Capital Equipment News December 2019

CONDITION MONITORING

Caterpillar’s in-depth condition monitoring uses all the information available to identify the needs of the asset and allows for a planned response to the needs at hand.

Enhancing asset optimisation

Condition monitoring plays a critical role in asset optimisation and improvement of productivity. In fact, it has been proven time and again that there is a direct correlation between an excellent condition-based maintenance programme and asset availability, writes Munesu Shoko .

C ondition monitoring has gained prominence over the years, as equipment owners prioritise asset utilisation and productivity. The ultimate goal of con- dition monitoring is to schedule maintenance based on condition rather than historical data, to avoid failures and to increase plant availability through optimal use of resources and equipment. Caterpillar defines condition monitoring as “the pro-active process of evaluating equipment and application data inputs in order to provide maintenance, component replacement, application and repair recommendations that help customers lower owning and operating costs, improve availability and reduce warranty costs”. “An asset can tell a story through its information,” says Mark Kelly, condition monitoring advisor at Caterpillar. “The information may come from several sources,

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