A study into the role of Fuzzy logic systems in condition based maintenance for control of the pneumatic valve of bottle washer in beverage companies, specifically the Krones group of companies

Intelligent systems have greatly contributed in automating the process segments that includes the maintenance function in the manufacturing industries. The purpose of this research was to come up with an intelligent monitoring tool to reduce the number of breakdowns in Krones machinery. The objective of the research was motivated by considering Human Machine Interface (HMI) and automatic monitoring of the plant while in the office. The case of a local beverage manufacturer was used who has installed a bottle washer manufactured by the Krones. The Fuzzy Logic system was derived among other artificial intelligent systems as best appropriate in order to solve the breakdown challenges automatically. The bottle washer is complex so much that it is not easy to carry out a successful troubleshooting; for instance, the pneumatic valve could just stick and cause production to stop immediately. The researchers carried out a company audit, interviews and questionnaires in order to gather relevant data. The results of which were used in intelligent condition-based-maintenance modelling to solve the problem using fuzzy logic system. Matlab software was used as a means for data modelling and manipulation and the researchers recommended the use of this intelligent monitoring tool to all beverage manufacturers who have installed the krones machinery.