Predictive maintenance, which incorporates condition based maintenance, is a vitally important technical approach to the maintenance of rotating and reciprocating machines. Sadly, however, many organizations never manage to achieve high performance in this field because they are not able to deal with the complexities associated with the most powerful and important condition-based maintenance technique, which is vibration monitoring.

Vibration monitoring and analysis is still seen by many engineers as less than mainstream. It has a mixed reputation in terms of its capabilities and usefulness, and there are also many false rumours associated with its applicability (or otherwise). Yet, if vibration monitoring and analysis is properly understood and implemented, it offers the opportunity to make very significant improvements in plant reliability. It is arguably the single largest missed opportunity in typical technical maintenance systems.

The programme also addresses the closely related subject of balancing of rotating machinery. Whether it is needed as a corrective action or during the (re-)installation of a machine, achieving high quality balance is vitally important to the long term reliability and overall lifetime of plant.

• A detailed understanding of the measurement and characteristics of vibration signals, and the ways in which vibration data can be stored and represented
• A comprehensive knowledge of vibration-based fault detection and diagnostic techniques, and the practical implementation of these techniques
• The knowledge to assess accurately machinery conditions, and to make detailed and reliable diagnoses for a range of common machinery and component types
• A good understanding of the principles and practice of the balancing of routine rotating machines
• The knowledge about how to use vibration based methods to achieve high quality balance on routine rotating machinery. Note that the balancing of flexible rotor machines such as steam / gas turbines and axial compressors is a highly specialist activity and is NOT included within the scope of this programme
• A clear understanding of why vibration monitoring systems and approaches often lead to disappointing results and how these pitfalls can be avoided
• The ability to specify, implement and operate a highly capable vibration-based condition monitoring system within their own companies

• This is a specialist analytical programme that is designed for those wishing to become specialists in vibration aspects of technical maintenance and also for those wishing to use vibration approaches in the balancing of rotating plant
• The programme involves extensive data analysis and signal processing methods, and delegates hence need to be computer literate and must have technical backgrounds in an engineering subject. It is highly recommended to Maintenance Engineers, Installation and Commissioning Engineers, and anyone intending to specialize in the application and / or implementation of vibration-based methods

This interactive Training will be highly interactive, with opportunities to advance your opinions and ideas and will include;

• Lectures
• Workshop & Work Presentation
• Case Studies and Practical Exercise
• Videos and General Discussions

DAY 1 - Vibration and its measurement

• Components of a vibration signal
• Vibration transducers
• Overall and spectral vibration
• Monitoring point location
• Transducer mounting
• Common symptoms
• Time and frequency domains
• Frequency domain instrumentation
• Fast Fourier transforms
• Displacement and proximity probes
• Transducer selection, calibration, care and maintenance

DAY 2 - Vibration symptoms of common machine faults

• Imbalance issues
• Looseness issues
• Signal distortion
• Harmonic content
• Inter-harmonics
• Misalignment
• Distinction between angular and lateral effects
• Vibration level classification
• ISO standards
• Peak and RMS levels
• Dynamic range
• Use of FFT analysers
• Constant percentage bandwidth spectra
• Automated CPB spectrum comparison
• Spectral zoom
• Case studies

DAY 3 - Balance problems and vibration based balance correction

• Rigid rotor and flexible rotor machines
• Static and dynamic balancing of rigid rotors
• Balance quality
• Residual imbalance
• Types of imbalance
• In situ balancing
• The use of balancing machines
• Measurement set-ups
• Rules on thumb for trial mass location
• Single plane balancing
• Two-plane balance procedures
• Why you have to be a specialist to balance flexible rotor machines
• Case studies

DAY 4 - Fundamentals of bearing and gear vibration

• Bearing problems calculation of bearing frequencies
• Pulse trains and line spectra
• Loaded element modulation
• Trending fault development and predicting remaining useful life (RUF)
• Gear problems
• Gear wear
• Toothmesh harmonics
• Ghost components
• Gear fatigue
• Modulation effects
• Bent shafts and gear misalignment
• Case studies

DAY 5 - Vibration based fault diagnosis

• Time domain averaging
• Crest factor
• Sampling, digitising and aliasing
• Frequency and phase response
• Band selectable analysis (BSA)
• RMS and linear averaging
• Real time bandwidth and dynamic range
• Case studies
• What vibration monitoring CANNOT do
• Overall review of concepts learned and how they can be applied in practice

CDGA attendance certificate will be issued to all attendees completing minimum of 80% of the total course duration.