Maintenance check-ups should be performed on just about any vehicle on a regular basis. A company should post suggested maintenance schedules to be followed so that problems can be minimized while a vehicle is in operation. Regular maintenance promotes safety and decreases the risk of workplace-related accidents.

Truck maintenance needs to be kept at a minimal level due to the effect it can have on the overall productivity of the equipment. To minimize maintenance and repairs, the concept of fault detection techniques have been developed to monitor the condition of the vehicle. The vibration monitoring technique can highlight potential mechanical problems and warn an operator in advance of equipment failures that might occur. This significantly improves the performance of the truck since it can prevent the machine from experiencing a period of downtime by preventing the potentially unpleasant consequences of its failure. When a vehicle is out of service due to downtime from a mechanical problem, this could have a drastic effect on any business operation.

Results of Years of Research

These systems reflect years of research into taking vibration signals from an operating piece of machinery, processing these signals into a useable format, using the signal to detect any possible fault, diagnosing exactly what the signal is showing in regards to the operation of the machinery and then presenting possible predictions for what can be done to correct this particular problem. This research has brought about a way to monitor, detect and diagnose all in one operation.

System Advantages

The vibration-based monitoring equipment has various critical parameters that are measured, such as speed, temperature, and pulsation, while the machine is in operation. The system will not predict failure but can give an operator an insight on what action may need to be taken in order to prevent any potential problems from happening before any critical damage occurs.

Another advantage of this system is that is allows for remote diagnosis of the information being gathered by specialists who can be located anywhere in the world. This means that the interpretative equipment can be located at a general headquarters for a company and monitored by specialists who can diagnose problems and then offer potential solutions to that problem.

System Design

Designing such a system requires an initial determination of where safety monitoring is needed in order to prevent any potential hazardous problems developing for the machine, the operator and/or the local environment where the equipment is being operated. Typically, such safety monitoring is again based upon any large change in vibration, temperature or shaft position especially when such a change could wind up resulting in the complete destruction of the part or even of the entire machine. Such detection might even require the complete shut-down of the machinery to prevent the hazards previously mentioned.

It is also important that this detection process can detect real problems and avoid any false alarm situations as much as possible; can easily interpret the data provided; and that such a process can be automated in some fashion. Analysis and diagnosis can be very time-consuming, particularly if it is performed by humans. Automated monitoring only requires human intervention about 1% of the time, leaving that type of critical diagnosis to the trained specialists.

Use of Obtained Information

Using the information provided, decisions then can be made which could include: re-starting of the machinery in case it was some type of error in the detection equipment; diagnosis of the problem that caused the vibration to be detected; and determining a way to avoid or rectify the problem in as short a time as possible to avoid undue down-time for the machinery.

A condition monitoring system can check the status of the gearbox, bearings and other vital components of the vehicle that are susceptible to damage. This technique uses vibration analysis to monitor the condition of the particular parts and could be very useful in forewarning an operator that a problem may occur therefore allowing time to determine if immediate repair is needed depending upon the result of the data generated by the system.

Failure of certain parts may develop gradually within the vehicle even if it is scheduled for regular maintenance check-ups. Undetected problems could still develop while the equipment is in operation for the business. In order to keep certain trucks from unnecessary mechanical failure, online fault detection or vibration monitoring equipment can be absolutely necessary in order to prevent potential damage and provide early detection of machine failure. These systems have been proven to be cost-effective since they have the inherent capacity to save thousands of dollars in unnecessary maintenance. Consider one of these unique devices for your important vehicles today!