Energy Industry

Energy companies have long been in the forefront of the deployment of predictive maintenance through condition monitoring. For several decades, they have used a variety of monitoring systems to protect and analyse the most critical assets, like steam and gas turbines, alternators, and major pumps and fans.

However, as the industry moves away from very large plants towards many smaller, diverse plants it has been necessary to adopt new monitoring strategies. Not only has it become necessary to introduce more cost-effective systems that can be economically installed across large, widespread asset bases, but such systems must be sufficiently intelligent to reduce dependence on a diminishing group of specialist diagnosticians.

The Artesis predictive maintenance system aims to provide all the benefits of traditional condition monitoring systems at a fraction of the complication and cost. Artesis MCM (Motor Condition Monitor) uses an intelligent, model-based approach to provide complete monitoring and diagnostic capabilities for most electric motor driven equipment.

Each MCM unit covers a complete motor and the equipment driven by it, and is typically installed in the motor control cabinet. Since connections are required only to the motor supply cables, installation costs are low with no need to access the driven equipment for any sensor installation. Once installed, the system trains itself to recognise normal performance, following which it continuously monitors the equipment for possible faults. When such a fault is detected, the system provides a diagnosis of one of a wide range of mechanical and electrical problems, and indicates severity so that the user can make decisions on the most appropriate intervention.

Because the Artesis system is simple to install and requires little user intervention in operation, it combines low start-up costs with the significant benefits of predictive maintenance. Since it doesn’t require any sensor installation on the equipment itself, Artesis MCM is a particularly good solution for inaccessible and remote equipment. The Artesis PCM (Plant Condition Monitor) provides similar cover for generator and alternator systems, and is an excellent solution for new wind and tidal energy facilities.

A wide range of communications options are available, allowing users to integrate the Artesis system with their existing control and data acquisition or maintenance management architectures. Where facilities are spread across a wide geographic area, and may also be difficult to reach, a typical installation will combine automated alerts using email messages with centralised on-line monitoring screens.