temperature data

Real-time collection of pump operating pressure and temperature data

In conjunction with monitoring vibration, is the only efficient way to address sealing device failure - the leading cause of pump downtime.

Much has been said about digital and the cloud. According to Ryan Zepp, a sales director at A.W. Chesterton, it is important to understand the Return of Investment on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIot). “The difference between the Internet of Things (IoT) and IIoT is that the convenience of the first drive, while the latter drives revenue.” Speaking during a recent online event he said anyone relying on vibration to monitor the seal health of their pumps or trying to detect seal failure this way would inevitably come up short. “Vibration alone cannot do it. Four critical data points have to be measured – surface vibration, surface temperature, operating temperature and operating pressure using cloud-based analytics.” According to Zepp, cloud-based pump system condition monitoring, which associates process operating parameters with vibration, can notify users of current and potential causes of downtime and increase equipment reliability along with improving safety. “It is all about being able to identify pump system anomalies and prevent unplanned events related to sealing devices and pump efficiency. It is about being able to drive revenue through condition monitoring.” He said pump operators wanting to move from their current state to a future state needed to go through a transition impact of investment into new capabilities and technologies in condition monitoring. “It is only then that one will see an impact on revenue, costs and maintenance activities,” he explained. “During the investment period expect revenue to drop but as time goes on there will be a definite increase in revenue, and improved manpower and equipment utilization. The same goes for cost. Initially expect the cost to rise, but again, over time, it will come down with a real reduction in maintenance costs and all downtime of the equipment.”

Value of IIOT for condition monitoring

Zepp maintains the number one value using IIOT lies in the ability for remote monitoring. “It does not matter whether