All Shook Up

Designing a best-in-class vibration analysis program starts at the beginning
By John Pucillo, Product Manager, Predictive Service

It's not really a secret that when machinery operates effectively and efficiently, it will run longer, safer and without unscheduled downtime - improving the bottom line of any organization.

Vibration analysis can be a very effective part of a good predictive maintenance program and an integral part of an overall conditioned-based maintenance approach. The theory itself is pretty straightforward. An increase in vibration almost always accompanies deterioration in running conditions, so monitoring vibration levels can indicate the general condition of a machine.

Unfortunately, not all vibration analysis programs are as straightforward. Many programs today aren't as effective as they could be largely due to resources, time and a lack of formal program processes. Is your conditioned-based maintenance vibration program living up to its full potential?

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The Simple Things

Did you know that a simple infrared or ultrasound inspection of your steam traps can accurately identify where leaks are occurring? Traps that fail to completely close not only allow steam to escape, but waste energy and money as well. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), after 3-5 years, a steam system inspection will identify between 15 -30% of a system's traps to have failed. To put things in perspective, if just a single 1/8 orifice trap has failed in a 150 PSI system in which your cost to produce steam is $5/1000 Lbs; the cost savings for correcting this issue is $3,320/ per year. Does this sound too good to be true? View the US Department of Energy's report.

Predictive Service Earns the Inc 5000

Predictive Service is proud to be part of the Inc. Magazine 5000.

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Introducing: ViewPoint 2.0

Our signature web-based management system is evolving with a brand new look and exciting new features! ViewPoint 2.0 is an integration of all our programs and technologies on one platform. Users can login to one website for a comprehensive view of all predictive maintenance activities and results across all locations and operating units, whether it's one or thousands. This integrated analysis allows for an aggregated view across all facilities and the ability to drill down all the way to individual pieces of equipment.

Additional features include:

• New picture viewer
• Expanded reporting and analysis
• New Cost Benefit calculations for "lost production/opportunity cost"
• Expanded Cost Benefit labor calculations
• New problem Acknowledgement feature and reporting
• New Problem Severity classifications
• New "user" classifications
• Expanded documentation for Repair Actions
• New calendar and date selection features
• New inspection selector feature
• New multi-level search, sort and aggregation features
• Expanded integration to Excel for exporting of information
• Modified User specific Cost Benefit settings
• Ability to change between °F and °C

Look for ViewPoint 2.0 to be released December 17, 2007.