4 Mistakes That May Ruin a Predictive Maintenance Programme

Many industrial plant managers try to maximise equipment uptime by purchasing technologies, such as ultrasound scanners, to facilitate the predictive maintenance of that industrial equipment. However, some of those plant managers may make mistakes that can reduce the effectiveness of that predictive maintenance programme. This article discusses some of the common mistakes that you should avoid making as you design your predictive maintenance programme.

Mistake 1: Not Getting Appropriate Technologies for Different Failures

Different forms of equipment failure require different technologies to detect those failures in their earliest stages. For instance, electrical overload in the wiring of industrial equipment may not be accurately detected by equipment that is designed to detect failure signs in industrial motors. It is therefore important for you to research and invest in the right technology so that faults can be detected as early as possible without spending a lot of time during the inspection process.

Mistake 2: Neglecting Training

Acquisition of predictive maintenance technology is of no use if you are not willing to invest in training your staff so that they can get the best value from the technology. Do not be deceived that the technology is so simple that no training is needed. Training is necessary so that personnel can interpret the reports generated during inspections. Otherwise, the expensive technology may end up being underutilised by your poorly trained staff.

Mistake 3: Delaying to Act

Predictive maintenance is geared at fixing faults during their earliest stages. It is therefore self-defeating if you delay to act after a possible fault has been detected. That procrastination may allow the fault to worsen until your equipment fails. Act promptly each time a failure is detected in its early stages and that failure is reported to you.

Mistake 4: Using the Wrong Intervals

Each technology available for use during predictive maintenance has a set interval when it should be used. Deviating from that recommended interval may allow faults to go undetected until a component fails. For instance, vibration analysis of all motors thrice each year may offer better outcomes for equipment life when compared to conducting that analysis once a year.

Try to keep accurate records about the benefits of your predictive maintenance programme. Those records will present a strong financial case for continuing to invest in more technologies to enhance the programme due to the savings obtained by reducing the cost of service calls when critical equipment fails. You can also consult experts about how to strengthen your predictive maintenance program in order get further reduction of equipment downtime.