DPSI recently participated as an exhibitor at the 2019 Reliable Plant Conference. Additionally, professional services training specialist Frank Harmuth presented a learning session on integrating condition monitoring with CMMS software to maximize uptime and reliability.
While companies are implementing a variety of condition monitoring technology, they lack a coherent method of addressing problems once they are detected. Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) or enterprise asset management (EAM) software helps connect the dots. Integrating condition monitoring sensors to CMMS or EAM software allows companies to create actionable plans to correct issues. Utilize predefined preventive maintenance (PM) and repair procedures linked to specific error codes within CMMS to automatically initiate repair work and resolve issues quickly.
The following excerpt originally appeared on ReliablePlant.com, and is authored by DPSI professional services training specialist Frank Harmuth.
“Sensors can detect wear, temperature, vibration, etc., and PMs can be triggered based on data they send from the assets. By knowing what data the sensors can provide, you can determine when and what preventive or corrective procedures should be done. Using condition monitoring sensors, it’s now possible to send sensor data directly to a CMMS to initiate preventive or corrective work orders.
To simplify this concept, imagine your car is idling roughly and you’re pretty sure something is wrong with the engine. The check engine light then turns on in your car. The next step is to connect a scanner to the onboard diagnostic harness and read the error codes. For any given error code, a repair or maintenance procedure can be created in a CMMS system to fix the cause of the code.
Procedures include all the parts, tools, tasks and instructions required to correct the problem. If you were able to connect a scanner to the CMMS, you could automatically generate work orders to address any specific error code.
In a factory environment, machine sensors are connected to programmable logic controller (PLCs) through a network (or the internet) and supervised by applications that can communicate with the CMMS to generate preventive or corrective work orders.
To get started, first identify all your critical assets that have condition monitoring devices and determine what condition monitoring data can be used to trigger a preventive or corrective work order. Next, define the threshold parameters that will be used to trigger preventive or corrective work orders and determine the types of procedures needed to address the condition monitoring data.
Finally, create preventive or corrective procedures in the CMMS system to address the conditions and link the data collection network to the CMMS either directly or via middleware.” …
