May 2019

| 28 | May 2019 www.smartmachinesandfactories.com O perator or maintenance inspection rounds form a key part of a plant’s reliability and safety culture, as they identify abnormal and unsafe conditions that can impact production or put workers in danger. Performed at regular scheduled intervals, inspection rounds involve personnel conducting checks and collecting information from process control instrumentation in the field, as well as taking note of any critical issues they observe. The recorded data is used to optimise maintenance scheduling and ensure a rapid response to any issues requiring urgent attention. Even in an era of increasing industrial digitisation and digital transformation, many companies are still taking a traditional approach to inspection rounds by employing a pen and paper-based method of data collection. This involves inspection teams going into the field with clipboards holding paper forms and maintenance log checklists, and manually writing down the data they are required to record, along with any further notes they deem necessary. At the end of an inspection route, the forms and lists are signed and dated by both the operator and their supervisor, and the data can then be manually inputted onto a digital spreadsheet or database before the paperwork is filed away. Although it is still widely used, the process of recording data with a pen and paper is inefficient. It is time- consuming and prone to errors in both transcription and inputting, especially when written information is difficult to read. There is the potential for paperwork to be misplaced and therefore not available when required for audit purposes. Also, operators might skip inspection points and thereby miss certain defects, or duplicate data by recording issues that have already been reported. Electronic data capture To overcome the inefficiencies of the traditional clipboard approach, companies are increasingly adopting methods that enable operator or maintenance personnel to electronically capture data in digital logs and checklists during their rounds. These digital solutions consist of mobile applications used in conjunction with ruggedized and intrinsically safe handheld devices to facilitate data collection in the field, and PC-based applications for route configuration, scheduling, and the reporting of key performance indicators. To maintain data integrity, automatic synchronisation technology in the latest handheld devices enables all Nicholas Meyer, product manager, handheld communicators at Emerson Automation Solutions, explains why the writing is on the wall for traditional pen and paper-based data collection. Digitising inspection rounds improves efficiency