Test & Measurement

Tip of the Week: Do You Mine Your Maintenance Data?

Nov. 14, 2016

Take advantage of your computerized maintenance management system to mine relevant data and improve operations.

In the days of paper-based maintenance systems, those who were performing preventive maintenance (PM) tasks took data only to determine whether something was in spec or out of spec. This still is a valid reason to take data, of course. You need to know the “As Found” and “As Left” conditions when performing a PM.

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Nearly all industrial facilities today have a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), yet many of these facilities think “in spec or out of spec” when it comes to PM data. They may enter the values into the CMMS, but just for archival purposes.

What you should be doing is using the power of your CMMS to trend and alarm certain data (e.g., insulation resistance test data) and to generate reports based on other data. Workers need to be trained for this last function so they know what kinds of reports the CMMS can generate and how to generate them. The reports can provide keen insight into emerging problems and root causes.

Suppose your CMMS generated a report that graphically illustrated motor winding temperatures by building, over time. In Building A, they’ve been trending steadily up. In Building B, they have trended along a fairly flat line. What does this tell you about Building A? There’s a problem that does not exist in Building B.

If your CMMS can generate a similar report on some other data set, you may see why there’s a difference. For example, it trends the 5^th harmonic data that your PMs call for collecting. If that report shows the 5^th harmonic has been trending up in Building A but not in Building B, you probably have your answer on the heat difference problem.

You don’t get this level of insight just by playing around with the CMMS and randomly discovering things. Contact your CMMS vendor for information on their training programs. And note that the advanced reporting isn’t reliable without first carrying out the practices taught in the basic classes.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.