Which Predictive Maintenance Technology Is The Best?

Which Predictive Maintenance Technology Is The Best?
by Terrence O'Hanlon, Publisher and CEO Reliabilityweb.com and Uptime Magazine

I participate in many MaintenanceForum.com and LinkedIn discussion groups and I learn a lot from them.  Recently I was involved in a discussion that I hope was much more theoretical than practical.

The question posted was something like “If you could only choose one predictive maintenance (PdM) technology (I assume from the big 5 PdM technologies Vibration Analysis, Infrared Thermal Imaging, Airborne Ultrasound, Electric Motor Testing and Oil Analysis) which one is the best?”

Click here for Vibration Analysis articles and video tutorials

Click here for Infrared Thermal Imaging articles and video tutorials

Click here for Airborne Ultrasound articles and video tutorials

Click here for Electric Motor Testing articles and video tutorials

Click here for Oil Analysis articles and video tutorials

If you are involved with Predictive Maintenance, perhaps a better question is “Which PdM technology should we begin with?”

There is NO one predictive maintenance technology that does everything (even if the sales rep tell you differently!).

All 5 of the primary predictive maintenance technologies work together well – much like a doctor would use a stethoscope, a thermometer, collect blood and urine samples for analysis and possibly conduct more specific tests like a Doppler or EKG to make a diagnosis based on as much information as possible.

It would be nerve wracking to hear your Doctor ask – which diagnostic instrument is best – a stethoscope or a thermometer? 

Imagine the lack of confidence you would have if your Doctor said “Well Tom, your temperature is running pretty high so I think we should remove your gall bladder.”

Yikes – you probably agree with me that your life and health are worth finding a doctor who uses all available technologies to assess your condition.

It is fine to begin with one predictive maintenance technology but it not fine to end with only one.  Prove the worth of having the ability to detect potential failures further in advance, then use that benefit to justify adding more technologies to improve your failure detection capabilities.