As vibration analysts, it can be easy to get so involved in the collection, analysis and interpretation of vibration data that we may not always see the bigger picture of opportunity for our clients that comes from being able to adopt a Condition Based Maintenance Strategy.

Fully adopting CBM means ONLY doing maintenance work when Condition Monitoring identifies that it is required, abandoning what are often long-established routine Preventive Maintenance tasks.  This requires confidence that the Condition Monitoring techniques being used will be able to cover the full range of commonly occurring failure modes.  This means you need techniques which can detect electrical and operational issues as well as just mechanical ones.

This talk will cover the use of MBVI systems, a complementary technique to conventional Vibration Monitoring, that can cover these electrical and operational issues, as well as mechanical, vibration-related issues.  Using these in conjunction with your existing VA tools can help unlock significant benefits for you and your clients.

Geoff Walker is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with 40 years’ experience in Maintenance and Asset Management. Following a first degree in Engineering at St John’s College, Cambridge University, Geoff spent the first decade-and-a-bit of his career in the Chemicals Industry, covering the range of new plant design, new plant build, new plant commissioning, plant operation and maintenance, and technology development. His first exposure to RCM, FMEA and Condition Monitoring came in the mid-1980s, applying the techniques to fine chemical production plants.

He spent the next decade-and-a-bit of his career in Management Consultancy, being one of the founder members of Coopers & Lybrand’s Physical Asset Management practice and ending up as Director responsible for Physical Asset Management across Europe, Middle East and Africa. He has spent the last decade-and-a-bit developing and deploying smart systems for automated fault diagnosis and condition monitoring, and is one of the founding partners of Artesis LLP, who specialise in condition monitoring of rotating equipment using the drive motor as a sensor to monitor the behaviour and condition of the driven equipment. Geoff sits on a number of committees responsible for the development of standards for Condition Monitoring, for the British Standards Institute, and the International Standards Organisation, ISO. He also sits on the Committee for BINDT – the British Institute for Non-Destructive Testing.