Predictive Maintenance, which is also known as conditioned based maintenance, is a maintenance strategy designed to prevent premature equipment failures and involves routine testing and trending. The intended goal is to locate developing issues before they can lead to a major, unplanned failure. PdM programs do not necessarily eliminate the need for some preventive measures but does propose that equipment not be removed and repaired when it isn’t broken which is the norm for a Preventative Maintenance or time based maintenance strategy.
A Predictive Maintenance strategy works best when it is initiated immediately after equipment commissioning but the sooner a base line of data is recorded the better the chances the program will succeed. Base line electrical and vibration data is essential for monitoring and trending the rate of deterioration as well as identifying issues that may lead to failure allowing the technician to make minor adjustments and repairs before they cause or become catastrophic failures. When a program is started after a facility has been in operation other technologies such as thermal imaging and ultrasonic recordings should also be included.
Successful PdM programs utilize as many technologies as possible. Each technology provides information that is unique and may define issues that are not captured by any other testing method. Often data collected from one technology will support other technologies making it important to have a “motor owner”, someone or small group that oversees all the data. Routine monitoring and trending is only as successful as the technician’s ability to comprehend the overall picture and that requires as much data as practical from as many technologies as possible.
A well designed and properly executed PdM program will virtually eliminate unscheduled down-time becoming a cost-saving mechanism as opposed to the prevailing attitude of maintenance being a cost center. Preventing one major failure by being able to see declining health issues easily pays for the cost of maintaining a robust PdM strategy. Locating weakness ahead of failure puts the technician in charge and allows for planning instead of reacting to a failure.
A maintenance strategy requires experience and knowledge and is often better left to a third-party provider. In most facilities routine preventative maintenance issues demand the full attention of maintenance personnel and collecting and diagnosing PdM data is not a priority. Out-sourcing PdM activities insures the proper data will be collected at scheduled intervals making trending possible and provides the most complete and comprehensive diagnostic picture of the equipment’s condition.