Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)
Condition Based Maintenance (CBM)
Sethiya
Dy.CME/WCR/Jabalpur
Abstract:
In a continuous growing global market Productivity is playing a key role to stay competitive, for any
manufacturing company. Productivity can be achieved through availability and availability can be
increased through adopting the efficient maintenance practices, by focusing on different types of
maintenance and strategies.
Condition based Maintenance or predictive maintenance, uses primarily non destructive testing techniques,
visual inspection, and performance data to assess machinery condition. It replaces arbitrarily timed
maintenance tasks with appropriate maintenance task at only when warranted by equipment condition.
Condition-monitoring maintenance task intervals must be properly understood and task intervals should be
determined based on the expected P-F interval. The P-F interval governs the frequency with which the
predictive task must be done.
Technological advances are accepted and applied to CBM systems, which includes improved knowledge of
failure mechanisms, advancements in failure forecasting techniques, advancements in monitoring and
sensor devices, advancements in diagnostic and prognostic software, acceptance of communication
protocols, developments in maintenance software applications and computer networking technologies.
The measurement precision and sensitivity of the CM technique being used need to be understood because
they affect the reaction time available to reduce or eliminate the consequences of the functional failure.
Condition-monitoring maintenance tasks must be applicable and cost effective. The aim of this paper is to
give brief introduction of various CBM techniques, selection of condition monitoring techniques and
understanding of P-F interval, Advancement in CBM, Standardization of CBM system, CBM approach on
rail vehicles, advantages &disadvantages of CBM.
Introduction
Today, most maintenance actions are carried out by either the predetermined preventive- or
the corrective approach. The predetermined preventive approach has fixed maintenance
intervals in order to prevent components, sub-systems or systems to degrade. Corrective
maintenance is performed after an obvious fault or breakdown has occurred. Both approaches
have shown to be costly in many applications due to lost production, cost of keeping spare
parts, quality deficiencies etc.
Basically, predictive maintenance or Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) differs from
preventive maintenance by basing maintenance need on the actual condition of the machine rather
than on some preset schedule. As the preventive maintenance is time-based and activities such as
changing lubricant are based on time, like calendar time or equipment run time. For example,
most people change the engine oil in their car/jeep at every 3,000 to 5,000 KMs vehicles traveled.
No concern is given to the actual condition and performance capability of the oil. This
methodology would be analogous to a preventive maintenance task. If on the other hand, the
operator of the car discounted the vehicle run time and had the oil analyzed at some periodicity to
determine its actual condition and lubrication properties, he/she may be able to extend the oil
change until the vehicle had traveled 10,000 KMs. This is the fundamental difference between
predictive maintenance and preventive maintenance, whereby predictive maintenance is used to
define needed maintenance task based on quantified material/equipment condition.
Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) or predictive maintenance is a technology that strives to
identify incipient faults before they become critical which enables more accurate planning of
the preventive maintenance. It may also be defined as Maintenance actions based on actual
condition obtained from in-situ, non-invasive tests, operating and condition measurement. Or
“CBM is a set of maintenance actions based on real-time or near-real time assessment of
equipment condition which is obtained from embedded sensors and/or external tests &
measurements taken by portable equipment.”
CBM or predictive maintenance is the means of improving productivity, product quality
and overall effectiveness of manufacturing and production plants. CBM or Predictive
maintenance is not vibration monitoring or thermal imaging or lubricating oil analysis or
any of the other nondestructive testing techniques, as predictive maintenance tools.
Rather, it is a philosophy or attitude that simply stated uses the actual operating condition
of plant equipment and systems to optimize total plant operation. A comprehensive
predictive maintenance management program utilizes a combination of the most cost-
effective tools, i.e. thermal imaging, vibration monitoring, tribology, and other
nondestructive testing methods, to obtain the actual operating condition of critical plant
systems and based on this factual data all maintenance activities on an as-needed basis are
scheduled. Including CBM or predictive maintenance in a comprehensive maintenance
management program will provide the ability to optimize the availability of process
machinery and greatly reduce the cost of maintenance. It will also provide the means to
improve product quality, productivity and profitability.
The maintenance organization in a company probably has one of the most important
functions, looking after assets and keeping track of equipment in order to secure
productivity. A company with no or a poor maintenance organization will loose a lot of
money due to lost production capacity, cost of keeping spare parts, quality deficiencies,
damages for absent or late deliveries etc.
