When key pieces of machinery fail, it can spell disaster for any type of organization. An event of this kind can interrupt production, create backlogs and prove costly in regard to operating and repair expenses in the long run. When these type of instances occur, it is important to determine the reason behind the failure and fix these issues as soon as possible in order to best guarantee equipment reliability.

Hartford Steam Boiler noted that several internal and environmental factors can cause systems to fail. These can include loose machinery connections, dust, moisture or humidity, or overloaded conditions. However, some failures go beyond these types.

Last year, one mining organization experienced an equipment failure due to conditions created by Mother Nature. According to Mining Weekly, Wesdome Gold Mines was unable to continue production after lightning struck the organization's main electrical transformer. Employees had to rely on backup diesel generators as power sources, which offered only enough resources to support limited functions.

Other instances can involve errors or issues on the part of employees, Reliable Plant pointed out. Some workers may not understand a maintenance schedule or program in place and fail do to his or her part in upkeeping equipment. This misunderstanding can range from not knowing what repairs need to take place at what intervals or a lack of knowledge about individual responsibilities. To avoid this issue, administrators and supervisors should be sure the clearly communicate the equipment reliability program in place, as well as what they expect from each worker.

One of the best ways to determine what issues may be affecting machinery is to use an equipment condition monitoring system. This technology oversees the health and service life of key machinery and can alert employees about internal problems before they cause failures and downtime. This can save an organization a considerable amount in their repair budgets and overall operating expenditures.

Prevent unplanned downtime of critical assets by using Scanimetrics equipment condition monitoring solutions.