May 6, 2026
The shift to online monitoring of industrial assets is now well established. The promise of having access to data on machine health 24 hours a day, 7 days a week has brought unprecedented optimism to maintenance teams. However, this technological advancement has produced an unexpected and challenging side effect: a veritable tsunami of data and alarms.
How can a team efficiently manage thousands of daily notifications without getting overwhelmed by information? The answer lies not in more data, but in smarter data. And this is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) stops being a promise for the future and becomes an essential tool.
Historically, temperature monitoring of these bearings relied on occasional manual inspections using infrared thermometers. However, the environment inside the mill’s castles is harsh: hard-to-reach areas, the presence of coolant, humidity, and excessive heat.
This traditional model has critical flaws: the intermittent nature of the measurements creates “blind spots.” A lubrication failure or operational overload can raise a bearing’s temperature in just a few minutes, occurring precisely in the interval between one inspection round and the next. Furthermore, the lack of a continuous history prevents trend analysis, which is essential for identifying the onset of degradation before the damage becomes critical and the inspector’s safety is put at risk.
Rising temperatures can cause issues such as lubrication failures, oil contamination, or operational overloads. The key advantage of online monitoring via IoT is not just measurement, but drastically shortening response times.
With Tebe’s technology, we’ve moved from a reactive model to a management approach based on continuous data. Whereas with the conventional method, the technician must detect the heat, report it, and wait for a decision, IoT monitoring connects the data directly to the decision-maker.
Digital transformation puts control in the hands of the Integrated Operations Center (IOC). Through the IoTebe platform, operators can view the thermal behavior of each bearing in real time. At the slightest deviation from the trend, the system issues automatic alerts that can be viewed on management screens integrated into the IOC.
This allows the operator to take immediate action—such as adjusting the grinding load or checking the centralized lubrication system—before the critical temperature alarm is triggered. A practical example occurred at the São João Mill (USJ), where online monitoring in the mills detected abnormal heating right at the start of the harvest. The immediate, data-driven intervention prevented component failure and ensured uninterrupted milling without impacting the schedule.
Investing in smart thermal monitoring is a strategic asset management decision. By eliminating the need for manual measurements and preventing bearing failure, the plant reduces emergency maintenance costs (OPEX), extends the service life of bronze bearings, and ensures employee safety.
In the sugar and ethanol industry, where every hour of milling is critical, Tebe positions itself as the technology partner that turns data into operational reliability, ensuring a high-performance harvest and maximum safety.