A relationship between failure rate versus change in maintenance philosophy is showing
decline trend as illustrated in figure below, also representing the strengths and
weaknesses of the different maintenance types.
The addition of a comprehensive predictive maintenance program can and will provide
factual data on the actual operating condition of critical assets, including their efficiency,
as well as the actual mechanical condition of each machine-train and the operating
efficiency of each process system. Instead of relying on industrial or in-plant average-life
statistics, i.e. mean-time-to-failure, to schedule maintenance activities, predictive
maintenance uses direct monitoring of the mechanical condition, system efficiency and
other indicators to determine the actual mean-time-to-failure or loss of efficiency for each
machine-train and system in the plant. This data provides maintenance management the
factual data needed for effective planning and scheduling maintenance activities.
The CM data collected is used in one of the following ways to determine the condition
of the equipment and to identify the precursors of failure:
• Trend Analysis. Reviewing data to see if a machine is on an obvious and immediate
“downward slide” toward failure. For trending purposes, a minimum of three monitoring
points before failure may reasonably be expected are recommended. Three data points
allow one to determine whether equipment condition depreciates linearly.
• Pattern Recognition. Looking at the data and realizing the causal relationship
between certain events and machine failure. For example, noticing that
after machine x is used in a certain production run, component ax fails due to
stresses unique to that run.
• Tests against Limits and Ranges. Setting alarm limits (based on professional
intuition) and seeing if they are exceeded.
• Statistical Process Analysis. If published failure data on a certain machine/
component exists, comparing failure data collected on site with the
published data to verify/disprove ,use that published data.
Point Usually a thermocouple or RTD. Often ‘imbedded’, Can be used on all accessible
temperature can be provided as an encapsulated sensor for surfaces. Walk around versions take
permanent fit. time to settle and are less robust than
the pyrometer.
Area Pyrometer Measures the emitted IR radiation from a surface. Very good for walk around
Often with a Laser sight or area indicator. temperature checks on machines and
panels.
Temperature Chemical indicators calibrated to change colour at a Great for inspection rounds.
Paint / Stickers specific temperature.
Thermography Hand held still or video camera sensitive to emitted IR. The ultimate, high-resolution thermal
picture. Camera costs £10k up,
service £500 per day.
ii) Dynamic Monitoring. Dynamic monitoring (e.g., spectrum analysis, shock pulse analysis)
involves measuring and analyzing energy emitted from mechanical equipment in the form of
waves such as vibration, pulses and acoustic effects. Measured changes in the vibration
characteristics from equipment can indicate problems such as wear, imbalance, misalignment
and damage.
The following table outlines the more common types of measurement with comments on
applications and a brief technical description of the method.
ISO Filtered Velocity 2Hz – 1kHz filtered Velocity Works as a general condition indicator.
SPM Carpet and Peak related to the One of the better single value bearing
demodulation of a sensor resonance indicator methods. Some problems on
around 30kHz. larger bearings and gear units.
Acoustic Emission Distress & dB, demodulates a 100kHz Better general indicator than ISO velocity,
carrier which is sensitive to stress waves. without the ISO comfort zone.
Vibration Meters / Combine velocity, bearing and Look for ISO Velocity, envelope & high
pens acceleration techniques (sometimes frequency acceleration for best
include thermal) performance.
4-20mA sensors Filtered data converted to DCS/PLC ISO velocity version available, envelope
compatible signal. version still awaited.Can be used to ‘home
in’ on specific problems by special order.
iii) Oil Analysis. Oil analysis (e.g., ferrography, particle counter testing) can be
performed on
different types of oils such as lubrication, hydraulic or insulation oils. It can indicate
problems such as machine degradation (e.g., wear), oil contamination, improper oil
consistency (e.g., incorrect or improper amount of additives) and oil deterioration.
The science of oil analysis falls into 4 main areas, which are listed below:
The amount of time needed to respond to any potential failures which are discovered also
influences condition-based task intervals. In general, these responses consist of any or all
of the following take action to avoid the consequences of the failure
• plan corrective action so that it can be done without disrupting production and/or
other maintenance activities
• organise the resources needed to rectify the failure.
