domnick hunter introduces networked remote condition monitoring as part of its service offering
Date:
12/02/2007
domnick hunter, a leading provider of compressed air treatment, gas generation and process filtration solutions offers a comprehensive range of innovative services including leak detection, particle counting and air quality management surveys, via a dedicated service team. The latest service offering, NCM, is a networked condition monitoring device that effectively monitors and records operating data from a wide range of assets including domnick hunter’s compressed air dryers and gas generators. The data logging and trend analysis capability of NCM provides real-time data which not only ensures that the condition and performance of the equipment is continuously tracked but also allows domnick hunter to audit systems and make specific operation recommendations that enable customers to maximise utilisation and energy efficiency savings, which is now a priority for most businesses given today’s rising energy costs and climate change taxation.
Darrin Leahy, Aftermarket Business Development Manager at domnick hunter, says “NCM is an exciting addition to domnick hunter’s service capabilities. It provides continuous networked condition monitoring so that customers can ensure optimum performance of equipment throughout their production cycle.”
NCM, which can be easily retrofitted to existing equipment, constantly gathers and transmits information such as pressures, dewpoint, gas purities and temperatures to a central server at regular intervals. This improves accuracy by avoiding time spent with trial and error troubleshooting, ensuring service engineers have the right information at the onset.
Day to day system management is controlled and monitored with an easy to use customer interface, best described as a ‘dashboard’, which is accessed via a secure Internet connection. Operating parameters are remotely set in parallel via the dashboard and, should any fluctuation outside of set parameters occur, NCM will automatically notify domnick hunter’s nearest service engineer by either email or SMS. This ensures any unusual condition is attended to early.
The dashboard feature allows users to monitor equipment performance at any time and a periodic report can be tailored to provide relevant data for analysis, which could for example aid the formulation of preventative maintenance schedules.
One of the major benefits of NCM is the ability to maintain a constant check on systems, which replaces labour intensive asset monitoring. In addition costly downtime can be minimised through early diagnosis of incidents before they become critical.
The ability to monitor vital parameters is standard practice amongst many industries, for example food manufacturers are now able to check dewpoint temperatures of compressed air and take action to prevent spoiled batch runs, electronic component manufacturers are able to monitor nitrogen gas purities and take action to prevent high oxygen levels causing weak solder joints.
