Page 337 - Intro Predictive Maintenance

328 An Introduction to Predictive Maintenance

program should not be structured so that all machines and equipment in the plant
receive the same scrutiny. Typical predictive maintenance programs monitor from 50
to 500 machine-trains in a given plant.

Some of the machine-trains are more critical to the continued, efficient operation of
the plant than others. The predictive maintenance program should be set up to con-
centrate the program’s efforts in the areas that will provide maximum results. The use
of microprocessor- and PC-based predictive maintenance systems greatly improves
the data collection and data management functions required for a successful program.
These systems can also provide efficient data analysis; however, procedures that define
the methods, schedule, and other parameter of data acquisition, analysis, and report
generation must also be included in the program definition.

15.2.4 Viable Database
The methods and systems that you choose for your program and the initial program
development will largely determine the success or failure of predictive maintenance
in your plant. Proper implementation of a predictive maintenance program is not
easy. It will require a great deal of thought and—perhaps for the first time—a com-
plete understanding of the operation of the various systems and machinery in your
plant.

The initial database development required to successfully implement a predictive
maintenance program will require several staffing months of effort. The result of the
extensive labor required to properly establish a predictive database often results in
either a poor or incomplete database. In some cases, the program is discontinued
because of staff limitations. If the extensive labor required to establish a database is
not available in-house, consultants can provide the knowledge and labor required to
accomplish this task.

The ideal situation would be to have the predictive systems vendor establish a viable
database as part of the initial capital equipment purchase. This service is offered by a
few of the systems vendors. Unfortunately, many predictive maintenance programs
have failed because these important first critical steps were omitted or ignored. There
are a variety of beneficial technologies and predictive maintenance systems. How do
you decide which method and system to use?

A vibration-based predictive maintenance program is the most difficult to properly
establish and requires much more effort than any of the other techniques. It will also
provide the most return on investment. Too many of the vibration-based programs fail
to use the full capability of the predictive maintenance tool. They ignore the automatic
diagnostic power that is built into most of the microprocessor-based systems and rely
instead on manual interpretation of all data.

The first step is to determine the types of plant equipment and systems that are to be
included in your program. A plant survey of your process equipment should list every
critical component within the plant and its impact on both production capacity and