Tire manufacturer Michelin has long used predictive maintenance tools to head off equipment failures, but the company recently upped its game by implementing cutting-edge robotics at its factory in Lexington, South Carolina. Managers there are using Boston Dynamics’ autonomous mobile robot (AMR) “Spot” to speed and streamline the inspection and maintenance processes—a move that is boosting productivity at the Lexington facility and for the company at large.
“Getting ahead of equipment failures is important, because it affects our production output,” Ryan Burns, an associate in the facility’s reliability and methods department, said in a case study describing the project. “If we can predict a failure and we can plan and schedule the work to fix the issue before it becomes an unplanned breakdown, then we’re able to increase our output as a company and a tire producer.”
MORE—AND BETTER—INSPECTIONS
Spot is a versatile quadruped AMR that can automate sensing and inspection tasks, and capture data—all while moving freely throughout a facility. The robot is being used around the world for maintenance-related functions, such as detecting mechanical problems and monitoring equipment for energy efficiency. At the Michelin plant, managers began by assigning Spot to inspect machinery in its tire verification (TV) area—taking over tasks previously done by in-house technicians as well as conducting additional inspections. Spot identifies issues and problems, and then conveys that information through its software program, called Orbit, which managers can access via an on-site server. From there, managers can sort through the data to detect anomalies and set alarm thresholds that will trigger a technician’s response.
“From a technician standpoint, Spot going out and doing these routes eliminates a mundane task that the humans were doing,” said Burns. “By Spot finding these anomalies and these issues, it gives the technicians more time to … [decide] how and when they’re going to fix the problem versus going out, identifying [the issue], then trying to plan and schedule everything.”
FEWER BREAKDOWNS, MORE PRODUCTIVITY
The results have been game-changing, according to Burns and his colleague Wayne Pender, the tech methods and reliability manager at the Lexington plant. As of this past fall, Spot was running seven inspection missions in the TV area, scanning about 350 points across 700 assets to detect anomalies ahead of time. The results helped generate 72 work orders in Michelin’s system—allowing the facility to avoid uncontrolled breakdowns and major production losses, according to Pender. On top of that, Spot had generated 66 air-leak work orders, identifying areas where Michelin can reduce energy consumption.
Looking ahead, the plan is to apply Spot’s talents beyond the TV area to the rest of the facility.
“Spot is a member of our maintenance team,” Burns said. “The future is to have more Spots, so that we can improve on our inspections and improve our overall output as a company here at [Lexington].”
Pender agrees: “We see Spot [as] the future. … [But] we probably need a whole dog pound or multiple Spots … to actually do what we need to do [across all of Michelin’s North American facilities].”
