By Noah Bethel, CMRP
Vice President of Product Development
PdMA® Corporation
Introduction
For many companies, portable technology has been considered the height of motor data acquisition advancement. Equipment carried to a site easily and then removed after data is accessed for later analysis has earned its reputation as one of the most valuable tools in motor testing. Yet along with the valuable tool that portable testing technology is, innovation has brought forward an even more powerful tool that deserves the term “game changer.”
This new advancement is permanently installed technology for motor testing—a 24-hour system that provides vital information while motors run. Its far-reaching sophistication can rightly be viewed as the only justification necessary for investing in a permanent installation, but frankly there are other factors that have impacted its growing demand.
Several of those factors have nothing to do with technology. Start with the most obvious: the COVID-19 pandemic, which wreaked havoc with staffing especially in resource availability for testing and maintenance. COVID-19 forced companies in the U.S. and elsewhere to scramble to keep up with their testing and motor maintenance protocols. One positive COVID-19 test can and has shut down entire departments due to state-mandated quarantines. Working from home certainly has benefits, but also liabilities—motor testing being the prime example. Time lost due to lack of personnel limits the capacity for timely discovery of issues requiring immediate attention—a major shortcoming likely to hamper or shutdown a motor asset at considerable cost to the company and, no doubt, its customers.
Another ongoing and serious problem is the tidal wave of Baby Boomer generation retirements that is inundating every business. Now in their late 60s and early to mid-70s, the “boomers” exemplify the term “human resources” in the best possible ways. For the most part, this generation of workers has been skilled, experienced, productive, and committed. They will not be easily replaced, which means many companies must accept the reality of a possible bidding war for up-and-coming individuals whose services and skills are so essential. There could also be a shortage of these valuable employees depending on how many high school graduates are attracted to technical schools or colleges that offer associate degrees in this discipline.
To avoid such a scenario, the industry needs to consider other alternatives. The most obvious is digital data accessed and analyzed through software. Viability of this solution may explain the growing trend that favors permanent testing installations.
In addition, there is the ever-present focus on safety particularly during motor testing. Every technology—portable or permanent—must prove with every test that its use does not jeopardize the continued operation of the motor or worker and facility safety during the testing period. That is a fact of life regardless of which technology is used for motor testing. The environment is changing because of digitalization, but requirements for safety and reliability are not. How companies adapt will determine their viability and success in an evolving workplace and marketplace—all the more reason why permanent data-accessibility technology is being heralded as the future of electric motor testing.
Scope of the Industrial Electric Motor Marketplace
Statistics on the actual number of industrial electric motors in the United States tend to vary depending on the research. One report lists 1,000,000,000, a figure that is likely to be exceeded later in this decade. Another finding estimates that 78 percent of industrial electricity—a sizable figure by anyone’s standards—is consumed by electric motors. Such usage requires considerable budget outlays to cover electricity costs according to a publication from the U.S. Department of Energy. It finds that “electricity costs make up about 96 percent of the total life-cycle cost of a motor, while capital costs (3 percent) and maintenance (1 percent) account for the rest.”
With statistics like these, it is not surprising that so much emphasis is placed on motor reliability and the need for safe and ongoing testing to ensure continued optimum performance. The environment, however, is changing. Due to the uncertain status of personnel caused by retirements or COVID-19 along with limitations of time to complete motor testing, some companies question whether such testing is necessary for every industrial electric motor regardless of performance. Their concern is understandable since testing can divert valuable time and use of assets and resources, all of which require substantial cost commitments. It is this dilemma that a permanent testing installation has been designed to resolve.
The ideal solution in the view of many executives and supervisors is to go where the data indicates, which is only to the specific motors that require testing. It would seem to be a more cost-efficient method of ensuring motor reliability and maximum performance, thus the conclusion that a permanent solution addressing critical motors would only improve each facility’s effort to achieve and sustain motor reliability.
