Engage,  support, train, provide direction, and set goals for those involved in the Condition Monitoring (CM) effort. Otherwise, they will most likely make poor decisions on your behalf. Unfortunately, most reliability efforts fail. This can be due to a change in management focus and the lack of importance placed on reliability efforts such as Condition Monitoring. Management has to demonstrate consistent signs that reliability efforts are important to the overall business goals of the company and ensure that the results of those efforts are continually implemented.

It is important to create realistic expectations! Understanding the value and limitations of the CM technology is important as well. Make sure that data collection and analysis activities are completed at the correct intervals to detect conditional changes in the equipment being monitored and that the findings are properly documented.

It is critical to ensure that the recommendations of the condition monitoring technology are implemented. It serves no purpose to generate findings that will maintain and/or improve equipment health and not implement the results (do the recommended work).   Do not make the CM program a “part-time effort”. Doing so will almost guarantee the failure of the effort.

Design, installation, startup, and the operation of the equipment are the biggest contributors to reliability or lack of reliability within a plant. Engineering, maintenance, production, and reliability efforts are interdependent. Collaboration is important between these groups and Management has to promote this effort. CM efforts create reliable capacity. Plant capacity is not of much use if it is not reliable! It is important that CM efforts be integrated into all of these areas. Additionally, it is important to make sure that considerations are taken when purchasing and maintaining spare parts. This process can have a great impact on equipment reliability.

What tips do you have so that Managers can have a successful Condition Monitoring program within their facility?