In the past, the term “Machine Health Monitoring” implied a set of activities performed on a machine to maintain its operability. Monitoring, maintenance, and repair actions were limited to the observation of the current state of the machine. There have been huge improvements since then and machine health monitoring today is being augmented with a prediction of future operating states and predictive diagnosis of future failure states.
The era of the internet of things and wireless technology is pushing more and more industries to use machine health monitoring equipment to add value to their products. In 2017, the number of devices connected to the internet increased by 31% reaching 8.1 billion and is expected to reach 50 billion in the next two years. According to a recent report published by MarketsandMarkets, the market worth of Machine Health Monitoring Equipment (MHME) is expected to reach USD 4.47 Billion by 2023 from the recorded USD 3.02 Billion in 2017.
So, what could be driving this growth?
Digital device connectivity is changing physical environments but is certainly not the only reason behind driving this huge market growth for MHME’s. Currently, new technologies that reduce the need for actual sensing on the equipment also make health monitoring equipment more usable and affordable. For example, Michael Rubinstein, Senior research scientist at Google is developing “Motion Microscope”, a software that can sense motion and temperatures with the use of a simple video camera and a smart software reducing further the cost of monitoring. As a result, industries that were refraining from investing in health monitoring devices because of the associated high costs, are now working towards implementing this system. Other motives for greater market growth of health monitoring devices are driven by the need for innovation and inevitability to provide customers with improved solutions and value-adds.
Factors that will drive success for companies willing to develop MHME internally
From a development perspective, process may sound extremely straightforward – set a device (that can be found in the market) that monitors and transmits operational data from sensors in an equipment, implement a software that analyzes the data and sends timely alerts to the company and finally, use that data to maintain the device and further improve product efficiencies. However, from an execution for profitability standpoint, product roadmap may not be as smooth as envisioned by most companies.
Success for a company interested in adding MHME to their current equipment is based, not only on the knowledge of their own equipment but also in their expertise in the implementation of a process in a systems environment perspective.
That being said, if the intellectual property of the MHME being developed is part of the company’s intellectual property, it’s easier to integrate a new technology internally. For example, automotive companies developing a car remote monitoring system are trying to build a new technology for their existing product based on their industry expertise and knowledge to effectively monitor car’s performance. However, this may not be true for some other industries. For example, companies such as those involved in the energy sector may have needs that go above and beyond the knowledge of their power supply devices. Implementation for them is more likely to call for specific operation site conditions, multiple operators, improved network management and a lot more which could be totally outside the confines of developing a power supply system.
Taking into consideration the above market trends, introducing an MHME to your existing product line should be done in a much smarter way to accelerate product delivery and minimize complexities.
An MHME not only requires a high level of integration with the equipment but also expertise in data management, ensuring correct integration between the software and hardware, cyber security management to protect intellectual property, error management and most importantly, the ability to analyze data based on model integration and base model methodologies. For this reason, companies that are considering to equip their products with MHME’s must focus their efforts on partnering with engineering supplier companies that have the capacity to build and integrate MHME’s with their existing products.
Accelerate your product delivery roadmap
Ideal companies for this process are turn-key product development firms. It’s not just about creating a new technologically advanced equipment, it’s also about the equipment’s smooth and smart functioning without adding any extra work for the operating team while adding value to the business. To build devices such as the MHME’s, it’s always benefitting to work with companies that develop products for regulated sectors such as the Aerospace and Medical Devices as these are highly integrated to meet industry regulations and standards and have the ability to deliver in highly complex environments. More so, products developed in such an environment function efficiently and have fewer conflicts with the process in operation.
Most turn-key product development firms work on model-based systems engineering which makes them highly vertically integrated and 100% focused on customer needs. These companies build their products in a highly regulated environment and for that reason, they follow stricter engineering standards and quality management systems which result in correct integration of new technologies. Products developed in such a framework also get the desired consistency throughout the development process.
Are you looking to develop an MHME for your existing product?
Market trend in the use of health monitoring devices is snowballing and so is the technological advancement to simplify monitoring. Hence, it’s important for companies to select the right product development partner to correctly and accurately implement solutions for you while you focus 100% on your own business IP development. At Aversan, we help our clients identify opportunities and propose product ideas. With our expertise in highly regulated industries such as Aerospace, Rail and Transportation and Medical Devices, we support full delivery and certification of products from requirements definition and system analysis all the way to manufacturing, maintenance, and long-term support.
If you’re considering developing an MHME for your existing product, get in touch with us to learn more about our capabilities and how we can help you develop products that contribute to your bottom line.