Stan Jackson, managing director of SPM Instrument UK, looks at the financial benefits of condition monitoring. The trend in British industry has been towards larger companies operated by less people. Machines have as far as possible replaced human labour.
Operating large plants with a relatively small workforce must necessarily also shift the focus of management.

This approach in industry is commonly described by the term "Asset management”. Maintaining the technical life of the machine past its economical life has a positive effect on the final economic results of the asset. However traditional management takes a fairly narrow view. It works by departments, trying to make each part of the ongoing activities as efficient as possible.

Quite often, this does not produce the optimal total result, because “improvements” in one sector can actually have greater negative effects on other activities.

For example, the incentives for the purchasing department to lower purchase prices can result in cheap products, spare parts that don't fit, break, generate higher energy costs, are difficult to maintain, reduce reliability etc. The savings in one department therefore increases the costs in others so the overall profit is reduced.

Budgeted maintenance costs are usually only the tip of the iceberg. The real costs, often in the form of indirect costs, are hidden, or turn up in some other part of the organisation.




SPM Instrument UK Ltd.
Suite 12, Hardmans Business Centre
New Hall Hey Road, Rawtenstall,
Lancashire BB4 6HH
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel +44 1706 835 331 | Fax +44 1706 260 640