Implementing a condition monitoring system: Guidelines and Questions for selecting the right technology partner

Please allow us to congratulate you on your presence here. We are congratulating you because you are future-proofing your production facility.

However, if you have fellow decision-makers who do not seem quite convinced, why don’t you show them what a condition monitoring system can do for decision-makers like them. To go along with that, here are some interesting numbers about a production facility’s worst nightmare: Unplanned Downtime! Top these off with a look at some of the most important condition monitoring techniques.

At the end of all of the discussions mentioned above, we have stressed the fact that a condition monitor system should be implemented with the right technology partner. We would not go into the reasons for that because we understand that all of us have, at some point, worked with people who did not have the right attributes to do that job! Instead, we will be focusing on what those attributes are and the questions that you need to ask them.

The right attributes

Here is a list of attributes, with brief descriptions, that you need to select the right technology partner for implementing a condition monitoring system:

Beyond a typical solution developer

You don’t want to be stuck with a technology partner that is stuck in application myopia! Because you stand the risk of losing sight of the overall facility and the greater benefits that can be availed. Instead, you need partners that can develop a solution for you with the uniqueness of your facility, production strategy, and ultimate production goals in mind. This raises another very important point about the kind of technology partner you should have.

Multi-vendor expertise

As a facility evolves, it might have a diverse install base for its systems. Since you want your technology partner to provide you real-time insights about your systems through a condition monitoring system, it is paramount that your technology partner should have a team that has multi-vendor expertise that can contain and simplify the complexities that can arise due to multi-vendor install bases. But having multi-vendor expertise needs to be backed by proof of work. Read on about it.

Global experience on high-stake projects executed under diverse conditions with major clients

You definitely don’t need technology partners that cannot back their claims of expertise with proof of experience. The technology partner should have a global project footprint, the experience of working on high-stake projects executed under diverse conditions ranging from most friendly to most hostile, and testimonials from major clients. Because let us be honest, you cannot just let anyone and everyone near your facility! You need to look at some healthy references!

Global presence to ensure quick mobilization and support

Of course, you need your technology partner to get on with the job quickly! A technology partner that has a presence in your proximity will work ideally for you because it will be able to mobilize its team quickly to your site. Moreover, if you need the kind of assistance or support which requires the on-site presence of condition monitoring experts, you will want your technology partner to send a team right away. Therefore, a technology partner that has a global presence should work great for you not only because of proximity but also for mobilizing backup teams to your site, if required.

Ability to train your personnel regularly

We have to warn you that not every technology partner has the capability to train your personnel on a condition monitoring system. While condition monitoring systems have become easier to use with time, staff needs to be trained at regular intervals about important developments in condition monitoring technology.

Some technology partners offer initial training after deployment and there are very few who commit resources to train client personnel at regular intervals. Competence development is an ongoing project in itself and you would need your personnel to stay on top of all the developments relevant to the condition monitoring system implemented at your facility. It is important to have a technology partner that has a proven record of training client personnel.

A list of questions to ask a potential technology partner before implementing a condition monitoring system

We have tried to cover some important questions, categorized under several areas, that you might want to ask a potential technology partner before implementing its condition monitoring system:

System functionality

• What kind of data does the condition monitoring system collect?
• What is the mix of techniques that it can utilize to collect the data?
• Is it an on-premises system only or does it feature cloud functionality?
• What are the failure modes that it can monitor? (A more complex facility requires monitoring multiple ways, or modes, in which failure can occur)

System effectiveness

• What is the fault detection methodology built in this system?
• What is the failure detection rate of this system?
• What is the record of true vs false positives of this system?
• What is the level of detail that this system can provide about a developing fault?
• What modes of alerts does this system offer to the maintenance team?

Ease of installation and Training

• How quickly can an installation team be deployed to the site?
• How complex is the installation process?
• How steep is the learning curve for facility personnel on this system?
• What is the training time for the Artificial Intelligence element?

Post-installation services and continued support

• What kind of maintenance services and support do you offer?
• If need be, how quickly can your experts be deployed to the site?

We hope that these attributes and questions can help you make a great decision! If you are interested in seeing a state-of-the-art condition monitoring system in action that has been developed by leading industry experts, fill in the details below and one of our experts will be with you shortly to help you out!