How to use digital twin for predictive maintenance

Those who work in the field of Facility Management are well aware of the importance of having reliable and always up-to-date data on resources behavior. It certainly helps to plan the most appropriate maintenance strategies.

The key to successfully achieving this goal is digital twin technology.

If you want to experience the potential of so-called “digital twins” in maintenance, try digital twin software now! Start creating virtual copies of your assets with this system. Finding out how easy it is to get the real-time information you need to optimize your maintenance processes.

Processes that you can make even more efficient by using facility management which helps you simplifying every task related to the management, maintenance and monitoring of your resources.

To disperse any doubt about the real potential of digital twins in maintenance, continue reading this article. Discovering all the advantages of this innovative and powerful combination.

What is the digital twin in maintenance

Digital twin means a simulated model with the ability to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. This in order to virtually recreate the physical and functional characteristics of a resource.

This model remains “connected” to the existing object’s entire life cycle in order to acquire relevant information in real time. This also allows users to interact with dynamic content, simulate hypothetical scenarios, performing various types of analysis. It truly offers the possibility to instantly viewing results on any platform (including devices which allow you to live experiences in virtual or augmented reality).

In the area of maintenance, digital twins are a powerful tool for monitoring resource performance providing reliable data, that helps facility managers make more informed decisions.

Their contribution is particularly significant in the field of predictive maintenance. Let’s try together to understand why.

Digital twin and maintenance

How Digital Twin Enables Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance is a type of maintenance aiming to intervene on a physical resource before it even stops working due to a fault. This approach minimizes unplanned downtime and avoids the risks of sudden operational disruptions.

One of the main challenges that predictive maintenance faces is the collection of reliable data on the operation of equipment.

With the support of digital twin technology, now, is possible to create a coherent flow of information between the real world and the virtual world.

Once properly configured, a digital twin allows you to monitor your physical counterpart in real time using intelligent sensors and record accurate data that is used to predict failures and implement the right maintenance strategies.

The relevant information can then flow directly from the real system to the corresponding virtual twin, which is able to automatically update itself on the status of the latest changes.

Intelligent sensors constantly monitor the condition of the equipment and identify every aspect related to its operation. If one of the components suffers a failure, the incident is immediately recorded in order to create a complete and exhaustive history of the behavior of the resource in question.

As data is collected, the digital twin becomes increasingly adept at spotting routines, patterns, and future trends that help predict when, how, and where the next failure will occur.

All this allows Facility Managers to play in advance formulating maintenance programs from time to time more accurate and consistent, capable of meeting the operational needs of each organization.

Predictive maintenance with Digital Twin

What are the advantages of a digital twin in maintenance

Using digital twins in maintenance involves a series of undoubted advantages that consist exactly in:

• improve the ability to interact with data in real time;
• ensure easy access to information;
• support collaboration and multi-user communication;
• ensure a more informed decision-making process;
• increase the operational efficiency of resources;
• ensure a regular monitoring of equipment;
• detect problems that may cause failures;
• assess potential risks and plan resolutions;
• reduce downtime and unplanned downtime;
• visualize and simulate complex 3D scenarios and/or operations;
• measure the impact of future changes;
• save on maintenance time and costs.

Challenges the digital twin in maintenance

There is no doubt that digital twins have the potential to revolutionize the maintenance industry for the better. There are, however, some important challenges still to be overcome.

The first concerns the lack of adequate resources on the part of some companies, which often do not have the necessary means to create, verify and connect digital twins to their assets.

The construction of these models is also particularly complex because it requires the ability to understand and analyze numerous aspects related to maintenance, including for example:

• the physical properties of the assets;
• the methods of failure of the equipment;
• potential degradation patterns;
• the assessment of risks and critical issues.

The advantages that derive from the implementation of digital twins in maintenance represent, however, an important incentive for overcoming any possible challenge. Follow, then, the tips I am going to illustrate and find out how to make the integration between digital twin and maintenance easier than ever.

How to integrate digital twin and maintenance

Digital twins are not just virtual models. They constitute real ecosystems that provide the interaction between different technologies. Given by IoT sensors, CAD files, BIM models, VR/AR devices and so on.

To integrate digital twin technology into maintenance, it is therefore important to have advanced software solutions that have the ability to keep all these elements together.

Using a suitable software solution for digital twins you can be sure of:

• make the most of your digital twins;
• analyze, simulate and optimize the performance of your resources;
• plan, monitor and manage each maintenance activity;
• view data and updates directly on the BIM models.

Try this system now to test all the benefits. And if you want to make your maintenance processes even more efficient and productive, rely on a Facility Management software, the only tool that integrates in a single platform the features you need to improve the management and maintenance of your equipment.