Precautionary engine maintenance

The purpose of this kind of maintenance is to prevent operating problems and to make sure that the engine performs reliably.  

 Precautionary Motor Maintenance (  PM) is a scheduled or schedule-based maintenance program where actions are scheduled regardless of the actual state of the equipment. 

Advantages

• Cost effective in many capital intensive processes
• Flexibility allows adjusting the periodicity of maintenance
• Increased component life cycle
• Energy saving
• Reduced team or process failure

Disadvantages

• Catastrophic failures likely
• labor intensive work
• Includes unnecessary maintenance
• Potential for incidental damage to components in performing unnecessary maintenance

Tips for better precautionary maintenance of the electric motor

• Visual inspections on the engine. Also, look for a burnt odor from overheating.
• Inspect the bearings if there is any vibration or noise
• Perform a motor winding test 
• Make sure the bearings are getting greased. You can see our article: How to lubricate electric motor bearings with Simalube automatic lubricators 
• Check starter switch, fuses and tighten loose connections
• Record each and every one of the repairs, tests, inspections or replacements made on each component of the engine

Engine predictive maintenance

The purpose of this kind of  engine maintenance  is to ensure that the right type of maintenance is carried out at the right time. 

In order to limit these two factors, it is necessary to monitor the operation of the engine on a regular basis and, consequently, detect problems before they actually occur.  

Predictive or condition based Motor Maintenance (   Pdm) is where motors are checked or tested with methods such as vibration analysis, infrared thermal imaging and so on.  

Predictive maintenance warns of sources of failure long before failure, making maintenance a proactive process.  

Industry 4.0 refers to a new phase of the Industrial Revolution that is primarily focused on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data. There is a hole chapter in industry 4.0 about predictive maintenance.

Advantages

• Decreased equipment or process downtime
• Increased component life/operational availability
• Improving the safety of workers and the environment
• Lower parts and labor costs
• Energy saving

Disadvantages

• Increased investment in staff training
• Increased investment in diagnostic equipment

reactive engine maintenance 

Reactive maintenance is essentially “run until you break” mode of maintenance.  

The primary purpose of this type of  maintenance  is to fix and replace the engine when it fails. 

Reactive maintenance or breakdown maintenance as it is known does not involve any regular servicing or testing.

Advantages

• Low cost (less test equipment, lubrication systems and so on)
• less staff

Disadvantages

• Increased cost due to unplanned equipment downtime
• Increased cost of labor, especially if overtime is required
• Cost of repair or replacement of equipment
• Possible secondary equipment or process damage due to equipment failure
• Not safe for workers and the environment

Each company has to find the most optimal balance between these maintenance methods. The maintenance team has to determine what is critical to production, what is putting the safety of equipment and the environment at risk, what parts are worth keeping in stock, and so on. 

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need more information about the maintenance of  electric motors . 

We work closely with the engineering teams of the aforementioned companies to offer superior customer service and support.