Research and Development Unit for Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Funder

Organizational Unit

Publications

Integrating TPM and Industry 4.0 to Increase the Availability of Industrial Assets: A Case Study on a Conveyor Belt

Publication . Mendes, David; Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Charrua-Santos, Fernando; Navas, Helena

As the global market becomes increasingly competitive and demanding, companies face the challenge of responding swiftly and efficiently to customer needs. To maintain a competitive advantage, organisations must optimise the usage of their assets. This study focuses on the critical role of maintenance management and presents a novel, cost-effective, and easily applicable model that integrates Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) principles to enhance production processes. The proposed model incorporates a real-time monitoring system equipped with sensors, a gateway, and Internet of Things (IoT) services. These components enable data acquisition, transmission, storage, and visualisation through both mobile and fixed devices. The model’s effectiveness was validated through its implementation on a conveyor belt in a feed mill. The availability of the conveyor belt was around 89.5% before TPM implementation. After the implementation of TPM, it was possible to observe that the availability of the treadmill increased to 92.7% in a workweek of 105 h. On the other hand, it was possible to observe a considerable improvement in terms of the average time of each intervention, with a reduction of around 53%. Moreover, the model also facilitated improvements in the maintenance plan for the conveyor belt. Operators were trained to effortlessly comply with the new autonomous maintenance plan, enhancing operational efficiency. The joint application of I4.0 and TPM demonstrated significant advancements in maintenance management. The flexibility of the developed model allows for easy adaptation to monitor other condition parameters, enabling real-time decision-making for both the maintenance and production departments. This integrated approach holds the potential to drive process optimisation, ultimately contributing to improved productivity, cost-effectiveness, and competitiveness.

2023Journal article

Open access

Enhanced Real-Time Maintenance Management Model - A Step toward Industry 4.0 through Lean: Conveyor Belt Operation Case Study

Publication . Mendes, David; Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Charrua-Santos, Fernando; Navas, Helena V. G.

Conveyor belts (CBs) are widely used for the continuous transport of bulk materials. CBs must be extremely reliable due to the cost associated with their failure in continuous production systems. Thus, it is highly relevant in terms of maintenance and planning to find solutions to reduce the existing stoppages from these assets. In this sense, it is essential to monitor and collect real-time data from this piece of equipment. This work presents a case study, where a model that combines the Lean Philosophy, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), and the enabling technologies of Industry 4.0 is applied to a CB. The proposed model monitors the CB and provides data on its operation, which, using the calculation of indicators, allows a more accurate and thorough view and evaluation, contributing to improving and supporting decision making by those responsible for maintenance. The data collected by the sensor help those responsible for maintenance and production, in the readjustment of more accurate and optimized planning, programming, and execution, supporting decision making in these areas. During the field test of a two-hour monitoring period (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.), the model identified six stoppages, resulting in approximately 88.6% of operational time for the conveyor. The field test showed that this model can result in more accurate maintenance decision making than conventional approaches. This research also contributes to the advancement of electronics and industrial automation sectors by empowering companies to transform maintenance methodologies. The potential of this approach and its implications for enhanced productivity and overall performance are therefore highlighted.

2023Journal article

Open access

Life-Cycle Assessment of Dairy Products - Case Study of Regional Cheese Produced in Portugal

Publication . Nunes, Óscar Soares; Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Nunes, José; Quinteiro, Paula; Dias, Ana Cláudia; Godina, Radu

Nowadays, there is a growing promotion to label products ecologically in European markets. Knowing that daily products have relevant environmental impact associated with their production, it is of utmost importance to analyse all the related production processes for a better understanding of each process impact. The present study analysed the potential environmental impacts of a Portuguese regional product, the Beira Baixa cheese, coming from the largest national sheep milk region. So, a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used from -cradle-to -gate, including the supplying of the animal feedstock. Impact calculations are performed using the ReCiPe midpoint 2008 method, allowing an analysis of the environmental impacts contributing to climate change, terrestrial acidification, freshwater and marine eutrophication of all productive processes. The results have shown that the greatest impacts occur within the milk production process for all four selected impact categories. This happens mainly due to the fodder cultivation process, also necessary to produce animal feed, which contain processes of fertilization and land preparation. The enteric fermentation and manure management processes have also shown relevant contributions. The impact assessment also showed that the cheesemaking industry has practically insignificant impacts. Nonetheless, the cheesemaking industry can promote their business with these results, by advertising and marketing their product as environmentally friendly, with production processes causing reduced impacts, and therefore also their products.

2020-09-18Journal article

Open access

Influence of Orchard Cultural Practices during the Productive Process of Cherries through Life Cycle Assessment

Publication . Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Godina, Radu; Barrau, Rui

This study describes the influence of orchard cultural practices during the productive process of cherries on the environmental impact in terms of energy, air, soil and water through a “farm to market” Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The results were used to identify the orchard cultural practices that contribute significantly to the environmental impact and to find solutions to reduce those impacts, serving as best practices guide to improving the environmental performance and as benchmarks for other national and international cherry and fruit growers. Primary data for production, harvest and post-harvest periods were gathered experimentally. The openLCA 1.10.2 software and the ecoinvent 3.5 database were used for modelling. Test case scenarios are modelled to identify the influence of cultural practices in low and high cherry production campaigns depending on climatic conditions and consequently diseases and plagues. Moreover, results are compared with other studies, not only covering cherries but also other fruits. The energy consumption per hectare in the production phase is similar in test scenarios. The energy consumption of orchard cultural practices related to tractor use, fertilizers and fungicides application are the main hotspots in terms of global warming, freshwater ecotoxicity and eutrophication, and terrestrial acidification. The use of electric vehicles, change the warehouse location or redefine transportation routes can reduce this impact, along with the optimization of the cherry’s quantity transported in each trip. In addition, the use of plant protection products, fertilizers and herbicides with less environmental impact will contribute to this objective. For that, the use of agriculture and precision systems to predict the need for fertilizers (nutrients), herbicides and fungicides, the use of decision support systems to define the dates of cultural practices, as well as innovative and emerging food and by-products processing methods are suggested. Thus, this study identifies and quantifies the environmental impacts associated with the production system of cherries and their main hotspots. It provides a best-practices guide for sustainable solutions in orchard management that contributes to the competitiveness and sustainability of fruit companies.

2021Journal article

Open access