ELITE research project

At the forefront of APM & IoT innovation

Improving production efficiency – together

Efficiency-optimized production Lines using industrial Internet of Things Enhancements, or ELITE, is a research project started by Ghent University that analyses possible efficiency improvements offered by IIoT-powered Asset Performance Management. INDEFF was invited to be one of the project partners because of its practical expertise with APM.

ELITE is an imec.icon research project funded by Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship and imec.

Making ground-breaking research happen

A number of well-placed sensors were placed in the production facilities of two INDEFF clients (Voeders Huys and Soubry) to measure fluid, temperature, vibration, alarms, etc. throughout the production process. That data is transferred to the research group for analysis, which will, in turn, serve as the foundation for an interpretative algorithm. In the end, the solution should be able to predict breakdowns based on sensor values of the machines in a production line.

INDEFF’s APM solution for SMEs

Most production SMEs could make good use of the insights provided by the Industrial Internet of Things, but simply cannot afford to install the necessary sensors or perform the required data analysis. That is why INDEFF is set to develop a low-cost, low-intrusive APM solution, based on this research project’s results. The solution will be able to predict technical issues, enable predictive maintenance and lower downtime.

“The Prediction Model” as our foundation

While INDEFF is crucial to the startup of Ghent University’s research project, the other industrial and academic partners will develop the algorithm that predicts when and why a production line will experience downtime. That algorithm is to be called “The Prediction Model”, and will analyze industrial data in real-time – without intrusive cables or large servers.

Goals

Assist and promote high-level research into the Internet of Things.
Install sensors and feed real data to kick start the ELITE research project.
Use the resulting analytics algorithm as a base for a low-cost SME APM solution.

Challenges

A dire lack of historical data and installed sensors.
Developing a cost-effective solution; due to the price of IoT sensors.

Results

A solid stream of real-life results to promote data-driven decision making.
The Prediction Model: a strong algorithm on which INDEFF can build an SME-ready APM solution.
Strengthen our partnership with AVEVA: the MES and APM platform INDEFF uses for its Smart Manufacturing solutions.