Customer: EU (GROWTH programme)- University of Stuttgart

Duration: April 2001 – March 2004

MINICON aims to apply cost-effective operation monitoring and maintenance to small elements of industrial facilities (i.e. machine tools) and civil infrastructure (i.e. elevators and escalators), ensuring efficiency and reliability of their operation, and to support occupational health and safety and environmental protection, by minimising accident risk of these installations. Also, by introducing flexibility, self-configuration capability, improved performance and knowledge-based modules to the monitoring sensors, it helps to optimise the overall production and life-cycle of the relevant machinery.
Furthermore, by developing a new remote maintenance Management Scheme for these installations, that makes use of actual service data and is based on continuously monitoring structural integrity and prognosing relevant damage, MINICON intends to drastically reduce the relevant maintenance costs. At the same time, MINICON will expand the structure and facilities life and optimal operation thus minimising the associated energy consumption. As such, it addresses directly the targeted research action “Infrastructure: Safe and cost-effective industrial facilities, construction and civil infrastructures” by enhancing the efficiency, safety and reliability aspects of both industrial facilities and industrial and civil buildings and infrastructure through developing a new innovative condition monitoring system and maintenance management scheme to improve both operation and maintenance.

Role of TREDIT:
– Application of ICA methodology to select the optimum system parameters
– Development of software to define the system reliability levels
– Design of GUI for novice and experienced users
– Cost-benefit analysis