Real-Time Diagnostics, Prognostics and Health Management for Large-Scale Manufacturing Maintenance Systems

Traditional technologies emphasize either experience or model-based approaches to the Diagnostics, Prognostics & Health Management (DPHM) problem. However, most of these methodologies often apply only to the narrow type of machines that they were developed for, and only support strategic level assessments as opposed to real-time tactical decisions. By enabling widespread integration of diagnostics and prognostics into our manufacturing business processes, we have reduced spacio-temporal uncertainties associated with future states and system performance and therefore enabled more informed and effective decisions on manufacturing activities. For large-scale systems, the usual approach is to aggregate multidimensional data into a single-dimensional stream. These methods are generally adequate to extract key performance indicators. However, they only point to observable effects of a failure and not to their root causes. An integrated framework for DPHM requires the availability of bidirectional cause-effect relationships that enable system-wide health management rather than just predicting what its future state would be. This paper summarizes best practices, benchmarks, and lessons learned from the design, development, deployment, and execution of DPHM systems into real-life applications in the automotive industry.