Digitalization, Motor Reliability and Continuous Online Monitoring
If there is one constant in the operation of electric motors, it is the possibility of unplanned and costly downtime. In a decade-old study published by Reliable Plant, downtime costs for the petroleum and chemical industries per hour averaged $87,000 while hourly downtime losses for metal castings averaged $100,000. Compare those numbers with statistics contained in a recent published report by an IoT (Internet of Things) company based in the northeastern U.S. It estimates the average yearly downtime suffered by industries at a mind-boggling 800 hours. For various industrial groups such as oil and gas, the report projects the annual loss from downtime at $38 million while in mining, the daily loss could be as much as $5 million, which is the amount likely to be lost from failure of an excavator motor.
In this context, the focus needs to be on motor reliability and, just as important, ensuring it. The solution drawing the most positive response is data digitalization—the use of advanced software particularly for highly advanced equipment that industries cannot afford to have out of service for any reason other than planned maintenance. Reliabilityweb.com, a site dedicated to uptime maintenance issues, lists increasing reliability as one of three major justifications for turning to digitalization. The other two: better decision making and cost reduction. Portable devices such as PdMA’s MCEMAX® have already proven themselves as go-to-answers for easily accessed digital data from motor testing.
For those who desire a permanent site where data can be accessed 24/7 for every motor, particularly high impact where response time is of the essence, technologies like the PdMAEYE, can provide a revolutionary predictive maintenance diagnostic tool that generates data when a motor runs, providing instant online analysis of six electric fault zones:
- Power circuit: Reference to conductors and connections at the point where testing starts to the connections at the motor including contacts, circuit breakers, fuses and overloads. Problems in this fault zone tend to, at minimum, reduce horsepower efficiency.
- Power quality: Detecting and addressing issues of harmonic distortion, voltage spikes and voltage unbalance, among others.
- Insulation: Refers to the insulation between windings and ground. Offline testing like the portable MCE® technology is still frequently required to assess severity of the insulation fault zone. Analysis goes beyond usual issues of contamination, age and moisture and creates data indicating impact of other factors such as power circuits and voltage imbalances.
- Stator: Faults here can either be breakdowns in insulation of a coil that can lead to excessive vibrations, bearing failures or phase-to-phase faults.
- Rotor: A broken rotor bar can cause intense heat and melt stator insulation. This fault is rarely detected without the right technology.
- Air gap: This refers to the distance between the motor’s rotor and stator. Unequal distance throughout the air gap’s entire circumference causes “eccentricities;” e.g., magnetic imbalances.
Continuous online monitoring is conducted all the time, meaning that immediate data is available and accessible. Its benefits: reliability along with instantaneous analysis that leads to effective decision making and better use of financial resources. It offers the most efficient application of time through what is, in effect, a surgical approach that generates specific data to identify issues that must be resolved.
Digitalization: Its Prompt and Most Effective Use
Prior to the advent of permanent testing installations, start-up testing for industrial motors was limited to rigorous scheduling and availability. Consider that during their lifetime, most industrial motors will undergo an average of 3,000 starts with a minimum time required between starts. Frequency of ideal testing should include starts/stops as well as normal operations. For many facilities whose testing protocols are limited to specific times or processes instead of permanent and ongoing data, fault zone analysis is vital. If the testing is reactive, the team may not be alerted to an issue at its outset when a quick response is required to avoid downtime. For too many industries, the first sign of trouble is when the motor starts to struggle and occasionally trips.
This is the classic example of process interfering with motor reliability—a response generated after the fact when data through advanced technology might have detected the issue before the incident. Without ongoing and permanent data acquisition, it is almost impossible to accurately gauge the number of starts for each motor—a potentially critical shortcoming because starts are always the most stressful times for motors and the most likely time for them to fail.
Technology like the PdMAEYE has been designed for proactive testing. It is the hallmark of predictive analytics to pull back the curtain to reveal what is going on so problems can be addressed before they become catastrophic for the motor and possibly the facility.
