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Machine learning for machine uptime

1 hour Finnish aggregate equipment manufacturer Metso has announced new AI features for its support software that will, it says, predict maintenance needs and reduce downtime. But customers may have concerns about how the data needed is saved and how it will be shared.

Machine learning could help spot crusher maintenance needs

Machine learning systems, often marketed as ‘artificial intelligence’ or AI, can be used to identify hard-to-spot patterns. They are typically understood to be more useful, the more data is available to them. With the right on-board sensors, an approach like this may allow early indicators of wear—or combinations of these—to be identified sooner. Systems can be retrained as new data is available, potentially improving their performance.

The service analyzes live machine data and combines it with Metso’s OEM knowledge, delivering, Metso says, reliable recommendations directly through its digital platform. Predictive recommendations are immediately available for machines with existing Metso Metrics connectivity hardware. Convenient upgrade kits are available for older machines.  

Announcing the launch, as part of a broader upgrade to its digital offering, Jaakko Huhtapelto, VP, technology and digital business of aggregates at Metso, said, “By combining proven digital technologies with decades of Metso crushing and screening expertise, we can make equipment easier to operate, maintain, and optimise.”

The launch was announced at ConExpo, currently taking place in the USA. The country is famous for its enthusiasm for litigation, and adoption of data loggers by European manufacturers in the 2000s met with fierce resistance from US equipment owners, concerned that irrelevant data, potentially misleading to juries, could be shared with rival parties, increasing their legal risk.

In a world where data is fuel, owners will want to know how this resource will be held and shared. And since the adoption of data loggers, new EU rules on personal and employee privacy could further compound the challenges. We have approached Metso for comment.

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