Condition-based maintenance/Measuring technology
Saving potentials through condition-based maintenance
Continuous monitoring of trends in key influencing parameters is a 'must' for the optimization of plant, system and component availability and safety. Sound status data and the pinpointing of trends in status development provide answers to the question of whether and when maintenance measures are necessary.
The advantage over conventional strategies is obvious: maintenance measures are not taken until they are actually necessary.
Maintenance in this context covers the whole bundle of inspection, servicing and corrective maintenance. The economic benefits involved are not limited to direct maintenance costs and associated indirect costs (necessary scheduled downtimes). It can also be seen that enhanced knowledge of a plant's status helps prevent unscheduled downtimes caused by damage events and that manufacturing quality is maintained at a uniformly high level.
Monitoring the movements of a pipe system combined with temperature monitoring during power operation, for example, helps assess whether fixtures are in the right condition and whether piping is exposed to creep or fatigue damage.
In cases involving an advanced damage status, trend analyses enable the unhurried planning of tailored maintenance measures.