Another valuable resource for predictive maintenance is the ubiquitous cloud and its hosting of local and regional motor data characteristics. Permanently installed technology can take full advantage of the resources available in the cloud. All key performance indicators (KPI) from a critical motor are sent to a cloud database (dB) for storage and analysis. Portable test data and all analysis comments from permanent and portable tests should be synchronized to the same cloud dB for optimal data analysis efficiency. With proper credentials, a certified motor analyst from a local motor shop can access this centralized data and provide a third-party analysis. Behind the scenes machine learning (ML) leverages the centralized data from the dB and the results are made available to those performing the analysis.
While the growing use of cloud services simplifies remote access to data, there are still concerns about cybersecurity and hacking. Security issues must be evaluated by each user, but cloud data on motor reliability has been successfully accessed and shared by industries during the COVID-19 pandemic without any reported security problems.
Assuming facility owners want to share the data and many of them do, companies can compare the operational statistics and other data. This comparison could be enlightening since a motor may operate one way in its environment and differently in another. A national or regional database can reveal these unique characteristics that may help improve operational performance and motor lifespan.
Machine Learning, Testing and Reliability
A question frequently posed in this new age of data and permanent testing is the role of the previously mentioned ML and how it impacts the reliability of motor testing equipment. The best answer is to compare the two types of ML: supervised and unsupervised. The latter relies mostly on algorithms that work on their own without human oversight. Supervised ML in which trained individuals at the local level verify data overseen by supervisory personnel who will add it to the machine’s “library” for further use is widely accepted as a benefit to industry. While advocates of unsupervised ML might disagree, we believe the supervisory approach makes testing smarter with beneficial results attained through more productive operations and reduction of downtime.
Application of Integration, Automation and Analytics
These newer, more sophisticated permanently installed technologies have become the preferred choice to populate dashboard panels to monitor and evaluate electric motors. As a result, there is major growth for data acquisition in three areas: integration, automation, and analytics. Integration of such elements as vibration, motor data, oil, etc., are accessed through dashboard technologies for centralized access giving it a centralized look. Integration also provides data to third party analytics, enabling more machine learning—an example of automation.
The dashboard’s maintenance, repair, and operations data (MRO) enhance automated electric motor troubleshooting. Dashboard MRO is a centralized compilation of data from a variety of sources displayed on a dashboard interface to assist technicians, analysts, and decision makers in making critical MRO decisions. Data analytics interoperability plays a significant role as a cross communication of data sources assisting at different levels of automated MRO decision making, e.g., an automatically generated work order from an internal alert system.
Conclusion: People Still Play an Important Role
Detection and resolution of potential motor problems through integration, automation and analytics allow highly skilled analysts and maintenance managers to focus on other critical issues. The technology, however, does not change their roles and responsibilities to oversee data collection and its application.
That’s why there is still a very important role for portable technology. Its value goes well beyond testing of non-critical assets since it is a vital component in assuring overall motor reliability including motors designated as critical. Offline portable and online permanently installed technology are often used together in troubleshooting to optimize the decision-making process before returning to production.
The need for human oversight will not be eliminated by these new state- of-the-art technologies, no matter how advanced. Just because an asset is considered non-critical does not mean it won’t become critical if it is left unattended. Portable technologies are very effective for those non-critical assets that are not included in permanently installed testing installations and only require analysis on an as-needed basis. Companies can increase the value of their employees who are removed from heavy data collection by training them in analysis—a much higher work value item.
Despite all the advancements in motor testing technology, the most important responsibility for every low-tech and high-tech application is safety. The caveats are unchanged regardless of technology. Take advantage of the information produced from “surgical analytics” to keep people safe should human intervention be required for correcting a fault area. There should rarely be a need to open permanently installed cabinets that can expose staff to high voltage.
Advanced testing technology like those offered by PdMA helps improve reliability, safety, and operations. It can and will serve as a hedge against motor downtimes and other costly events. Companies have rightly concluded that it is imperative to look ahead and see how these testing technologies can positively impact their futures.
For more information about PdMAEYE and PdMA Cloud Services, visit our website: www.pdma.com.
About the Author:
Noah Bethel, CMRP, is vice president of product development for PdMA Corporation, Tampa, FL, the leader in the field of predictive maintenance, condition monitoring applications, and development of electric motor test equipment for motor circuit analysis. Tel: (800) 476-6463.
