Understanding The Necessity For Condition Monitoring
Condition monitoring is the system of surveilling plant machinery with the intent of predicting any equipment fault or failure ahead of time. It is a major part of the different processes that encompass predictive maintenance, and it provides the opportunity for machinery maintenance professionals to be proactive rather than reactive with regard to machinery breakdown. The need for this sort of proactive maintenance is due to the considerable loss of production time and profit that is set off by unplanned mechanical breakdown.
The main reason for the condition monitoring of plant machinery is to spot any equipment fault that could potentially lead to machine failure well ahead of time. By monitoring plant equipment on a regular schedule, plant engineers can obtain information on the condition and the health of the machinery. This is done by amassing data on important signs of machine condition such as metal wear, emissions of gasses, lubricants like oil, vibrations, temperature and noise. Plant engineers can then examine this data and the trends to isolate any deviations from benchmarks that can suggest forthcoming machine breakdown.
This method affords the opportunity for plant personnel to act before the breakdown actually occurs by scheduling maintenance, requisitioning any of the necessary parts for replacement or repairs. This kind of early action is a more cost effective approach than the reacting to the consequences of the equipment breaking abruptly and has the added advantage of prolonging the life of the machinery. In the long range, condition monitoring results in optimizing machine performance and decreases repair and maintenance costs.
Condition monitoring can be performed using online machine monitoring systems such as those that constantly collect data as the machine runs or by using offline systems that are either handheld or portable equipment that aid in collecting data. Online monitoring systems measure the necessary parameters with the help of an embedded tool such as a sensor or a scanner and the data collected are then sent to a main server for analysis. Offline systems comprise of a handheld measuring device that is intermittently used by a operator or a portable device that is permanently attached to the equipment to collect the data. Many companies offer condition monitoring services including on-site and off-site services. They can furnish your plant with the monitoring systems, sensors, scanners, alarms and the software necessary to analyze the data.
The processes used in predictive maintenance seek to predict the ideal cost-effective time to timetable maintenance; however, they are not capable of predicting actual equipment failure. This can be accomplished by the process of condition monitoring which can save you important production time and prevent costly repairs to your equipment.
About the Author
Enabling you to control the risk please visit condition monitoring and continuous monitoring. Thanks to Ashley G. Deaton for sharing his ideas on this topic.
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