Plants need a strong pipeline of data to help them ensure optimal performance. We spend a lot of time talking about how to collate, transmit, and store that data so it is easily accessible whenever and wherever people need it. However, all that strategizing is of little value if the people the plant is delivering information to cannot understand or use the data.
Emerson’s Drew Mackley is well aware of this inconsistency, and in his recent article in Efficient Plant magazine, he shares how the best wireless monitoring technologies are navigating the issue.
Fit-for-purpose tools deliver fit-for-purpose results
Drew explores the idea that reliability isn’t just about delivering data, but delivering the right data—which means data customized to individual assets. Many sensor suppliers offer generic solutions designed to be used across a wide range of different assets. However,
“A generic sensor configuration appropriate for a motor might not provide the granular detail teams need on a pump, gearbox, compressor, or other piece of rotating equipment. Each of those equipment types has different failure modes, so the same acquisition methods cannot be applied across the board. Because configuration does not match operation on these sensors, teams might either miss failures or receive false alerts.”
Better results, Drew explains, come from fit-for-purpose sensors like Emerson’s AMS Wireless Vibration Monitor. These devices can tailor measurements to the machine being monitored, helping teams ensure the data they receive is not only accurate, but also useful.
Cutting through complexity provides actionable information
To make the data even more useful, many teams rely on technologies to help them turn their raw data into actionable information. Today’s reliability teams are under a lot of pressure. The deep benches of experienced personnel they used to leverage are long gone, and they need intuitive ways not only to help technicians make fast decisions, but also to upskill people as they typically can no longer spend years shadowing an expert as part of a mentorship.
To solve this problem, the most effective sensors use PeakVue Plus technology to detect impacting and cut down on the complexity of analysis. Drew shares,
“PeakVue Plus not only detects impacting on critical components like bearings and gears, but also tells the technician if that impacting is a result of common issues such as lubrication or bearing failure. Armed with this information technicians of any skill level have the decision support they need to intervene early and remedy small problems before they become critical failures.”
Teams can still access the raw data needed for deeper analysis, but they also gain the ability to act quickly to identify and solve some of their rotating assets’ most common problems without spending hours in the shop or office poring over data.
Do more with data
Data alone does not solve problems—especially when the people relying on the data don’t have the tools or experience to turn that data in to action. Yet, with the right strategy and reliable, fit-for-purpose sensors that take away much of the guesswork, a significant amount of the heavy lifting of analysis is already done. This built-in assistance frees reliability personnel up for other tasks and provides technicians critical decision support regardless of expertise. Drew goes deeper into how choosing the right sensor not only improves performance, but also lowers total cost of ownership in his full article over at Efficient plant.
The post Turn Data Into Action appeared first on the Emerson Automation Experts blog.