Implementation of Condition Based Maintenance in manufacturing industry - A pilot case study

This paper presents a guide for implementation of Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) in a manufacturing industry, considering the technical constituents and organizational aspects when implementing CBM. The empirical base for the study is a case study from a major manufacturing site in Sweden. The data was collected during a pilot project to implement CBM at the case company. The purpose of the pilot study at the company was to implement online condition monitoring on some of the critical components in the hardening process. Hereby, two of the main online condition monitoring techniques namely vibration analysis and Shock Pulse Method (SPM) have been implemented and tested on electric motors to monitor bearing conditions. The paper presents the process of implementation and the elements included in this process. Some of the main elements in the implementation process are selection of the components to be monitored, techniques and technologies as well as installation of the technologies and finally how to analyze the results from the condition monitoring. The data from online condition monitoring on the electric motors, driving the furnace fans, are recorded and presented in the paper including breakdown data on two objects. This information is leading to useful and reliable knowledge for maintenance work to be cost effective and be able to increase the overall equipment availability (OEA). In addition to this, the result indicates to what extent advanced CBM practices are applicable in the hardening environment in the manufacturing company and it provides guidance for further research and development in this area. The paper concludes with a discussion on possible future trends and research areas, needed to increase the effective and efficient use of CBM.