The amount of time needed for these responses also varies, from a matter of hours
(say until the end of an operating cycle or the end of a shift), minutes (to clear people
from a building which is falling down) or even seconds (to shut down a machine or
process which is running out of control) to weeks or even months (say until a major
shutdown).Unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, it is usually sufficient to
select a checking interval equal to half the P-F interval. This ensures that the task will
detect the potential failure before the functional failure occurs, while providing a net
interval of at least half the P-F interval to do something about it. However, it is
sometimes necessary to select a checking interval which is some other fraction of the
P-F interval. For instance, Figure "C" shows how a P-F interval of 9 months and a
checking interval of 1 month give a nett P-F interval of 8 months. This is sometimes
known as the available P-F interval
3 Measurement Precision/Sensitivity
The measurement precision and sensitivity of the CM technique being used need to be
understood because they affect the reaction time available to reduce or eliminate the
consequences of the functional failure. Take the example of using ultrasonic testing
versus human auditory sense as a CM approach. If both of these CM techniques were
used in the same service, ultrasonic testing will provide more precision and sensitivity
(e.g., can detect less intense noises). Therefore, it will consistently provide more reaction
time once the onset of failure is detected. Of course, other variables (e.g., economic,
available resources) might drive the use of the human auditory sense.
4. Skills
CM techniques require varying skill levels, so this must be taken into consideration when
selecting tasks. An investment might have to be made to train personnel, or outside
sources might need to be contracted to perform the tasks.
Remote CBM
Remote CBM systems can be either standalone or networked to another business system.
Remote CBM involves monitoring the condition of a component at a location away from
the immediate vicinity of the component in question. Monitoring will be undertaken
automatically or manually depending upon the systems capabilities at intermittent time
periods. Diagnosing the condition of the component may be either automatic or manual,
again depending upon the systems capabilities. Wireless sensors present opportunities for
placing sensors in difficult-to-reach locations, electrically noisy environments, and
mobile applications where wire cannot be installed. Presenting CBM information through
web pages accessible by Internet browsers is given the name ‘Internet CBM’, or ‘E-
Monitoring Machine Health System’. Internet CBM takes remote CBM to another level,
i.e. providing global remote capabilities. Since browsers reside on many platforms,
Internet CBM systems may be accessed by multiple users working on any type of
operating system. This presents the opportunity for employees to monitor their machinery
whilst away from the factory, i.e. overseas on business calls. Unauthorised access to an
Internet CBM system is prevented with the inclusion of user name and password access
on the index web page for the web site. User name and password access may also be used
to control access rights onto specific web pages and degree of user system interaction.
Interaction can be made between users and the Internet CBM system by using Active
Server Pages (ASPs). ASPs, programmed using VBScript and JavaScript working behind
the scenes within the Web server, offer flexibility to system designers. They carry out
programmed instructions within the web server, define how the HTML is assembled and
presented to users, providing users with the power to interact with the user interface and
make choice selections. Vibration or process levels may now easily be transmitted over
the Web and presented to the end user as gauges, reporting the condition of the remote
machine in real time. Also graphs can be displayed showing performance trends, and
tables of performance parameters, anomalies, and diagnosed faults.
Standardization of CBM systems
A standard for smart transducer interface for sensors and actuators (IEEE 1451), a
standardization proposal in CBM architecture (OSA-CBM) and a standardization
proposal in communication between different CBM modules (MIMOSA)is given below.
CBM community would achieve the followings by using these standards;
• Interchangeable hardware and software components.
• More technological choices for users.
• More rapid technology development.
• Reduced prices.
• Improved ease of upgrading of system components.
IEEE 1451
At the basic level of condition based maintenance there is sensors or other devices to pick
up the data needed for analyzing the health of an asset. This is often referred to as a
distributed measurement and control system (DMC). Due to the customers problem of
integrating different vendor products (transducer, sensors and actuators) when
networking, a standard for the hardware interconnection level is needed. But there is also
need for standards in the software module of the transducers to achieve network
interoperability at the network-node level. The developing and using industries of DMC
systems are moving away from proprietary standards in hardware and software towards
de facto standardized open systems approaches. Looking to develop a standardized
interface to network smart sensors, the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) started to work together with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) in the middle of the 1990’s. To achieve easy installation and upgrading of sensors
one should link them together like personal computers via a local area network (LAN).
