A key feature of online machine condition monitoring systems is the automatic and immediate notification of system operators or service personnel. Technicians notified by email or SMS of increases in damage are able to react without delay. Today’s Internet is basically a global communications network at our finger-Technology tips. What, then, could be more obvious than taking advantage of the Internet for the communication requirements of condition monitoring systems. Just imagine: The monitoring system automatically sends you an eMail when condition deterioration sets in — along with all of the information you require for damage analysis. Thanks to the capability of today’s wireless communication networks, the service engineer responsible will be notified immediately, regardless of where in the world he may be at that moment. PRUEFTECHNIK online condition monitoring systems like the VIBROWEB® have already been equipped with these new functions and take advantage of the new web technology.eMail – how does it work?
One of the most important Internet applications is eMail or Mail for short. The fact that Mail is not restricted to letters or texts, but can also be used to transmit files of any type is of particular significance. Unlike other Internet applications such as WWW, FTP, or Telnet, the Mail system does not require a direct connection between sender and receiver. Consequently, the receiver and sender computers do not have to be online at the same time. The Mail system is based on the concept of intermediate mail routers that receive and forward messages. Generally, the sender first directs the message to the Mail router of the Internet provider using suitable Mail software capable of the so-called SMTP protocol. SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and defines the transmission of messages both by the message sender and between Mail routers. A message is passed from one Mail router to the next until it reaches the router responsible for the mailbox of the receiver. The first Mail router to accept the mail from the sender functions as the Mail gateway. The Mail router responsible for the receiver mailbox functions as the Mail Server. Once it has reached the Mail server mailbox, the message can be transported to the receiver’s target computer. For this to happen, the receiver must retrieve the Mail from the Mail server. This not only has the advantage that you can retrieve your Mail whenever you want, but you can also do so from any computer. Regardless of where you are, if you have Internet access and appropriate software you can access your mailbox at any time. The POP protocol is used for this purpose (Post Office Protocol). The user PC must have a suitable Mail program that registers with the Mail server by providing a user name and password and that queries whether there is any mail. The user PC is referred to as the Mail client. Any available Mails are listed and can be downloaded individually by the Mail client via POP.

SMS notification
Mail servers can provide services that supplement the automatic notification system by sending an SMS message to the receiver’s cell phone when an incoming Mail arrives.

eMails and condition monitoring
In condition monitoring practice, the vibration condition is evaluated using the overall vibration level or alarm masks for frequency-selective monitoring. If the PRUEFTECHNIK system detects that the limiting value has been exceeded, it can automatically send an eMail via the Internet or Intranet. The receiver obtains a clear text message containing the location, date, time, and cause of alarm. The information (time or frequency record) when the damage occurred is attached to the eMail. For additional analysis, the maintenance technician responsible logs into the Internet or Intranet and analyses the system at “local telephone rates” — without travel costs!