Painless condition monitoring

Rockwell Automation Entek has added a cost effective data collection option to its portfolio of Reliability Online remote plant and machinery condition monitoring services

A new service from Rockwell Automation Entek increases the range of options available to those planning to implement a predictive approach to plant maintenance but do not have the resources needed to implement an in-house condition monitoring (CM) programme.

Condition monitoring involves regular monitoring of the health of vital production plant, enabling an accurate prediction of its deterioration and the scheduling of maintenance only when necessary.

Under a more traditional reactive or planned approach, some 15% to 40% of manufacturing indirect costs can be attributed to maintenance - but as much as 30% of this is unnecessary. Corrective maintenance is ten times more expensive than predictive maintenance, while preventative maintenance is five times more expensive.

A growing number of manufacturers that rely heavily on critical plant are acquiring the equipment, training, analysis software and expertise to enable their engineers to operate in-house CM programmes. But the latest remote monitoring techniques and data collection services offered by Rockwell Automation Entek's Reliability Online (ROL) service aim to make it highly economical for all manufacturers to take advantage of CM, without up-front expenditure or additional manpower.

Options

There are now three options available under ROL. The first level provides analysis and reports based on CM data - such as vibration readings from rotating machinery or samples of lubricants or hydraulic oil - collected by the user. The Enpac range of handheld data collectors makes it easy to obtain and record vibration and oil CM data from plant and machinery on a routine basis.

The second level, added for manufacturers who do not have the necessary manpower or equipment to routinely collect CM data, provides both regular collection and analysis of vibration data and oil samples. Rockwell Automation Entek arranges for a trained technician to visit the customer's site at pre-arranged intervals to collect all the information needed to implement a comprehensive CM programme.The third, and most sophisticated, option involves the installation of a fixed Enwatch online surveillance system for critical plant. This allows vibration levels to be sequentially monitored and analysed remotely via a dial up connection or the Internet. This provides early warning of impending failures to be given, as well as predictions of longer term maintenance requirements.

Collecting data online means there is no need for engineers to visit sites, reducing costs where more frequent collection of data is required. Online systems can also be configured to collect data more often in areas where routine monitoring indicates a potential problem.

In all three options, the data collected is analysed and interpreted by Rockwell Automation Entek's CM specialists using the latest CM software tools. Their findings can be presented in a variety of ways, including written reports containing as much or as little detail as the customer requires and secure websites accessible only to authorised individuals.

CM results can also be fed directly into computerised maintenance management systems to automatically schedule maintenance tasks.

Reliability Online offers customers access to the many benefits of condition monitoring - reduced maintenance costs, increased machine availability and fewer breakdowns - without the need to understand the methodology or allocate scarce engineering manpower to the task.

"While collection of condition monitoring data is a relatively unskilled process, understanding and interpreting this data requires some expertise, and takes more time and resources than some manufacturers can spare," says Rockwell Automation Entek's Engineering Services Manager John Raby. "Now, in addition to providing CM analysis and reporting, we have a complete range of options for collecting the data too."

• Rockwell Automation Entek
  g106@industrialnetworking.co.uk