An initiative to find new methods of damage prevention to industrial assets has resulted in one of Poland’s leading insurance companies, ERGO Hestia selecting ABB AbilityTM Smart Sensors. The smart sensors are used for monitoring motors where failures can cause serious asset damage and long-term downtime.
ERGO Hestia is committed to innovation in insurance coverage and risk management and was one of the first insurers in Poland to employ risk engineers. Their main task is to support customers in improving safety, while limiting the loss potential.
"Recently, we started intensive work on new methods of loss prevention," says Zbigniew Żyra, head of Hestia Loss Control, an engineering company in the ERGO Hestia Group. "We have chosen the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which provides unlimited possibilities in collecting, sending and analyzing data that may indicate any upcoming breakdown.”
The insurer has concentrated on finding the most effective solution for monitoring those motors where failure would lead to significant downtime and loss of revenue for the customer. The preferred solution is the ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor which attaches wirelessly to a motor and monitors its health and performance.
As emphasized by Zbigniew Żyra, the insurer appreciates ABB’s technological background, its ability to monitor motors from various manufacturers, and the local service support. “ABB is our key technology partner in terms of loss prevention. The company does not “rest on their laurels” and is constantly providing new devices and solutions – recently it has introduced sensors for pump and bearing monitoring, which will be offered to our clients soon.”
The ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor turns a traditional motor into a smart, wirelessly connected device. The smart sensors are attached, without any wiring, to the outer casing of the motors. The sensors then track motor health and operating parameters, such as speed, vibration levels, temperature, supply frequency, number of starts, operating time and output power, which is then analyzed via a secure cloud service. If any of the parameters deviate from the norm, the system informs the operator, who can react to remedy the issue before it can create a problem.
“We have been offering the ABB Ability™ Smart Sensor system to our clients in the form of a test for a couple of months now,” explains Hubert Karpiński, Project Manager responsible for IoT preventive systems in ERGO Hestia. “We have collected all suggestions and remarks, which should help refine the offered solution – our client’s feedback has been, so far, quite positive, even enthusiastic.”
“The ERGO Hestia team is well prepared to enter the market with a commercial offer. Together with its engineering team, we have been working closely on the best way to monitor motors, pumps and bearing casings,” says Aleksander Knop from ABB Motion in Poland. “We are glad to assist in implementing digital technologies which may safeguard companies from unnecessary losses. This is particularly important in the current difficult economic situation.
ABB has developed the ABB Ability™ Digital Powertrain platform, which monitors the complete powertrain, including motors, drives and applications such as pumps with the use of IoT technology.
ERGO Hestia Group is a pioneer in terms of the most innovative solutions on the insurance market. For almost 30 years it has been a trusted and reliable partner, offering top quality insurance products and services. Every year it provides insurance coverage to over 3 million individual clients and hundreds of thousands of companies.
ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 110,000 talented employees in over 100 countries. www.abb.com