Through this connection one will be able to connect many sensors via a single cable or
bus. This will mean that sensors can be detached without affecting other sensor nodes.
The IEEE 1451 standards for smart transducer interface for sensors and actuators purpose
is to achieve common interfaces for connecting transducers to microprocessor-based
systems, instruments and field networks in a network-independent fashion. The IEEE
1451-standard is divided into four sub-standards viz. IEEE 1451.1 and IEEE 1451.2;
IEEE P1451.3 and IEEE P1451.4
OSA-CBM
OSA-CBM is an abbreviation for Open System Architecture for Condition Based
Maintenance and is a proposal for a de facto non-proprietary standard. In the mission
statement from the OSA-CBM organization (www.osacbm.org) it is declared that the
standard proposal shall cover the whole range of functions of a CBM system, for both
hardware and software components. The benefits of such a standard would according to
the organization be:
• Improved ease of upgrading for system components
• A broader supplier community
• More rapid technology development
• Reduced prices
The OSA-CBM proposed standard divides a CBM system into seven interconnected
different layers.
Layer 1 Sensor Module: The sensor module provides the CBM system with digitized
sensor or transducer data. The signal module could be built on the IEEE 1451 standard.
Layer 2 Signal Processing: The signal processing module receives signals and data from
the sensor module or other signal processing modules. The output from the signal
processing module includes digitally filtered sensor data, frequency spectra, virtual
sensor signals and other CBM features. The signal processing module could consist of
AI-ESTATE (Artificial Intelligence and Expert System Tie to Automatic Test
Equipment.
Layer 3 Condition Monitor: The condition monitor receives data from the sensor module
s, the signal processing module s and other condition monitors. Its primary focus is to
compare data with expected values (e.g. normal vibration, high vibration, hazardous
vibration). The condition monitor should also be able to generate alerts based on preset
operational limits. This can be a very useful function for fast fault developments.
Layer 4 Health Assessment: The health assessment module receives data from different
condition monitors or from other health assessment modules. The primary focus of the
health assessment module is to prescribe if the health in the monitored component, sub-
system or system has degraded. The health assessment module should be able to generate
diagnostic records and propose fault possibilities. The diagnosing should be based upon
trends in the health history, operational status and loading and maintenance history.
Layer 5 Prognostics: The prognostic module should have the possibility to take account
into data from all the prior layers. The primary focus of the prognostic module is to
calculate the future health of an asset, with account taken to the future usage profiles. The
module should report the future health status of a specified time or the remaining useful
life (RUL).
Layer 6 Decision Support: The decision support module receives data from the health
assessment module and the prognostic module. Its primary focus is to generate
recommended actions and alternatives. The actions can be of the maintenance sort but
also how to run the asset until the current mission is completed without occurrence of
breakdown.
Layer 7 Presentation: The presentation module should present data from all previous
modules The most important layers to present would of course be the data from the health
assessment, prognostic and decision support modules as well as alerts generated from the
condition monitors. But the ability to lock even further down in the layer should be a
possibility. The presentation module could be built in into a regular machine interface.
Advantages
Studies have estimated that a properly functioning of CBM or predictive maintenance
program can provide a savings of 8% to 12% over preventive maintenance program
alone. Independent surveys indicate the following industrial average savings resultant
from initiation of a functional predictive maintenance program:
• Reduction in maintenance costs: 25% to 30%
• Elimination of breakdowns: 70% to 75%
• Reduction in equipment or process downtime: 35% to 45%
• Increase in production: 20% to 25%.
• Increased component operational life/availability.
• Allows for preemptive corrective actions.
• Decrease in costs for parts and labor.
• Better product quality.
• Improved worker and environmental safety.
• Improved worker moral.
• Energy savings.
Disadvantages
• Diagnostic equipment being costly has increased the investment.
• Staff training increased the investment.
• Management can not see readily potential Savings.
References:
• Articles available on Internet " RCM" by -ALDON
• "Reliability centered maintenance" by -Alan Pride available on Internet
• A paper on Tech Design of Condition based maintenance system –by Marcus
Bengtsson. available on Internet
• Guides notes on RCM-by ABS, Hunston, USA. available on Internet
• Condition Based Maintenance on Rail Vehicles – Possibilities for a more
effective maintenance strategy By -Bengtsson Marcus ,available on Internet
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