Unplanned downtime and maintenance costs are two of the biggest budgetary drains in the industries we work with. For instance, unplanned downtime costs industrial manufacturers tens of billions of pounds every year. On top of that, businesses spend a sizable sum on maintenance costs.
Researchgate estimates businesses spend anywhere between 15-70% of their entire production cost on maintenance, depending on the company.
With such costs involved, it’s no surprise that predictive maintenance has become essential in countless industries due to the funds it saves.
Equipment vibration is essential for condition monitoring and is measured by wireless sensors.
This reports data back in real-time and can detect even the slightest abnormalities or changes, meaning technicians can resolve problems before they spiral and result in downtime or failure.
It is a more cost-effective and convenient alternative to preventative maintenance, where up to half of your money can end up wasted.
It’s also important to note that the overwhelming majority of machine failures are not related to their age, with only a tiny amount being due to how old they are. These factors mean preventative, routine maintenance isn’t always as effective as it claims to be.
Predictive maintenance, however, eliminates both cons with its continual monitoring, meaning data is gathered round-the-clock.
By utilising the data, it collates, predictive maintenance displays information about asset performance instead of a recurrent preventative schedule, where the health of machines is monitored only during set times. This means unarranged downtime is lesser and production is far better than it otherwise would be.
A study found that predictive maintenance can reduce maintenance costs by 18%-25%, with other studies reporting similar figures.
That’s not to mention the reduction in breakdowns and the apparent increase in productivity, which both lead to savings in future.
Vibration is considered one of the leading indicators when it comes to detecting machine failure. Changes in vibrational patterns can indicate a wide array of faults in machinery. They include, but are not limited to the following:
- Bearing wear
- Cavities
- Gear problems
- Lubrication issues
- Misalignment
- Rubbing
- Resonance
As you can see, this is not an exhaustive list but rather a summary of some of the most common issues that predictive monitoring can detect through wireless sensors like ours.
This way, monitoring is continuous and means that problems detectable through vibration don’t escalate until they are out of control.
Vibration sensors have been around for a while, though many older models are wired, making deployment substantially more expensive and tedious than the set-up of modern wireless sensors.
Portable devices are also an option, but these are routinely used by technicians, meaning monitoring is not continuous. It can also be laborious and leaves room for human error.
As it is not a continual form of monitoring, this means that during intervals between inspections, problems can arise.
Wireless sensors, however, ensure there are no gaps in monitoring, and their long-life batteries provide that they require minimal upkeep. Additionally, they have a long-range in terms of how far they can report data, and their signals won’t interfere with any other technology that relies on radio signals or similar.
With industry 4.0 becoming more advanced every day, predictive maintenance means that companies spanning manufacturing, oil & gas, mining food and drink and beyond will only become more optimal as wireless vibration monitoring becomes more popular.
Contact us if you are interested in learning more.
