An industrial asset, its reliability and maintenance are presented in this section.
Industrial Asset
Industrial assets considered here are defined in a narrow sense as equipment deployed by the industry to convert inputs to outputs which can be then marketed by the industry as goods or services.
Industries in the fields of mining – minerals, diamonds etc., transportation – space, airlines, bus, railways, shipping, automobiles, trucking etc., manufacturing – automobiles, tools, equipment, instruments, electronics, etc., construction – roads, buildings, stadiums, dams, bridges etc., production – chemicals, metals, pharmaceuticals, petroleum etc. can be considered under the above categories. Equipment used in these industries will fall under the definition of industrial assets considered here.
Industrial assets can be specialised, tailor made for specific operations or general which can be used in multiple industries. Some examples of industrial assets in different types of industries are provided in Table 1. These contain equipment used for specific and general purposes.
Table 1. Examples of industrial assets
Sl. No. | Industry | Some Equipment |
1 | Mining | Excavators, loaders, dumpers, draglines, shovels, rigs |
2 | Manufacturing | Lathes, milling, drilling, boring, shaping machines |
3 | Power Plant | Generators, boilers, turbines, coal handling, transportation and disposal equipment |
4 | Power Transmission | Cabling, transmission line towers, transformers |
5 | Iron and Steel Industry | Raw materials handling, coke ovens, sintering machines, pelletising machines, blast furnaces, steel making facilities, casting facilities, rolling facilities |
6 | Transport | Aircraft, ships, trains, buses, automobiles, bikes, trucks |
7 | Defence | Armour, tanks, battleships, aircraft |
8 | Communication Networks | Cables, nodes, hardware, software |
Such equipment comprises systems such as mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, electronic, computers, instrumentation, telecommunications etc. A single system can contain sub-systems, assemblies, sub-assemblies and components. A typical example of industrial equipment along with its sub-systems, assemblies and components is given in Table 2.
Table 2. Industrial equipment electric overhead travelling crane
Sl. No. | Systems | Sub-Systems | Assemblies/Components |
1 | Mechanical | Long Travel Assembly | Gearbox, Brake, Drive Wheel Assembly, Non-Drive Wheel Assembly, Floating Shaft Assembly |
| | Cross Travel Assembly | Gearbox, Brake, Drive Wheel Assembly, Non-Drive Wheel Assembly, Floating Shaft Assembly |
| | Main Hoist Assembly | Drum Assembly, Brake Assembly, Hook Assembly, Ropes |
| | Auxiliary Hoist Assembly | Drum Assembly, Brake Assembly, Hook Assembly, Ropes |
2 | Electrical | LT Electrics, CT Electrics, MH Electrics, Current Collector Assembly | Motors, Cables, Electrical Panels, Switches |
3 | Structural | LT Girder Assembly, CT Trolley Assembly, MH Platform Assembly | Long Travel Girder, Cross Travel Frame, End Carriage, Balancer Body |
This equipment is usually employed for a lifetime and is a complex system which is repairable.