Smart Maintenance: Condition-based Maintenance
It is increasingly necessary to implement technologies that allow us to be more proactive and that is why the implementation of a condition-based maintenance strategy is becoming increasingly important.
In the post “A field-integrated CMMS?” I explained the importance of integrating a CMMS system with other systems that provide field data. In the same post, I explained the benefits of such integration. One of them is the implementation of a maintenance strategy called condition-based maintenance. If you want to know about other maintenance strategies, you can also read the post “How proactive and efficient is my maintenance strategy?”.
In this post, I will try to delve deeper into condition-based maintenance and explain an example of its application in reality.
I What is Condition-Based Maintenance?
Condition-based maintenance or CBM (por sus siglas en inglés, Condition-Based Maintenance) is a proactive and efficient maintenance strategy to mitigate those equipment failures for which we have measurable parameters and we know when their deviation indicates a short-term problem.
This maintenance strategy is focused on the current operating condition of the assets, in such a way that it will be the asset, through the data generated by it, that tells us when it requires a maintenance action.
In summary, condition-based maintenance (CBM) is performing maintenance when the need arises, exploiting the data generated in the field.
Unlike traditional preventive maintenance based on time intervals, CBM is based on real-time asset data and a maintenance action is only performed after one or more indicators show that the equipment is going to fail or that performance is deteriorating. However, a mixed strategy can be implemented between traditional preventive maintenance and condition-based maintenance on the same asset.
I Advanced Maintenance Management
By implementing this maintenance strategy, it is possible to implement sub-strategies such as:
- Preventive maintenance based on condition.
- Mantenimiento Preventive corrective maintenance based on condition.
- Mantenimiento Predictive maintenance based on condition.
For example, the implementation of these sub-strategies in a hydraulic group in which a condition-based maintenance strategy is being carried out could allow us, among others:
Preventive
- Lubrication based on engine operating hours.
- After 3,000 hours of operation, create a lubrication WO with the necessary operations and resources, and requesting lubricant from the warehouse.
Corrective
- Monitor the bearing temperature.
- If it exceeds a predetermined value, generate a replacement WO.
Predictive
- Control the energy consumption of the pump in relation to the flow rate to detect mechanical degradation of the pump.
- Early detection of equipment degradation, being able to schedule its review and repair in time.
And these are just some examples of the exploitation of the data generated by an asset for the automation of condition-based maintenance. All those maintenance actions whose conditions are known and definable could be parameterized and automated.
I Benefits
The implementation of software that allows the implementation of a condition-based maintenance strategy provides many benefits. Among them we could highlight:
- Avoids unnecessary maintenance by moving to condition-based maintenance (CBM) and a reliability-centered model for operations and maintenance (RCO / RCM). More than 25% of the maintenance performed today is unnecessary and can introduce additional failure risks.
- Provides predictive analytical capabilities, allowing early detection of failures to increase asset availability, reduce costs and avoid unnecessary downtime. Unscheduled shutdowns represent an average of 5% in production loss, where the impact is usually much more significant.
- Increases the availability, utilization and reliability of the monitored assets while reducing their maintenance costs.
- Provides operations staff, engineering and maintenance with easy access to current asset information for better decision making.
- Collects and analyzes data on the condition and operation of assets to help optimize their performance throughout their life cycle.
- Allows integration between control and maintenance environments.
I Conclusions
In the current industrial environment, companies are constantly striving to meet increasing production demands with existing equipment and facilities, while continuing to reduce costs to maximize asset returns. To achieve this, organizations must find the optimal balance between availability and utilization.
To do this, it is essential to make the transition from reactive maintenance to a more proactive or predictive strategy. When the organization implements solutions to prevent failures from happening, the culture begins to change from reactive to proactive. There will always be some reactive actions, but being able to minimize reactive work will allow better planning and scheduling, greater equipment uptime, and an increase in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
For all of the above, it is increasingly necessary to implement technologies that allow us to be more proactive and that is why the implementation of a condition-based maintenance strategy is becoming increasingly important.
If you want to know more or resolve any questions about smart maintenance strategies, do not hesitate to contact our specialists.
