While the overall industrial growth market has been in Asia's favor for a number of years, revenues for machine safety components have been consistently led by American industries for some time. Now, the economic leader in the $3.4 billion market of machine safety is changing tides to Asia, primarily China and Japan.

In 2012, the U.S. market accounted for 21 percent of total machine safety revenue, while Asia was close behind at 20 percent. Asia is now expected to surpass America's lead later this year. The change in the market somewhat reflects the safety proceedings that are still exercised in Asia. Simple and cheap safety components are still the norm for countries like China, and core safety standards haven't even been established yet. This means that while Asia could have the edge on the market, that doesn't primarily mean their equipment is safer.

The machine safety industry is focused on providing the most secure environments for process facilities, power plants and for employees in general. It's also crucial for other industries across the board, because faulty equipment or a lack of predictive maintenance will result in manufacturing downtime.

Tips for minimizing equipment downtime
The disadvantages of equipment downtime are easy to explain. If appliances or hardware is deemed faulty, production is halted. When production is paused, employees can't work and that means a hiatus for profit. Here are a few ways to decrease equipment downtime and remain productive:

• Predictive maintenance: Constantly monitor the condition of equipment to be prepared when actual maintenance needs to occur. This will help increase longevity of equipment and prevent accidents from occurring.
• Clarify downtime to employees: Being honest about why any downtime is occurring will help employees feel informed and know what to look out for in the future. It also provides them an opportunity to let decision-makers know how they feel downtime can be minimized.
• Monitor overall equipment effectiveness: See where downtime is frequent for equipment and focus on improving that specific area. Set goals to decrease inactivity and benchmark your progress.

Prevent unplanned downtime of critical assets by using Scanimetrics equipment condition monitoring solutions.