In this day and age of rapidly changing technology, remote data acquisition is emerging as the solution for manufacturing companies in their quest to implement increased efficiency and cost effective practices. This technology is designed to monitor, collect, and report on the condition of unattended equipment at remote or inaccessible locations.
Now, more than ever, management scrutinizes manufacturing processes in today''s cost-conscious business world. Managers need to analyze critical equipment operating parameters and optimize exactly when, where, and why predictive maintenance activities should be scheduled before costly problems occur. Implementing a remote monitoring plan is a move toward establishing a proactive maintenance methodology, rather than a reactive approach. These processes reduce equipment downtime and improve efficiencies, increasing production. By being proactive, there is a shift from preventive to predictive maintenance. Instead of inspecting or repairing equipment at specific time intervals, repairs are scheduled in accordance with equipment condition. With the help of remote monitoring, repairs can be performed faster because problems can be predicted.
Enter Gems Sensors Inc., headquartered in Plainville, CT. It has developed the Messenger™ Equipment Condition Monitoring system that reduces maintenance costs, minimizes unscheduled downtime, maximizes production efficiency, generates key data required for predictive maintenance, and optimizes maintenance schedules. Gems developed this innovative, integrated remote monitoring system to address these issues and enable users to monitor and manage conditions and implement solutions that are efficient and cost effective.
The Gems'' Messenger™ Series of products offers an integrated assemblage of hardware and software that make up the latest in affordable state-of-the-art remote monitoring. This system includes the Messenger™ 560 and 570 Remote Monitoring Units; Windows-based MessengerWare™ for single-site users; and browser-based MessengerNet™ for multiple users.
The Messenger™ 560 and 570 Remote Monitoring Units can communicate in data, voice, and fax modes and feature multimedia alarm dialout capabilities and a wide range of I/O options. Ideal for equipment condition monitoring applications, the Messenger™ Series monitors critical machine conditions, such as vibration, temperature, and pressure parameters, to analyze equipment efficiency and determine when preventive maintenance should be scheduled before expensive downtime impacts a facility.
Software technologies can often be the glue that holds an integrated system together. Gems MessengerWare™ software and MessengerNet™ web-based packages both automatically collect data and track performance from multiple remote sites, chart monitored conditions in real time, and provide on-screen alarm reporting straight to a desktop computer. Moreover, the MessengerWare™ software generates and stores alarm, trending, and min/max/average reports.
Together, the Messenger™ Series of products and services offer a complete wireless remote monitoring system that acquires, records, and delivers real time measurement data to users via the Web, phone, pager, or fax. An open system, compatible with any Gems sensor and other sensors, Messenger™ is designed to track and report on equipment conditions at multiple remote and unattended locations. This technology can be used in a wide range of applications, including equipment condition monitoring on industrial controls, compressors, pumps, rotating equipment, motors, and generators.
Remote monitoring has emerged as a leading contributor to increased efficiency for manufacturers and is a true cost saving technology. With the help of remote monitoring, you can reduce maintenance costs, minimize unscheduled downtime, maximize production efficiency, generate key data, and optimize maintenance schedules because equipment condition can be predicted.