MARKETS SERVED

In the competitive environment of the textile industry, there is always a pressing demand for better product quality at lower processing costs. This competitive business scenario necessitates continuous and aggressive management of production costs, high reliability of various process equipment, improved plant and utility operations thus maximizing equipment OEE and equipment life. EcoAxis' IoT solutions for continuous measurement and verification in textile plants provides a decision support system through continuous monitoring that integrates plant operations, utility management, and maintenance processes to help generate information for data driven decision making. An informed decision can thus lead to savings in maintenance and utility cost, improved life and performance of process equipment. Trouble-free operation, avoidance of unforeseen failures, improved performance coupled with cost savings are fast becoming business drivers. As the cost of downtime for process equipment continues to grow, there is a pressing need to make relevant data of critical parameters from equipment controller and instruments available on a time-scale.

This data should also be available beyond the confines of the plant – to a place where analysis (predictive as well as post-failure) can be done and decisions can be taken by an expert who may not be continuously present on the shop floor. EcoAxis' remote monitoring and analytics solutions track critical parameters of process equipment and utilities such as fabric/machine speed, temperatures, pressures, tension, run-hours, stoppages, utility consumption etc. Monitoring of performance and maintenance on a minute-by-minute (or a second-by-second) basis, followed by managing the operation of the plant through advanced supervision and diagnostic tools of EcoAxis helps reducing textile plant operating and maintenance costs.

Hardware and software components of our solution help in acquiring critical data from various entry points such as control systems of machinery, barcode scanners, instruments, etc. It also facilitates manual data entry by operators where it is entirely necessary. This data is sent to remote or local server through Ethernet, GPRS, or broadband connections. EcoAxis' software and database on the server stores this raw data and creates actionable information using high-end analytic tools. This raw data and analytics are made available to authorized users on any device, anytime, anywhere.

Sustainable use of agro-based renewable resources like sugar cane demands the establishment of a complete manufacturing value-chain comprising of sugar as well as other value-added by-products such as exportable power from bagasse, alcohol and ethanol from molasses, biogas and bio-fertilizers from spent wash.

In a typical multi-plant operation setup, controlling losses and ensuring increased productivity is possible for an enterprise only if relevant manufacturing information is available on any device, anytime, anywhere.

Manual and conventional logging of data is difficult to compile owing to the massive scale of data involved in the operations of an integrated sugar complex. This calls for an IoT monitoring solution that tracks critical parameters of operations and production output on a minute-by-minute or even second-by-second basis. This compilation is followed by automated analytics and managing the operation of the plant through online reports and alerts – in a manner that is very similar to internet banking.

If you have a typical multi-plant sugar complex, EcoAxis' solution will help you control losses and ensure increased productivity by making manufacturing information available to you on any device, anytime, anywhere – literally at your fingertips.

Energy is a critical parameter that affects the cost of every product in the present scenario of limited fuel availability and competitive market. Given the adverse effect of GHG emissions – a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels – there is a need for energy conservation by either implementation of energy efficiency practices/projects, or use of renewable energy technologies. Energy monitoring systems are key tools that play an important role in energy management and in reducing energy use. EcoAxis has an active energy conservation solution which leverages a CMV (Continuous Measurement and Verification) system. This system helps in identifying and prioritizing the energy conservation measures and additionally serves as an evaluation tool for measuring effectiveness of measures.

Renewable energy technologies are constantly going through a phase of development and continuous improvement – as such the monitoring of such systems is critical to for the identification and quantification of performance parameters of the system. As renewable energy is dependent on natural sources of energy, it is essential to assess the potential of such sources in different locations and seasons. Thus monitoring of natural resources is essential to assess the potential of different technologies for different applications and locations. Monitoring of installed renewable energy systems is a tool useful for development, design verification, and defining operating and maintenance practices. Continuous monitoring of a system not only helps in quantifying the output of the system in different weather conditions but also helps in identifying deviations from normal operating parameters and thus react to any problems in time.

Energy monitoring for renewable energy technologies will help for development of new technologies as well as new applications, improve the utilization factor, and facilitate benchmarking, sizing, and selection. In the case of installations at remote locations, vital data about weather conditions that influence input energy and losses as well as parameters that affect the performance of the system should reach key personnel at the head office to enable them to make informed decisions to ensure the optimal management of the plant. Continuously monitoring component health helps to identify and resolve failure conditions and ensures maximum capacity utilization. Continuous monitoring using EcoAxis solution will lead to overall optimized costs of O&M, improved availability, performance, RoI and reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). EcoAxis’ CMV systems are presently used for monitoring of various concentrated solar thermal installations, biomass gasification systems, solar PV plants, and wind farms.

In the water and wastewater treatment industry, there is a continuous demand on OEMs, O&M operators, and plant owners to maximize output, both in terms of quantity and quality, to maintain process parameters at an optimum level, to achieve high availability, and to maximize plant life while reducing operating costs such as man-power, consumables, and energy. Highly complex and continuously evolving technologies in the field of water treatment (for municipal, industrial and medical purposes), effluent treatment including Zero Liquid Discharge, and sewage treatment add to the overall complexity. This necessitates continuous and aggressive management of operation and maintenance practices to realize high reliability of process equipment and low total cost of ownership of plants over several decades of plant usage.

EcoAxis' solution provides a decision support system through continuous monitoring that can integrate plant operations, consumables management, and maintenance processes to help generate information for data-driven decision making. An informed decision can thus lead to savings in operation and maintenance cost, improved life, and performance of the plant.

EcoAxis' solution
The lack of the right information to the right people at the right place and right time leaves plant managers and personnel struggling to meet these challenges. Expansive plants and geographically distributed plant locations only compound the challenges. A centralized on-line, real-time decision support system that can empower personnel with information on the device of their choice i.e. laptop, mobile phones, or tablets would help meet these challenges.

Such a system will involve:
Continuous monitoring of remote plant assets for real-time information on:

• Critical process parameters like pH, conductivity, ORP etc.
  • Productivity
  • Availability
  • Quality
• Continuous tracking of critical process parameters that help:
  • Identify and address deviations quickly
  • Track equipment health / condition to instill and manage predictive / condition-based maintenance
• Real-time reporting of KPI's like specific chemical consumption, energy consumptions that help keep track of operational effectiveness and performance
• Alerts for intimating plant users about critical plant conditions before they get out of hand.

The solution has been implemented in a number of applications including water and wastewater plants for municipal and industrial processes, effluent treatment, sewage treatment, chillers, cooling towers, and boilers. This solution also tracks critical parameters of water and wastewater treatment plant such as pH, conductivity, ORP, flow, pressure, pump run-hours, stoppages, chemical consumption etc. Monitoring of performance and maintenance on a minute-by-minute (or a second-by-second) basis, followed by managing the operation of the plant through advanced supervision and diagnostic tools helps reducing plant operating and maintenance costs.