriorate at different points in the supply chain.
How do you track assets? Smart Asset Tracking!
A truck, an airplane, containers on board an ocean liner, a simple pallet, or the packaging of a certain product. Everything is susceptible to being sensorized. Smart sensors designed from the ground and connected up to function are one of the pillars in charge of Smart Asset Tracking. Different technologies, such as GPS, Beacons (BLE), and NFC or RFID systems are some of the most used.
The Key Role Of Remote Asset Monitoring In Mining Industry
The global COVID-19 pandemic and the drive for social distancing have abruptly disrupted, or at least complicated, many processes in the mining industry. Practices such as remote asset monitoringto help mining companies increase efficiency and reduce the risks of on-site personnel accidents. It can improve an organization’s adaptability to unexpected situations. One such unexpected situation has been overcome, and also during the prosperity of the industry, companies can continue to take advantage of remote asset monitoring as well as other remote processes to drive efficiency and profits.
Remote asset monitoring analysts are located off-site so any risk of on-site accidents is eliminated. And because they can diagnose problems remotely, they help reduce the time to repair often-required field failures. Operators and maintenance personnel alike rely on equipment manufacturer (OEM) sensor alarms to notify them of potential problems affecting critical components in their equipment. Over the life of a haul truck or other equipment, repeating such a strategy can cause costs to rise exponentially – but it can still increase potential savings, especially when driven by a maintenance management approach.
Remote asset monitoring technology has allowed mines to monitor the status of their components in near real-time, or even in real-time, as is the case with the most advanced systems. In addition to alerts from OEM sensors, these systems allow the generation of custom and user-defined alarms based on a wide range of parameters and variables. The faster the mine knows about a potential component problem, the faster the maintenance team can resolve it. Therefore, real-time information on preventable damage collected and stored in a database can be critical to achieving a more complete view of the health of a fleet.
