NCMS Reports Advances in Predictive Maintenance for High-Value Assets

Low-cost prevention of catastrophic failures

Published: Thursday, January 19, 2023 - 13:01

(NCMS: Ann Arbor, MI) -- The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has published a new technology brief focused on advances in predictive maintenance, also known as condition-based maintenance (CBM+).

Over the past several decades, industries with High-Value Assets (HVAs) have increasingly pivoted from reactive to predictive maintenance to reduce operational costs. Predictive maintenance/CBM+ is maintenance-based on the evidence of need, unlike reactive maintenance—which makes repairs to components after they break—and preventative maintenance, which schedules inspections, repairs, and replacements before parts become damaged. Sensors embedded in critical equipment components monitor the equipment’s condition in near-real time, sometimes even while the asset is in use.

The objective of CBM+ is to accurately detect the current state of mechanical and electrical systems and predict systems’ remaining useful lives. This enables cost-effective maintenance to be conducted before catastrophic failures can happen.

For several years the NCMS has been teaming up with researchers, industry innovators, and the U.S. Department of Defense to fuel the development of CBM+ technologies in four main areas: electronics, software, vehicle monitoring, and nondestructive inspection (NDI). Projects carried out under NCMS’s Commercial Technologies for Maintenance Activities (CTMA) program include development of:
• Ruggedized sensors for collision avoidance systems
• Digital twin and digital analytics for machinery health monitoring
• Advanced diagnostics and prognostics systems for autonomous vehicles
• High-frequency acoustic-emission signals for damage and wear assessment

To learn more about the NCMS’s involvement in CBM+ technology development, see the full technology brief here. Learn more at  www.ncms.org, at NCMS’s LinkedIn, and at @ncmsmfg. 

Quality Digest does not charge readers for its content. We believe that industry news is important for you to do your job, and Quality Digest supports businesses of all types.

However, someone has to pay for this content. And that’s where advertising comes in. Most people consider ads a nuisance, but they do serve a useful function besides allowing media companies to stay afloat. They keep you aware of new products and services relevant to your industry. All ads in Quality Digest apply directly to products and services that most of our readers need. You won’t see automobile or health supplement ads.

Our PROMISE: Quality Digest only displays static ads that never overlay or cover up content. They never get in your way. They are there for you to read, or not.

So please consider turning off your ad blocker for our site.

Thanks,
Quality Digest

About The Author

Quality Digest

For 40 years Quality Digest has been the go-to source for all things quality. Our newsletter, Quality Digest, shares expert commentary and relevant industry resources to assist our readers in their quest for continuous improvement. Our website includes every column and article from the newsletter since May 2009 as well as back issues of Quality Digest magazine to August 1995. We are committed to promoting a view wherein quality is not a niche, but an integral part of every phase of manufacturing and services.

Quality Digest