August 2021

n NEWS July/August 2021 www.drivesncontrols.com 8 MACHINE FAILURES are causing industrial facilities to lose an average of more than a day of production (27 hours) each month, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to a new survey by the UK machine health monitoring specialist, Senseye. The study, based on interviews with maintenance, engineering and IT personnel in 72 multinational industrial and manufacturing organisations in 21 countries, finds that, on average, large plants lose 323 production hours a year. The cost of the lost revenue, financial penalties, idle staff time and restarting lines averages $532,000 per hour, or $172m annually per plant. Senseye has extrapolated its findings to the Fortune Global 500 manufacturing and industrial firms and estimates that together they lose 3.3 million hours each year to unplanned downtime. It calculates the cost of this downtime is $864bn – equivalent to 8% of their annual revenues. The study – called The True Cost Of Downtime – reveals that more than two- thirds (72%) of the industrial organisations surveyed have made predictive maintenance a strategic objective, and that 20% have established in-house predictive maintenance teams. More than half (51%) say they already perform some form of condition monitoring, while 87% collect at least some of the data that can be used to support predictive maintenance. “Unplanned downtime is the curse of the industrial sector,” comments Senseye’s chief global strategist, Alexander Hill. “When expensive production lines and machinery fall silent, organisations stop earning, and those investments start costing, rather than making, money. The costs can spiral to well over $100,000 per hour for large manufacturers. "With this report,” he adds, “Senseye has started to answer crucial questions, such as the true cost of downtime for large industrial organisations, and the kind of savings companies could make by using techniques such as predictive maintenance to help prevent breakdowns and reduce downtime.” According to the survey, unplanned downtime is most severe in the automotive sector, where plants lose an average of 29 production hours a month, at a cost of $1.3m per hour. As a result, Senseye estimates that FG500 vehicle and parts manufacturers are losing $557bn and 414,800 hours a year. Two thirds (67%) of the automotive companies in the survey reported that predictive maintenance is now a strategic objective for them. In the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and CPG (consumer packaged goods) sectors, manufacturers are losing 25 hours a month to unplanned downtime at a cost of $23,600 per hour. Senseye, whose headquarters are in Southampton, specialises in software for AI-driven machine health management. Industrial firms are losing a day every month to machine failures MERCEDES-BENZHAS bought the UK motor manufacturer Yasa and will use its axial-flux electric motors to power a new generation of high-performance all-electric AMG cars due to be launched in 2025. Yasa will operate as a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, developing ultra- high-performance e-motors, while retaining its own brand, team, facilities, and continuing to supply existing customers. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Following the acquisition, Yasa and its 250 employees will continue to operate from its headquarters and production facility in Oxford, and its innovation facility inWelshpool. As well as providing motors for Mercedes-Benz’s AMG.EA electric-only platform, Yasa will also act as an innovation partner, working on new electric drive technologies for Mercedes. Yasa’s axial-flux electric motor technology, which is protected by more than 120 patents, is said to be a step-change from conventional radial electric motors. Yasa claims that its motors deliver the highest efficiencies and power densities in their class for the smallest possible size and weight. “Since our foundation in 2009, we’ve always been pioneers in next-generation electric drive technology,” says Yasa CEO, Chris Harris. “Now, as part of Mercedes-Benz, we’re going redefine the future of driving performance. “This acquisition is tremendously exciting because it gives Yasa technology the global scale and reach of Mercedes-Benz,” he adds. “Together, we have the opportunity to make Yasa the premier mark of excellence in electric motor technology.” Mercedes-AMG CEO Philipp Schiemer says that Yasa’s axial-flux technology “allows future fully-electric Mercedes-AMG performance cars to stay a step ahead of the competition. Thanks to electric motors with higher power density and continuous torque delivery, we will redefine the future of driving performance.” Mercedes is planning to invest more than €40bn in battery EVs between 2022 and 2030, when it expects to be selling only all-electric vehicles. In addition to the AMG.EA vehicles, the company is planning to launch new generations of medium-to-large passenger EVs (called MB.EA) and electric vans and light commercial vehicles (VAN.EA) in 2025. Yasa’s axial-flux motors will power a new generation of all-electric Mercedes AMG high-performance cars Mercedes buys UK motor-maker Yasa to power new generation of AMG EVs