Shaft misalignment remains one of the most persistent and costly causes of rotating equipment failure in industrial facilities. Despite advanced condition monitoring systems, predictive analytics, and vibration tracking, many plants continue to see recurring downtime, shortened bearing life, and escalating maintenance costs.

This presentation dives into the primary drivers of shaft misalignment, including wear and time, design flaws, vibration, bearing life degradation, heat, and human error. We will explore two real-world case studies, attendees will see how misalignment often goes unnoticed until equipment failure occurs, with investigations that focus solely on symptoms rather than addressing the root cause. Finally, the session will provide a roadmap for facilities to move from reactive detection to proactive prevention. Attendees will learn practical next steps for establishing alignment standards, repeatable practices, and technician training programs that ensure machinery is installed correctly the first time, monitored effectively, and maintained for long-term reliability.  Industry professionals need to understand why misalignment continues to evade detection, how to identify its sources before failure occurs, and how to implement actionable strategies that transform alignment from an afterthought into a facility-wide reliability standard.

Key Takeaways:

1. Misalignment is often the root cause of recurring equipment failures:  Predictive monitoring systems detect the symptoms but rarely identify the underlying problem on their own.
2. The eight primary drivers of shaft misalignment:  Wear/time, baseplate issues, excessive loads, design flaws, vibration, bearing life degradation, heat, and human error, must be understood to prevent failures.
3. Investigations often focus on what is failing, not why it is failing:  Real-world case studies demonstrate the cost and operational impact of overlooking mechanical fundamentals.
4. Proactive alignment standards and technician training are essential:  Creating repeatable installation and verification practices transforms reliability programs from reactive to preventive.

Terry Southall spent 15 years in the United State Air Force and quickly found his way into manufacturing. He spent time as a contractor developing a Learning Management System (LMS) at an Aeronautical Turbine facility and then as the Learning & Development Specialist for 6 facilities within Wood Products centered around Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Terry is the Global Brand & Distribution Manager for Hamar Laser Instruments, Inc. and their X-Series™ Laser Shaft Alignment Systems. His roles include brand awareness, sales, marketing, training, and he also works directly with 41 Distributors worldwide. Before this position, Terry spent 6 months as the Business Development Manager for a well-known consulting firm out of Florida. Terry has a Bachelor’s in Management and a Master’s in Adult Education and Training.