Condition Based Monitoring
Focused on improving engineering reliability and protecting critical assets.
Protect Your Business-Critical Assets with Condition-based Monitoring
Since 2004, engineering reliability team has been delivering total asset management solutions, using our own condition-based monitoring technology, to a wide-range of industry sectors from aggregates to water.
Our range of condition-based-monitoring (CBM) solutions help our customers to be able to approach maintenance of critical assets in a more proactive way, avoiding costle breakdowns and unplanned downtime.
SERVICES
Vibration Analysis
Our engineers are fully trained in vibration analysis and hold the BINDT Category 2 Vibration Analyst qualification (or higher). During a vibration survey, readings are taken, and data stored on our Machine Sentry web-based platform. This forms the basis of a comprehensive report made available on completion.
Thermal Imaging
We use the latest infrared (IR) thermography camera technology to detect fluctuations in temperature that could indicate potential problems. Thermal imaging is an extremely powerful method of monitoring and troubleshooting electrical, mechanical and structural systems which may have problems that remain undetected using standard visual inspection and diagnostic techniques.
Ultrasound Inspections
Ultrasonic testing in one of the most reliable tools in providing early warning of developing bearing failure and detects earlier than temperature rises or an increase in low frequency vibration levels. All of our ultrasound equipment is serviced and calibrated on an annual basis ensuring that we maintain the highest level of accuracy.
Dynamic & Static Motor Testing
Our dynamic & static motor resting service, which includes electrical signature analysis, is integral to maintaining production and efficiency, and ensuring safety in a huge variety of industries. The instruments that we use go beyond conventional methods to guarantee that testing your motor is safe, easy and dependable.
Motion Amplification
We provide a condition-based-monitoring (CBM) support service using Motion amplification is a video-processing methods that detects even the most subtle motion and amplifies it to a level visible to the naked eye. The process decodes light to pull out information that is indicative of motion even if that motion is too small for the camera to detect with normal methods.
The 5 Benefits of Condition-based Monitoring
Condition-based monitoring is the process of extracting and analysing data produced by machinery, to enable a more proactive approach to maintenance. Sensors are often used to monitor parameters such as vibration and heat, with this data being transferred to a computer/ mobile program where it can be interpreted and acted upon. It’s a concept that has been accelerated by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) which harnesses the power of interconnected digital technology to inform maintenance programmes.
While it’s true that modern electric motors, bearings and pumps etc., are more reliable than ever, properly maintained assets will perform better for longer. Predictive maintenance, enabled by condition monitoring, reduces the frequency of failures resulting in repairs being needed or replacement components and equipment having to be purchased and commissioned. This reactive approach to maintenance is often the costliest, with maintenance being carried-out against a backdrop of pressure to promptly get production lines back up and running. Sometimes underestimated costs in this situation include overtime or unsociable hourly rates for staff fixing the problem, expediated delivery charges, and the high call-out charges of third-party service providers (e.g., mobile hydraulic hose repairers).
A preventative maintenance programme stipulates components and machinery are simply replaced for new after a certain amount of time (e.g., often between 30 40000 hours for a modern electric motor), regardless of condition. This too is an approach that can come with high costs that are sometimes unnecessary. Instead, by harnessing data-led insight to guide, shape and prioritise your maintenance activity, condition monitoring can improve the service life of machinery, improving your ROI across the plant.
Identifying trends, weak points, and being alerted to equipment operating outside of its normal constraints by way of temperature or vibration signature, carries with it a major benefit of reducing the risks associated with unanticipated mechanical failure. Unplanned stoppages can lead to all manner of issues for our customers. Revenue is hit with production being lost with every passing hour in manufacturing environments and sometimes hefty penalties can be issued for non-delivery of contractual obligations, particularly in aggregates and building materials industry sectors. Tackling issues before they manifest into something more damaging is what condition-based monitoring is all about.
As condition monitoring technologies are able to alert relevant personnel on-site before a fault develops into something more damaging, businesses are able to improve overall productivity. Improving the availability of machinery by carrying-out smaller maintenance tasks throughout its service life and avoiding larger problems from occurring, means that machinery is able to perform reliably for longer and production capacity is increased. Staff working around the plant are able to be more productive too, with fewer mechanical issues affecting their output.
A data-led maintenance programme also enables more accurate production plans to be created, as the predictive power of a condition monitoring solution is realised. Better-informed production plans lead to more precise delivery estimates, resulting in happier customers.
Both reactive and planned maintenance activities consume your maintenance resource. No matter the size of your maintenance team, the time and energy of those staff is wasted just as much in both unplanned breakdown and diarised stoppage scenarios. Using condition-based monitoring will enable your maintenance team to focus their efforts on the areas of the plant that need attention prior to failure, rather than simply on what has already failed or what may not be anywhere near experiencing issues.
Due to the invasive nature of some maintenance tasks, Maintenance Induced Failure (MIF) is also a risk associated with planned maintenance that can be avoided by Maintenance Engineers not devoting time to unnecessary activities.
Another core benefit that I want to cover here is that condition-based monitoring helps to improve the overall safety of personnel working on site. Sensors detect changes that are indicative of developing faults, allowing action to be taken before the problem has the potential to cause a risk to workers. For instance, serious mechanical failure can present all manner of health and safety risks depending on the application. Disassembly of fasteners threatening machine integrity, debris creation and the unintentional release of toxic substances are all potential risks in certain applications that can be avoided by monitoring parameters such as vibration and thermal variation
Contact Us Today
Whatever your project, we are here to provide fast, effective engineering solutions. Our specialist technical staff are happy to discuss any reactive or planned requirements you may have. We can inspect CAD drawings and files through to undertaking on-site visual inspections.