Predictive Maintenance

One of the mechanical engineers’ jobs is to perform maintenance functions at the plant. Engineers who are in charge of the maintenance department are usually referred to as Maintenance Engineers or Reliability Engineer. The meaning of Maintenance is any activity that aims to keep the equipment in the best condition. Activities in this department include testing, measurement, replacement, adjustment, and repair. in general, practitioners divide the type of maintenance into 3 types, namely Preventive Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance, Breakdown Maintenance, and Corrective Maintenance

This time, we will discuss the definition of predictive maintenance. Predictive maintenance is predictive treatment. This prediction can be done by evaluating the indicators installed in the installation of a device. One of the predictive maintenance work on rotating equipment is vibration analysis, thermography, ultrasound and lube oil analysis. Data from the results of this predictive maintenance will be analyzed by the Maintenance engineer or Rotating engineer for recommendations for corrective actions. The essence of Predictive maintenance is to analyze an equipment condition from the behavior trend of the equipment and anticipate the failure of equipment before more severe damage occurs. This trend can be used to predict how long the equipment can operate “normally”. This maintenance task is used to predict problems well in advance of breakdown, reducing unexpected downtime and repair costs. In the end, this approach will improve equipment reliability and availability.

predictive maintenance with vibration measurements tools

One of the most used tools is vibrations analysis. The advantages of a vibration analyzer are:
– Saving Repair and Production Costs
– Conveniently Schedule Maintenance Repairs
– Creates Reliable Equipment that Lasts for Years
– Drastically Reduces Production Downtime/Cost
– Diminishes Large Scale Repairs and Failures Reduces Maintenance Costs

Usually maintenance folk performs vibration analysis during machinery startup/acceptance testing, instant machinery fault diagnostics, and routine periodic condition monitoring. Vibration analysis is essentially the heartbeat of all mechanical equipment. Capturing this vibration in a number of different forms allows an experienced vibration analyst to diagnose equipment ailments, such as worn bearings, imbalance, misalignment by measuring the amplitude and frequency of the vibration. With this knowledge, customers can prevent equipment problems well before they affect production. vibration analysis is also useful on structures for identifying natural or modal effect frequencies necessary for specifying structural modifications.