With most wireless vibration sensors, the readings are collected on a time interval independent to each sensor. This means that from one reading to the next, you may catch the crane when it is off, as it is ramping up, or when it is under full load. The variability of time-based readings can be observed in the trendline above and can often trigger false alarms.
To overcome this fundamental issue, readings need to be taken not based on time, but on the machine’s operating state. In addition to this, it is essential to identify what state of operation will provide the best representation of the health of each component of the crane. Once identified, triggered vibration readings enable the user to continually record readings that create a trendline representing the crane’s health as seen above.
KCF’s IoT HUB also synchronizes its readings. This means that on a crane hoist, for example, the readings will be taken at the exact same time to represent all hoist components under the same load. All these tools combined create a never-before-seen opportunity to pull actionable data from an asset type previously thought to be nearly impossible to monitor.
When approaching a crane, it is vital to identify the right components to monitor. KCF commonly focuses on motors, gearboxes, pillow block bearings, and wheel bearings. These monitoring points have unlocked massive value for our customers and give them awareness to the broadest range of potential crane failure modes.
This crane’s cooling system for the electrical cabinet cut out due to an issue with the AC motor. As a result, the temperatures rose significantly. Left unchecked, the crane’s electrical drives would have overheated, resulting in 32 hours of downtime. SMARTdiagnostics notifications alerted the customer who got an emergency cooling system in place to prevent catastrophic failure and electrical rebuild of the crane.
After installing triggered IoT HUBs on the bridge components, the data showed repetitious knocking on the south bridge motor that was not observed on the north bridge motor. KCF personnel worked with the customer to investigate this issue with the customer while on site and observed slop in the mounting brackets for the south bridge drive. The customer team implemented a temporary fix, which reduced the slop significantly, and plan to install a completely re-machined motor mounting in their outage in January.
