Condition Monitoring
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Condition monitoring tracks equipment health indicators in real-time to detect degradation and predict failures before they occur.
Definition
Condition monitoring is the continuous or periodic measurement of equipment parameters to detect changes indicating developing faults. Technologies include vibration analysis (detecting bearing and rotating component issues), thermography (detecting electrical and mechanical heat patterns), oil analysis (detecting wear particles and contamination), and ultrasonic testing (detecting leaks and electrical discharge). Condition monitoring enables predictive maintenance by providing early warning of equipment degradation.
Examples
Vibration sensors on critical motor bearings track amplitude and frequency patterns. When patterns deviate from baseline, the monitoring system alerts maintenance. The team identifies bearing wear two weeks before failure would occur, scheduling replacement during planned downtime.
Key Points
- Technologies: vibration, thermography, oil analysis, ultrasonics, electrical testing
- Enables condition-based (predictive) rather than time-based maintenance
- Requires baseline data to detect meaningful changes
- Most effective for degradation-based failures with detectable signatures
Common Misconceptions
Condition monitoring catches all failures. Some failures (random, infant mortality) don't produce early warning signals. Condition monitoring excels at wear-out failures with gradual degradation. It's one tool, not a complete solution.
Installing sensors equals condition monitoring. Sensors produce data; condition monitoring requires analysis, trending, and action protocols. Data without interpretation and response capability doesn't prevent failures.