In the times of the development of self driving cars and cell phones you can literally ask questions to and get guidance to a good restaurant, the nearest pharmacy or directions to a new location, the predictive maintenance world is lagging in assisting human beings to create better reliability for assets. To increase reliability of assets we need to reduce unscheduled downtime. One cause of unscheduled downtime is failed bearings. Statistics have shown that a very low percentage of bearings will achieve their predicted lifespan. It is also shown that over and under lubrication is a leading cause of premature bearing failure.

This presentation will show how the ultrasonic equipment can be used to assist lubrication technicians to grease bearings correctly. The hardware/software combination will guide technicians through the 5 milestones that will ensure correct lubrication.

• Right lubrication. In the field the equipment will inform the operator which lubrication to use avoiding mixing greases and applying lubricants that will not meet the assets performance parameters.
• Right location. The software uses a 6 node hierarchy tree to guide the operator to the correct location of the asset for lubrication.
• Right interval. Information gained from using this system will allow users to step away from calendar based lubrication and begin condition based lubrication, allowing the asset to tell them how frequently to lubricate the bearing.
• Right quantity. The ultrasonic equipment has an algorithm built into it that records not only baseline decibels but also monitors a stabilization period and after the stabilization takes another reading. A built-in algorithm will then give the operator guidance on whether to continue to lubricate or stop The software also recognizes the maximum recommended quantity of grease for the specific asset and will advise to stop lubricating when that quantity has been reached.
• Right indicators. The system also supplies 4 condition indicators allowing operators to identify impacting on rotating equipment as well as stability of signal.

This presentation will include a live simulation on how the equipment response to different lubrication scenarios.