Predictive Maintenance for Fleets

Predictive Maintenance for Fleets

Predictive Maintenance for Fleets

How many times has a piece of equipment or a truck broke down when you needed it most? Right in the middle of a critical job your truck's engine, transmission or gear box failed be cause it is working hard to do the job it was designed to do. That's probably the reason why you have to keep spare vehicles or equipment which drivesup the cost of running your fleet. If you had a dependable way to minimize this downtime, reduce the number of spare equipment and lower your overall fleet operating costs, would you be interested?...Of course you would.

Fleet Managers learn early on that a good preventive maintenance prgram extends the life of your equipmentand often littlerepairs thatturn into bigger repairs are noted and made. The thing preventive maintenance doesn't tell you is what going on inside your engine, transmission or gear box until it is too late. This is where the predictive maintenance comes in.

Predictive maintenance is very similar to doctors taking samples of our blood, urine or anything else to see how our body is functoning. Oil samples are taken from the equipment components being sampled to determine the health of that component. The types of metals and contaminents along with the quantity of each will tell you how the component is wearing. Just like your body samples a certain amount is normal. It is the abnormal levels we are seeking todetermine the health of the unit. Normal levels are established bythe manufacturer and engineers somuch of the guess work has been removed.The technician does need to learn how to read the results properly todetrmine the proper course of action.

Lets discuss how this will reduce our fleet operating costs now. We've already established the fact that equipment breaks down at the most inappropriate time. Oil samples are taken during thescheduled maintenance interval. On a diesel engine with 8,000operating hours a higher level of lead and copper are noted. Probably bearing wear since those are the components in an engine with those materials. The maintenance is completed and that information is flagged for a closer check at the next scheduled PM. This time in addition to the lead and copper wear, chrome and iron readings have risen.Indicators of ring and cylinder wear in addition to the bearings.

This where your cost savings and convenience of repair come in. Theequipment hasn't broken down yetand the samples indicate thatthe equipment hasn't reached the critical stage yet but you know it is going to happen.An exchange engine is ordered and is now ready to replace the old one...no down time yet. Theengine exchange is scheduled around the operating schedules thus no breakdown in the middle of a job. Now you don't need a spare unit because theengine exchange was scheduled around the operating schedule.Many times when an engine is run to failure other major parts are broken such as the block, crankshaft and camshaft.By taking this engine down before failure 5% of engine wear may not have been utilized but the cost of replacing major parts far offsets that cost.

The success of a predictive maintenance programrelies on the selection of a reputable oil lab that has properly trained technicians, quick turnaround time and good line of communication. It also depends on proper training of fleet technicians or designated trained personnel to interpret the reports.

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