What Is Operational Monitoring?
Operational monitoring is a system that gathers information on the operational status of production facilities to proactively predict abnormalities. It’s utilized not only for tracking the operation, stoppages, and anomalies of production facilities but also for factory visualization by monitoring a factory’s production performance.
Traditionally, abnormality detection was performed manually by setting threshold values and rules. However, with the advent of advanced systems, including commercial services such as 5th generation mobile communication systems (5G) and the “Internet of Things (IoT),” the volume and complexity of information have significantly increased, often exceeding human capabilities.
Moreover, analyzing the collected data requires a high level of expertise, and there is a shortage of skilled personnel in this area.
Operational monitoring addresses these challenges by integrating equipment and software into a comprehensive system, thus broadening the monitoring scope and enabling sophisticated data analysis for accurate decision-making.
Introducing Operational Monitoring
Operational monitoring is crucial for minimizing damage to active systems in case of database or application server issues. It continuously runs to preemptively address resource shortages caused by unexpected access.
Without such monitoring, system administrators might delay in detecting server failures, leading to insufficient resource allocation. The overwhelming volume of information could also hinder timely problem resolution, increasing the risk of system inaccessibility and customer complaints.
For example, operational monitoring has been adopted as a facility monitoring system. This system allows checking the status of stacked indicator lights and warning lights on production equipment without manual intervention. A device placed over the indicator lights can function as an IoT solution when connected to a gateway or relay device. Some models require no wiring or power supply, enabling monitoring by simply attaching a light-collecting lens to the indicator light.
Operational Monitoring and Visualization
Incorporating operational monitoring enables visualization of production levels and the operational status of facilities. This allows for real-time tracking of production numbers and quick identification of issues such as facility utilization rates and stoppages.
Additionally, when implementing or expanding operational monitoring, IoT sensors can be installed concurrently at a lower cost. Effective use of operational monitoring and visualization ensures proactive equipment maintenance and availability of necessary parts.