Learning to identify and avoid these recurring traps in your maintenance program will help you be more effective in the application of both preventative and predictive maintenance techniques.

There's no need to extol the virtues of predictive maintenance (PdM) to any maintenance professional who hasn't been marooned on a desert island for the past 20 years or so. Numerous organizations have cut their maintenance costs dramatically through effective PdM efforts—while at the same time improving quality, safety, reliability and productivity. Unfortunately, there are some veritable tiger traps into which unsuspecting organizations can fall as they seek to capture the countless benefits this approach offers. Understanding and recognizing these traps will enable you to steer clear of them and set up a truly effective PdM program.

Pitfall #1: Capital expenditures for equipment, but not for training
When maintenance budgets are submitted, and ultimately pared down, many companies fail to provide dollars for adequate training to support the new  equipment. Take, for example, the organization that hired this author for vibration and oil analysis. When they were questioned about infrared thermography, company personnel pointed to a camera they had previously purchased. A year and a half later, the camera was little more than an expensive dust collector. To this day, no one knows how to properly use it or interpret the results.

While training is essential, not just any training will suffice. Investment in the right kind of training is critical. Vendors may provide basic how-to-use training, but it may be inadequate to ensure the success of a PdM program. Vendor training is usually abbreviated—in some cases, only a few hours at most. My personal preference is brand-neutral or independent training for a particular technique. The independent training focuses on every aspect of

the technology and less on "why our equipment is better than theirs." Brand-neutral sessions are typically more in depth than vendor training, and may last up to a week. For example, in thermography training, maintenance personnel might spend an entire day on electrical inspections. Students receive practical, hands-on experience. In addition, independent trainers usually conduct a competency test, and may provide certification for those who pass. They also may teach the principles of reflection, emission and transmission.

In contrast, vendor training may instruct students to simply leave the emissivity at a certain figure, such as .95, but then fail to define...(Read whole article)